Researchers from the Ecole Normale Superieure in Paris and Cambridge University in England have discovered that the human brain stays active enough during sleep to understand, decipher and respond to words. Participants of a study on the subject began a word test while still awake and then continued the test as they dozed off. Even as they slept, volunteers were still able to identify words and their meanings, though they responded with the button device they were given more slowly than when awake.

Scientists postulate that people can even do basic math calculations in their sleep. However, the tasks have to be those that are automatic during waking hours in order to be repeated during sleep. Researchers feel that this automatic response is what allows us to recognize our name during sleep or the sound of an alarm clock, in order to be able to wake up (“Brain ‘Can Classify Words During Sleep,’ ” BBC at BBC.com, September 11, 2014).

In the words of a king…

King David wrote, “For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well” (Psalm 139:13-14, NKJV). God designed the human body so skillfully and with such detailed parameters that the best man can simulate through technology and bioengineering is a sad attempt at mimicry.

God’s infinite mind can take in all the details and potential outcomes of human physical function and social interaction, which is why we need to turn to Him for help in all aspects of our lives, from health and emotional stability to our daily need for food, shelter, and protection. No detail of our lives is too small for God, even the need for a good night’s sleep.