Everyone knows that terrible feeling of tossing and turning when sleep flees.

Some medicate while others meditate. It’s bad enough that so-called experts write hundreds of thousands of words about sleep each year.

So, how do you find sleep when you are wide awake?

In an article in the Journal of Psychology and Health, researchers suggest a practice that predates their own discipline.

Forgive.

They asked how forgiving people were about themselves and others. Those who forgave could leave the day’s defeats and mistakes at the bedside. Without forgiving, regret, and anger, snatches rest from the mind and soul.

Jesus told people burdened with resentments:

“For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” (Matthew 6:14–15)

The best rest you ever get is when you lay aside the anger, annoyance, and hurt. God’s prescription beats Ambien because it doesn’t numb the mind but eases the soul.

Next time you feel like counting sheep, ask, “what do I need to forgive?” Then, let it go and go back to bed.

-Robert G. Taylor-