St. Mary's Parish Nurse Ministry Program
Ruth E. Williams, RN, MEPD, MSN

Dear Viewers, Peace to all in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Psalm 16.9 states, "Therefore, my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices, my body, too, will rest in confidence." May is nationally known as Osteoporosis, Mental Health, High Blood Pressure Education, Physical Fitness and Sports, Better Sleep Month and Happy Mother's Day May 5/11.

About the Coordinator... A Parish Nurse is a... The Basic Parish Nurse Ministry Program is... Examples of Parish Nurse Ministries... St. Mary's Parish Nurse Newsletter... Notes from Students & Clients... Home Page

Let us focus on the concept of better sleep. The New American Roget's College Thesaurus states that sleep as a noun means slumber, rest, repose, nap, somnolence, doze, coma and hypnosis. What is healthy sleep? Healthy sleep is necessary for life. It helps us to have a healthy life and well-being. It is necessary as air, water, and food. When we wake up after a healthy night's sleep, we are ready for the challenges of the day to be productive as a human being. What happens when we suffer a bad night of sleep? A bad, unhealthy night of sleep can cause drivers to have serious accidents, a worker to make many mistakes, our concentration is less, we are irritable, impatient, very tired with feelings of sickness, and employers could lose $18 billion of productivity. Adults need 7-9 hours of sleep, and children need 9-15 hours of sleep. HAPPY SLEEPING! www.sleepfoundation.org Some things a person can do for better sleeping is see your Health Care Provider, Parish Nurse, Sleep Specialist, maintain regular sleeping habits even on the weekends, avoid alcohol, caffeine, chocolate, late night eating, create a soothing-quiet environment before retiring, exercise in AM, have a comfortable mattress and pillow; and avoid late night violent TV shows. Mark 2:27 states, "Then he said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath." My book, A COLLECTION OF PARISH NURSE NEWSLETTERS is available at www.dorrancebookstore.com; amazon.com; Eden Book Store (1-877-627-5653) toll free. Ocooch Book Store (1-608-647-8826).