I have a struggle with the temple...

[carlimac]

To the O.P. DO you have sleep apnea?

Do you snore?

Do you wake up multiple times during the night?

Do you ever wake up in bed sitting up?

All 3 are signs (there are more signs also but these are the big 3)

I do snore but not as bad since getting on an antibiotic for a sinus infection. I don't usually wake up more than once a night and half the time, not at all. I don't wake up sitting up but my husband used to and still does occasionally when life gets really stressful. He tries to catch things falling from the ceiling and once tried to change a lightbulb in his sleep. Once we woke up on opposite sides of the bed and had no recollection how or when it happened.

[Vort]

I do snore but not as bad since getting on an antibiotic for a sinus infection. I don't usually wake up more than once a night and half the time, not at all. I don't wake up sitting up but my husband used to and still does occasionally when life gets really stressful. He tries to catch things falling from the ceiling and once tried to change a lightbulb in his sleep. Once we woke up on opposite sides of the bed and had no recollection how or when it happened.

Have you ever tried a nasal rinse? If so, try one again, but add a small amount (half a teaspoon or so to start with) of hydrogen peroxide. It'll clean your pipes, and some say it has cured their long-standing (years long) sinus infections.

(One hard-core guy I read about basically stood on his head in the shower and let the peroxide rinse sit in his nose and sinuses for five or ten minutes. He swears by it. But he also uses a much higher concentration of H2O2, which I would strongly recommend against, unless

.)

[Seminarysnoozer]

To the O.P. DO you have sleep apnea?

Do you snore?

Do you wake up multiple times during the night?

Do you ever wake up in bed sitting up?

All 3 are signs (there are more signs also but these are the big 3)

Good post!

The most common sleep disorder though, is not sleep apnea, it is poor sleep hygiene or chronic insomnia. We carry with us 2 weeks of sleep debt so even though the OP said there was 8 hours of sleep the night before, it could be a quality problem that is associated with sleep hygiene or periodic insomnia over the past couple weeks. The most common mistake with sleep hygiene is not turning of the lights soon enough. As it is in nature, the lights should be going down 12 hours before they come on. The brain doesn't know, for example, the computer screen is not the sun. So, if lights aren't shut off 12 hours before they come on that is like telling the brain one is in a time zone 4 hours over at night from the time zone they are in the morning - like jet lag. Good sleep hygiene would allow for deep sleep, meaning at least 20% of the time in slow wave sleep.

The biggest red flag for sleep apnea is witnessed pauses ... also one can have sweating at night, getting up to go to the bathroom frequently, heartburn out of sleep and headaches out of sleep. Ultimately, the only way to know is by a sleep study, it can't be diagnosed by observation alone and it is important to realize it cannot be diagnosed by oxygen measurements at night - sleep apnea is not a problem of oxygen.

[Leah]

Switch to initiatories. That will take care of any sleeping issues and is just as important work.

I was just coming to post the same thing. I alternate between endowments and initiatories, but I received a prompting after my own endowment to do initiatories and have a special fondness for them.

[Drpepper]

I always thought it was a commandment to sleep in the temple

" brethren close your eyes as if you are asleep"

Funny how i see men doing this before its asked.

[Vort]

I have been trying to analyze my irritation with this thread. I suppose it's because people find sleeping in the temple to be risible instead of pathetic. I mean, we can laugh at our human follies, and that's fine, but there should be an underlying recognition that sacred things must be treated sacredly and not lightly.

Sleeping through an endowment presentation one time, because you hadn't slept in two nights and just drifted off, might be funny to tell (years later) as an embarrassing story of a one-off occurrence. Similarly, sleeping through an endowment session because you're 82 years old and can't seem to stay awake while sitting down for just about any occasion might be an understandable consequence of advanced aging, something to be tolerated with a smile of understanding about the weaknesses of our mortal state and not condemned. But sleeping through endowment sessions in general because you just can't be bothered to follow along is not funny, it's shameful.

Of course, many will take these words to mean I'm the judgmental grinch who can't laugh at something funny. Whatever. I am not intending to point a finger at any individuals on this thread, just at what I perceive to be a common attitude that sleeping through endowment sessions is not merely acceptable, but even kind of funny. It is neither. If we had any real inkling of the blessings God is trying to get through our thick, stupid skulls in that endowment presentation, I suppose we would go to great lengths to insure that we not only stayed awake, but paid very close attention to everything that was said and done.

[Drpepper]

I have know idea what brings a person to the temple on any particular day. Im sure everyone has various reasons not just the purpose of doing proxy work. Vort i imagine the reason people find falling asleep a little humours is because most of us can relate to the experience at least once. People relating to other people provides understanding, empathy and good human relations. If your not that person that falls asleep, "kings to you". But if your 89 and I see you in the temple falling to sleep im going to pinch you in the arm:lol:

I dont think anyone is making light of what goes on in the temple just our own weaknesses in attending.

[Wingnut]

I have been trying to analyze my irritation with this thread. I suppose it's because people find sleeping in the temple to be risible instead of pathetic. I mean, we can laugh at our human follies, and that's fine, but there should be an underlying recognition that sacred things must be treated sacredly and not lightly.

Sleeping through an endowment presentation one time, because you hadn't slept in two nights and just drifted off, might be funny to tell (years later) as an embarrassing story of a one-off occurrence. Similarly, sleeping through an endowment session because you're 82 years old and can't seem to stay awake while sitting down for just about any occasion might be an understandable consequence of advanced aging, something to be tolerated with a smile of understanding about the weaknesses of our mortal state and not condemned. But sleeping through endowment sessions in general because you just can't be bothered to follow along is not funny, it's shameful.

Of course, many will take these words to mean I'm the judgmental grinch who can't laugh at something funny. Whatever. I am not intending to point a finger at any individuals on this thread, just at what I perceive to be a common attitude that sleeping through endowment sessions is not merely acceptable, but even kind of funny. It is neither. If we had any real inkling of the blessings God is trying to get through our thick, stupid skulls in that endowment presentation, I suppose we would go to great lengths to insure that we not only stayed awake, but paid very close attention to everything that was said and done.

Where are you getting that we're all laughing at ourselves, and thinking that it's funny that we sleep through the endowment, or making light of it?

[Vort]

Where are you getting that we're all laughing at ourselves, and thinking that it's funny that we sleep through the endowment, or making light of it?

carlimac's original post did not make light of it. But several of the answering posts did:

I was an ordinance worker for a few years from the ages of 23 to 26. I probably dozed off in most of the sessions I was officiating. No one seemed to care.

So, my sister in law fell asleep when the whole family was doing a session together. She woke up enough to say yes.........when it was the men's turn! LOL! We still tease her.

Funny or not, my temple president sure liked to laugh about it. [...]

One more funny story. [...]

If God can't laugh at that, I'll never understand Him.

I always thought it was a commandment to sleep in the temple

" brethren close your eyes as if you are asleep"

Funny how i see men doing this before its asked.

[carlimac]

But Vort, not one of those make light of the endowment at all. They only make light of our human frailties and weaknesses. We have to laugh at some point because if we demand perfection of ourselves all the time (staying 100% attentive in the temple at all times), we'll never achieve that and just frustrate ourselves.

One more story. I was in the Hill Cumorah Pageant as a young adult. It was a rigorous schedule to say the least. We got up early every morning and were at practices or performances till late every night with hardly any down time during the day. One day we were able to go to the Sacred Grove. They gave us at least 30 min of private time to go write in our journals or pray or whatever. I was there in the Sacred Grove! What an opportunity to have a spiritual experience. This was going to be grea! And...I put my head on my back pack for just a second to think and fell sound asleep! Someone in my group woke me up right before we were supposed to be meeting all together. I felt ever so slightly ashamed that I had wasted my opportunity. I hadn't even written anything in my journal. But more than anything, I felt refreshed and like the Lord had given me a wonderful gift to relax and sleep peacefully in the Sacred Grove for 30 min. - in a dress- on the ground no less. One of the best naps I ever remember!

It's OK to be imperfect

Edited April 14, 2013 by carlimac

[Leah]

But Vort, not one of those make light of the endowment at all. They only make light of our human frailties and weaknesses. We have to laugh at some point because if we demand perfection of ourselves all the time (staying 100% attentive in the temple at all times), we'll never achieve that and just frustrate ourselves.

One more story. I was in the Hill Cumorah Pageant as a young adult. It was a rigorous schedule to say the least. We got up early every morning and were at practices or performances till late every night with hardly any down time during the day. One day we were able to go to the Sacred Grove. They gave us at least 30 min of private time to go write in our journals or pray or whatever. I was there in the Sacred Grove! What an opportunity to have a spiritual experience. This was going to be grea! And...I put my head on my back pack for just a second to think and fell sound asleep! Someone in my group woke me up right before we were supposed to be meeting all together. I felt ever so slightly ashamed that I had wasted my opportunity. I hadn't even written anything in my journal. But more than anything, I felt refreshed and like the Lord had given me a wonderful gift to relax and sleep peacefully in the Sacred Grove for 30 min. - in a dress- on the ground no less. One of the best naps I ever remember!

It's OK to be imperfect

Our behavior can reflect an attitude. I am not saying that every time someone falls asleep in a session reflects their attitude. Sometimes exhaustion just catches up with us. But sometimes that - and the attitude surrounding it - reflects how important we feel it is or how much respect we have for the situation. Interesting the people who can snooze through a session or sacrament meeting (and not be bothered by it), but wouldn,t dream of doing such at a work meeting or can't imagine nodding off during the latest Hollywood release or their favorite gaming session.

I was in a session recently where one of the men spent the session chewing gum, cracking his knuckles, and chewing his cuticles and spitting them. How respectful is that?

Most people don't go to the temple all that often. Can they really not find it within themselves to pay attention for those couple of hours? (and I speak as someone with severe fatigue issues due to MS)

Perhaps some find the sessions boring after having been through them a few times, but I bet the person we are standing proxy for doesn't find it boring at all.

[Vort]

But Vort, not one of those make light of the endowment at all.

No, and I did not claim they did. But they make light of sleeping through the endowment presentation. And not just as a one-time event, but as if the endowment presentation itself is so boring that it's both natural and funny that people would fall asleep watching it -- even if they're officiating.

They only make light of our human frailties and weaknesses.

Perhaps you are understanding the stories presented differently from how I take them. I'm all for laughing at silly and stupid things we do, generally speaking. Heaven knows I do my share. But to my ears, this conversation crossed the line from making fun of how stupid we can be in falling asleep during one of the most sacred and important ceremonies we do to how boring that ceremony is (!), and who can really stay awake anyway, heck, the temple president sleeps through it, and I even sleep through the darn thing when I'm officiating (!!), and, you know, it's basically just hilarious that everyone goes to the temple and sleeps through the boring endowment ceremony.

The endowment presentation is boring only to those who are not paying attention. Drifting off one time during a temple ceremony because you're just tired or distracted might be funny. Doing so regularly is not funny, and indicates a misunderstanding of the presentation or a lack of appreciation for what is being done. Rather than laugh about how funny it is that we and/or others sleep through endowment sessions, we probably ought to reassess how we approach our temple worship. That is my only (or at least my major) point. Leah seemed to understand my point, though she may have been the only one.

It's OK to be imperfect

The Lord suggested differently in Matthew 5:48.

[beefche]

Vort, I appreciate your passion.

I, too, fall asleep (or at least into a deep rest) while in the temple. I try to stay awake, but inevitably, the darkness, calming voices and comfy seating get to me. Instead of beating myself up about it, I have learned to focus on just trying to understand one more thing than before. I find that when I do that, I am able to contemplate the thought and feel the Spirit teach me. And while I do still continue to get into that restful state, I still feel that I am learning something new at the temple.

[MarginOfError]

One of the advantages of sitting through the endowment around 200 times in the span of four years was that--even if I did doze of at some point in many of those sessions--I rarely dozed of at the same point in every session. Sitting through it as often as I did gave me ample opportunity to listen and reflect on what was going on around me.

But generally speaking, the atmosphere in the endowment rooms is not conducive to my learning style and body chemistry. And it's true, I don't feel all that bad about it. As I said before, some of the greatest many of the greatest lessons I've learned from the temple were taught to me during the drive home.

I'm not taking the endowment or these ordinances lightly. But I can still laugh at and even embrace the diversity of experiences that happen within (and without) the temple.

[carlimac]

Our behavior can reflect an attitude. I am not saying that every time someone falls asleep in a session reflects their attitude. Sometimes exhaustion just catches up with us. But sometimes that - and the attitude surrounding it - reflects how important we feel it is or how much respect we have for the situation. Interesting the people who can snooze through a session or sacrament meeting (and not be bothered by it), but wouldn,t dream of doing such at a work meeting or can't imagine nodding off during the latest Hollywood release or their favorite gaming session.

I was in a session recently where one of the men spent the session chewing gum, cracking his knuckles, and chewing his cuticles and spitting them. How respectful is that?

Most people don't go to the temple all that often. Can they really not find it within themselves to pay attention for those couple of hours? (and I speak as someone with severe fatigue issues due to MS)

Perhaps some find the sessions boring after having been through them a few times, but I bet the person we are standing proxy for doesn't find it boring at all.

I think it's a matter of sensory stimulation and nothing more. You can bet I was more alert watching the Hobbit last night than I was in the temple this week. Perhaps they should plant a few surprise trolls in the temple movie just to get our attention.

How do YOU know the attitudes of everyone in the temple? Do you really think people go to the temple intending to sleep or be disruptive? Perhaps the man cracking his knuckels has a nervous disorder that he can't control. Perhaps those who fall asleep were up all night with a sick loved one. Kudos to you for staying awake when you're fatigued but sometimes when I'm completely exhausted physically- I can't sleep.

In my opinion, to judge others actions and supposedly know their attitudes in the temple is worse than to simply, unintentionally fall asleep.

Edited April 14, 2013 by carlimac

[Leah]

I think it's a matter of sensory stimulation and nothing more. You can bet I was more alert watching the Hobbit last night than I was in the temple this week. Perhaps they should plant a few surprise trolls in the temple movie just to get our attention.

How do YOU know the attitudes of everyone in the temple? Do you really think people go to the temple intending to sleep or be disruptive? Perhaps the man cracking his knuckels has a nervous disorder that he can't control. Perhaps those who fall asleep were up all night with a sick loved one. Kudos to you for staying awake when you're fatigued but sometimes when I'm completely exhausted physically- I can't sleep.

In my opinion, to judge others actions and supposedly know their attitudes in the temple is worse than to simply, unintentionally fall asleep.

Yet you have no problem judging others yourself when their opinion differs from yours. I guess you're just a better Mormon than I.

I am not ashamed to say I don't need "surprise trolls" to keep my attention in the temple, but apparently to you that is a failing on my part. I guess i make a mistake in not going to the temple expecting to be entertained.

Perhaps the need for trolls should be brought to the attention of Salt Lake. Maybe a letter-writing campaign is in order.

[Vort]

I'm sorry I said anything. My purpose was not to criticize other individuals. But I stand by my assessment: We should take temple ordinances seriously and not just laugh about how often we fall asleep.

[carlimac]

Yet you have no problem judging others yourself when their opinion differs from yours. I guess you're just a better Mormon than I.

I am not ashamed to say I don't need "surprise trolls" to keep my attention in the temple, but apparently to you that is a failing on my part. I guess i make a mistake in not going to the temple expecting to be entertained.

Perhaps the need for trolls should be brought to the attention of Salt Lake. Maybe a letter-writing campaign is in order.

I'm not judging you or your opinion. I just don't especially warm to the idea that someone might be judging me and my "attitude" in the temple...of all places.

I've been going to the temple for 30 years. I don't think I've ever expected to be entertained (except maybe the first time and that was purely out of curiosity at the newness of it all. ) I go to stand proxy for someone who can't do their own endowments. I do it as a service.

I hope you aren't taking my words so seriously that you can't see the humor in the comparison between the temple movie and The Hobbit. The Hobbit wasn't entertaining me. It was scaring me to death. My adrenaline was pumping and every neuron in my body was on high alert in case an Orc and it's vicious dog came crashing through the screen into my family room. I had some serious fight or flight going on! I don't recall ever being so stimulated in a temple session. Except I really loved that part where Satan breaks the tree branch in the older movie. That was just so cool. And I have to admit when the newer devil ( who just happened to be my kid's preschool teacher's husband) slinks off into the cave. That's pretty dramatic. Perhaps there is a troll in there.

Want to know what I learned and noticed this last time I went, even though I wasn't completely coherant? I learned that our earth was created not only to be beautiful to us as humans but also to bring joy to the animals. There! I did learn something new.

Edited April 15, 2013 by carlimac

[carlimac]

I'm sorry I said anything. My purpose was not to criticize other individuals. But I stand by my assessment: We should take temple ordinances seriously and not just laugh about how often we fall asleep.

And I stand by my OP that I was asking for suggestions and didn't intend to start a BBQ-your-fellow-saints-for-their-weaknesses thread.

But I also think we can do both- take temple ordinances seriously and laugh at ourselves.

Edited April 15, 2013 by carlimac

[Vort]

And I stand by my OP that I was asking for suggestions and didn't intend to start a BBQ-your-fellow-saints-for-their-weaknesses thread.

This is unfair. I never barbequed anyone for their weakness in falling asleep during sacred ceremonies; rather, I decried the idea of laughing about and making light of falling asleep during sacred ceremonies.

Condemn me if you must, but condemn me for what I actually did, not for what someone falsely claims I did.

[Roseslipper]

I went to the temple a few weeks ago and was so proud of myself for not falling asleep for once! I wanted a gold star with 'I'm a big girl now' on it. : )

smiles @ dahlia Heres your star!!

[Anddenex]

Just swallow the 5-hour energy pill or drink -- problem solved.

[Wingnut]

I think it's a matter of sensory stimulation and nothing more. You can bet I was more alert watching the Hobbit last night than I was in the temple this week. Perhaps they should plant a few surprise trolls in the temple movie just to get our attention.

That would definitely make things more interesting!

Like I said on page 1, and others have also suggested, I've learned that I just can't really do endowments. I do initiatories and sealings. I get more out of them, and I can give more to them. And they're work that still needs doing.

[Drpepper]

I find the air-con helps me, when its freezing in there im likely to stay alert but warm it up too many degrees and i find myself in the coma zone.

[Anddenex]

Well, I am just going to say this. I would rather be next to a person who is asleep (although not the best choice) than next to the person who has a belly ache and shares the wonderful odor with you and his fellow brethren sitting next to him.

Yes, one time in the temple, my wife was also pregnant (so women you know the heightened sense of smell you have), in the Celestial room I asked my wife what she learned, and her reply, "What I learned? I didn't learn anything. One of the women next to me was sharing her odorous flatulents with everyone! I almost threw up during the endowment. Seriously, some people need to control themselves...it isn't funny."

Edited April 17, 2013 by Anddenex