I bought a tree stand for this upcoming archery season and set it up in the tree in front of our house. When I got home from church Sunday I climbed up and sat in it to test it out, and I promptly fell asleep and my daughter Sally took this little video of me sleeping 20 feet off of the ground in my tree stand.

The point is I can fall asleep easily, just about any place, at just about anytime. My first principle of sleeping well was prayer. Choose to be a faithful person of prayer but especially when you lay down to sleep. The gift God promises to us when we pray is peace, and people with a peace so great it is incomprehensible sleep well. Here are a few of my memory verses that I often meditate on when I lay down on my bed or in my recliner.

Psalms 3:3-6 But You, O Lord, are a shield about me,
My glory, and the One who lifts my head.
I was crying to the Lord with my voice,
And He answered me from His holy mountain.
I lay down and slept;
I awoke, for the Lord sustains me.
I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people
Who have set themselves against me round about.

And my second principle is meditate on Bible verses you have memorized well. The power of God’s Word will free you up from the fretful, bitter, angry, anxious thoughts that the devil and his demons plant into our minds and thoughts that keep us from falling asleep.

The third principle is to establish a regular time and routine of exercise into your life. About 6 years ago I started riding a stationary bicycle for an hour almost every day of the week. A stationary bike is super because I can read while I ride, getting two things done at once. A bicycle is low impact and maintains a regular and steady heart rate. I ride with enough resistance and speed to keep my heart rate at 120 bpm for one hour. I have discovered that an hour is magic, that is I didn’t notice a lot of difference until I started riding an hour each day. I am not sure of all that happens inside my body when I ride an hour a day, but I do know that I feel 100 (not scientific) times better when I do. One of the benefits is that I sleep well, I fall asleep quickly, sleep sound and rarely wake up for at least 6 hours. A lot of people have made goals to exercise and haven’t done it. The reason is obvious, exercise is work and we all are naturally lazy. It takes some serious effort, accountability, and planning to become a person who regularly exercises, but the rewards and benefits are 100 times worth it.