Today, I’m thankful for for the ability to take a break.
Every living thing on this earth needs some downtime. As living beings, our cells will grow, mature, age, and, in most cases, be replaced over time, but none of this is possible unless our organs, as well as our whole human body, take a periodic respite. I like to refer to this as human “diastole.”
Why, you might ask?
Well, it is only fitting that we learn from one organ that supposedly never stops working, namely the heart. A person who maintains an average heartbeat of 75 beats per minute will ultimately have their heart pump 108,000 times a day. Assuming that same individual lives to the jolly old age of 90 years, their heart will have contracted approximately 3.5 billion times in their lifetime. But, what is truly amazing is the incredible cardiac machine always takes a break after each beat. In essence, the heart muscle must contract to carry out the function of pushing blood out (systole), but then it must immediately relax in order to allow blood back in (diastole). This dilation phase of diastole, so appropriately termed after the Greek word for dilation (διαστολή), is the cycle during which the muscles surrounding the two ventricles relax, thereby allowing ventricular refilling and subsequent dilation. Amazingly, what many of us do not know is that heart actually rests more than it works. If we consider that same individual whose heart averages 75 beat per minute, their entire cycle of systole/diastole would be about 0.8 seconds. For each cycle, the heart remains in systole for 0.3 seconds, while diastole takes 0.5 seconds. So, in essence, the heart really rests 63 percent of the time. Even this ever-working organ realizes the importance of a periodic interruption. Our respiratory system, which works in an analogous way, also has learned to ‘take a breather’ after each work cycle.
Many of our other organs besides the heart and lungs will also take a pause periodically throughout the day and especially during periods of rest, such as sleep. During sleep, the decrease in use of oxygen by some of our vital organs allows for energy to be diverted to the growth of new cells in our muscle, bone, or bone marrow. Our dormant period is also the time for tissue repair and peptide/protein formation. Interestingly, many of us think about sleep as the time our brain rests, and although there is some truth to this point, it is not entirely a period of cerebral inactivity. Sleep is also an active period during which our neurons undergo critical processing, restoration, and strengthening. During sleep, these neuronal cells are actually working to solidify and consolidate memories we have gathered during our hectic day. Although we take in an incredible amount of information during the active periods of our day, much of this information is not processed and stored until sleep takes hold. While we sleep, the process of consolidation occurs, wherein the information gathered during our many interactions during the wake periods of the day gets transferred from its tentative short-term state into longer-term memory. So, healthy sleep is required each and every day because we need to afford the brain the consolidation time it requires to take it all in.
So, I hope I’ve provided some scientific, biological perspective as to why, as humans, we cannot be running at full capacity at all times. Our organs need time to rest, thereby affording our entire body as well as our mind a necessary holiday. Speaking of holidays, everyone deserves a rest around this most festive time of year. Yet, in the hustle and bustle leading up to the year-end festivities, many cannot afford to take such a break – in fact, for some, the past few weeks have been the busiest time of the year.
Folks like our mailpersons have been working incessantly since early December to deliver our letters & packages through rain, snow, sleet, & other inclement weather. Folks like our refuse and recycling collectors have been toiling overtime to collect the extra waste we create during the Holiday season. And, folks like our police officers and firefighters never really take a break, even during Christmas, as emergencies, accidents, and even fire (thanks to the risk imposed by the electric lights on our Christmas trees) only increase during this festive season. So, this Holiday season, we should take a moment to express our gratitude for those who provide service to us throughout the year. Today (Dec 26), the world celebrates Boxing Day. Officially recognized in places like the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, & South Africa, this holiday holds historical significance. In the past, Boxing Day was a time when the landowners gave gifts for those you worked and lived with them on their estates. As many workers were required to toil on Christmas, they were often given the next day off to spend with their families. Upon departing, their landowners would share ‘boxes’ full of leftover food, gifts, & money that they could then partake with their own families. These days, the ‘box’ practice is long gone, replaced instead by endless shopping, the occasional foxhunt (though recognized today as somewhat taboo), and an endless array of Premier League football matches. So, my friends, on this Boxing Day, take a moment to pause and express gratitude to those who have helped you get through the holiday. Maybe it is that Amazon delivery person in that unmarked white van. Or it is that kindhearted electrician who visited your home on Christmas Eve to fix the burned-out fuse in your electrical outlet box caused by your endless display of Christmas lights. Or perhaps it is that jolly, portly soul in the red suit and black boots that gracefully navigated thousands of sooty chimneys to deliver millions of X-Boxes, iPhones, and power drills to the loved ones in your abode.
Or perhaps it is just your often-neglected heart that has decided to keep beating throughout Christmas and well into Boxing Day – with some diastole naturally mixed in between each beat.
So, get out your pen and paper and begin to craft that note of gratitude to that individual – for, in addition to being Boxing Day, it is National Thank You Note Day after all.
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