Rav Avigdor Miller on Depression and Sleep

Posted on February 9, 2022by TorasAvigdor

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Q:
What should somebody do when he is annoyed by depression and sadness and doesn’t know what the reason is?

A:

I want to tell you one thing I do know from experience. Many times boys in the yeshiva cause an upset in their nervous system because of a lack of sleep. In the dormitories you can’t go to sleep early. Even if he gets into bed, somebody comes in at 1 o’clock and doesn’t let him sleep. 

I once told a man about this problem and he went and took his boy out and put him in a separate room. He was a wealthy man and he paid money to the dormitory for a separate room, so his son should be able to sleep.

It’s very important to sleep. I myself know two cases of boys who didn’t go to sleep on time and they went insane, nit eingedacht. Yes, it happened. They ruined their lives. 

Also, married women who have babies, they must take care of their sleep. Without sleeping sufficiently your nervous system is upset. 

Now, once a person gets into a depression it’s not so easy to get out of it. And therefore an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. So try with all your efforts not to upset your system and get your sleep every night. 

Now some people say, “Well, I’m a porush. I want to be a masmid.” We’ll, I’ll tell you what the Chofetz Chaim said. Once the Chofetz Chaim came into the yeshiva in Radin at night, and he saw boys learning late so he said to them “Gei shlufen. Morgen is oich a tug.” He told the boys to go to sleep. “You can learn tomorrow,” he said.

And that’s the sensible way. That’s saving the lives of people by advising them, “Learn by day and sleep at night.”

Now, sometimes there are other factors, but one of the most general factors that I know from my experience, is this one of not sleeping sufficiently. 

TAPE # E-10