A Scientific Approach

While the Sabbath is not about making us better laborers, it does benefit us in some very measurable, scientific ways. Our bodies were designed to function with a seven day week. When that week is interrupted, we don’t function as well as when we are left on a seven day cycle.

There have been attempts to change the length of week, but none have worked. Between 1793 and 1805, France attempted to create a logical ten day week, with ten hour days, one hundred minute hours and one hundred second minutes. It made logical sense. Churches were allowed to open on the tenth day only. However, it did not work. Russia tried to change the length of the week as well, in an attempt to increase productivity between 1929 and 1940. The new week was five days long, with one day off . People’s day off was rotated so that only twenty percent of the workforce was on weekend at once. Production dropped considerably and irresponsibility in the workplace rose. Finally the attempt was abandoned. It seemed that the seven day week was the natural rhythm of human beings. (Westby)

There are different types of rhythms in the human body. Some are daily, or circadian, like body temperature, waking and sleeping cycles, blood pressure and cell division. Some are monthly, or circatrigintan, like the menstrual cycle. Some are yearly, or circannual, like seasonal depression and susceptibility to some diseases. But the most interesting to us is the circaseptan cycle, or the weekly cycle. In the weekly cycle, we have the rejection of organ transplants, an immune response to infection, blood and urine chemicals, the common cold, and coping hormones. The bodily response to malaria and pneumonia peaks at seven days. The ratio between the neurotransmitters, norepinephrine and epinephrine as well as the rise and fall of the stress coping hormone cortisol all are on a seven day cycle. Even in the animal world, a microscopic algae cell could not be tricked in its weekly cycles by artificially changing light and dark periods over many days. A weekly cycle, it seems, is not a response to a seven-day week, but is instead an autonomous biorhythm. (ibid.)

When you look at many training regiments for athletes, one day of complete rest per week is not only advised, but absolutely necessary. (McDonald) When you don’t rest, you burn out. It’s simple! Over-trained athletes, or athletes who work out six or more days per week, tend to have lowered immune systems and often suffer from chronic colds and other illnesses.

Rest is good for your mind as well. “Idleness is often frowned upon in modern society, yet it is an important part of human mental health. It allows people to gather thoughts, to gain perspective, and to relieve stress. A certain amount of being idle is essential to a happy, fulfilled life.” (Hayes) We need down time. We need time to just think. Oftentimes, when we are incredibly stressed, when we take time to unwind and relax, we notice that the problems that we thought were so large are actually quite manageable. Your mind and your emotions need time to make sense of your situation first.

Rest is an important part of human health, as is the seven day cycle. God created us with an internal clock, ticking away in a seven-day cycle. We are not accidents. We were designed to function this way, as was the rest of creation. We have been set to God’s time, and God’s time includes a Sabbath. God created us to need the Sabbath. And God created the Sabbath not only for our benefit, but also for our delight.