Imam Khalid Latif is blogging his reflections during the month of Ramadan, featured daily on HuffPost Religion. For a complete record of his previous posts, click over to the Islamic Center at New York University or visit his author page, and to follow along with the rest of his reflections, sign up for an author e-mail alert above, visit his Facebook page or follow him on Twitter.
Many of the people that I saw last night at our Islamic Center's iftar dinner and night prayer seemed pretty tired. This could be because they have been fasting for almost two weeks. It could also be because it was Monday. Most probably it was because of both.
In some parts of the world, one's entire schedule changes during Ramadan to accommodate the late nights and the fasting during they day. In the United States, that doesn't really happen. Muslims still get up and go to work, school, and perform other tasks and responsibilities that we would be expected to do, whether we are fasting or not. A busy work day after a week and a half of not eating or drinking during daylight hours can start to take its toll, especially if we aren't taking care of our bodies in the process.
Eat of the good things which We have provided for you ~ The Holy Quran, (2:173)
As individuals, our physical, spiritual and emotional well-being all have an impact on one another. We forget this at times and then stop thinking about the importance of fueling ourselves with good quality food and drink. Our bodies then respond to what we are putting into them, we find ourselves tired and overwhelmed, and our emotions and spirit indirectly get impacted.
A few weeks ago, my wife and I went to Montreal and went for a late-night walk. As we walked hand-in-hand, she began to tell me about how happy she was and what a good time she was having and I responded by saying, "We have to go in there right now," and proceeded to take her into a Coldstone ice cream store that I spotted across the street.
I have a deep, growing love for milkshakes. One in particular that my heart is quite firmly attached to is called Cake-n-Shake and is sold at Coldstone. When we got into the store, I had to explain to the young man working behind the counter how to make it. He took about 6 scoops of a cake batter ice cream, threw in a few pieces of actual yellow cake, added in some milk, and proceeded to make one of the best drinks ever made. I drank to my heart's content. So good. Alhamdulillah.
That night, I was pretty restless in my sleep and when my wife woke me up to pray our Fajr prayer at dawn, I was really groggy. My body felt very heavy and as if it had gotten no rest, I wasn't very alert in my prayer and yawned a few times, and overall wasn't very present during my prayer. All because of a milkshake that I drank right before I went to bed very late.
Whether you are fasting or not, there are few things that we all can be more mindful of:
"And We made your sleep a means for rest" ~ The Holy Quran, (78:9)
When was the last time you got a good night's sleep? Especially during Ramadan? Most of us have really poor sleeping habits. This can lead to a lot of issues, especially when fasting. Aside from being cranky and not fun to be around, if you aren't sleeping enough or properly, you may start to develop a high level of fatigue. Throughout the day you'll feel sleepy and your body might experience unwanted weight loss or weight gain. Sleep deprivation can also lead to depression, headaches and body aches, increased stress and blood pressure, and lot of other things.
Our bodies learn behavior and to remedy some of this we can start by sticking to a specific schedule so that our bodies know when it's time to sleep and when it's time to wake up. Making sure you sleep in the same place is important and developing a bedtime ritual is also helpful as you start unwind so that your body knows its time to go into sleep mode. Something that isn't stimulating your mind to such an extant that it keeps going while you are sleeping. In our tradition, we find numerous narrations that indicate the Prophet Muhammad adopted regular practices before going to sleep, and throughout the day he was able to do a lot, whether he was fasting or not.
Exercising daily can be helpful as well for our sleep in specific, as well as for other things, and it's important to exercise at your own pace. Do what feels right for you, but do it regularly. You'll see a gradual change that is more healthy than change that is solicited through extreme measures. Avoiding caffeine anytime after the late afternoon is also helpful for a good night's rest.
Water hydration is really important, and during Ramadan especially this becomes one of the main reasons people get tired and fatigued. When I played football, my coaches would tell us that we would know that we were hydrated if our urine was clear when we went to the bathroom. (They actually used different words but I'll let you assume for yourselves.) If you find that your urine is dark or that you aren't going to the bathroom so much, there is a good chance you aren't drinking enough water. You might be able to get away with it for a day, but after a month, you are going to potentially cause some serious damage to your body. If you are fasting, try to drink a lot of water in the evening time. For those who go to the mosque in the evening, take a water bottle with you to sip on during breaks in the prayer.
A few other things to be mindful of:
Our bodies have rights over us and it's important that we take care of them. Be mindful of how you are treating yourself. Start from today and make sure you are doing what you can to be healthy -- it'll definitely help you reach your potential best.
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Imam Khalid Latif: Ramadan Reflection Day 13: How To Break Bad Habits
Yes, big milk shake right before going to bed is not a good idea. Glad you enjoyed it, but not right before bed.
You have been making quite a few excellent comments over these past days. I have enjoyed reading them.
Ramadan Kareem.
"We use the Islamic holy month of Ramadan as a natural experiment for evaluating the short and long-term effects of fasting during pregnancy. Using Michigan natality data we show that in utero exposure to Ramadan among Arab births results in lower birthweight and reduced gestation length. Preconception exposure to Ramadan is also associated with fewer male births. Using Census data in Uganda we also find that Muslims who were born nine months after Ramadan are 22 percent (p =0.02) more likely to be disabled as adults. Effects are found for vision, hearing, and especially for mental (or learning) disabilities. This may reflect the persistent effect of disruptions to early fetal development. We find no evidence that negative selection in conceptions during Ramadan accounts for our results."
http://ideas.repec.org/p/fip/fedhwp/wp-07-22.html
Full report:
http://www.chicagofed.org/digital_assets/publications/working_papers/2007/wp2007_22.pdf
The researchers also found that the women were 10 per cent less likely to give birth to a boy if they had fasted during Ramadan. The trend was clearest if the fasting was done early in the women’s pregnancy, and during the summer months, when long hours of daylight called for them to go longer without food.
The study, which used census data from the US, Iraq and Uganda, also discovered long-term effects on the adult’s health and his or her future economic success.
"We generally find the largest effects on adults when Ramadan falls early in pregnancy," the Independent quoted Douglas Almond, of Columbia University, and Bhashkar Mazumder, of the Federal Research Bank of Chicago, the authors of the research, as saying.
"Rates of adult disability are roughly 20 per cent higher, with specific mental disabilities showing substantially larger effects. Importantly, we detect no corresponding outcome differences when the same design is applied to non-Muslims," they added.
http://wikiislam.net/wiki/Adverse_Effects_of_Islamic_Fasting#Pregnancies
So the question to the Muslim world is: keeping in mind the above adverse affects of fasting observed in studies, what benefit does the Muslim world get for 1 billion people staying hungry throughout the day for one full month every year? Did Allah actually want Muslims to suffer physically, socially and economically for one month every year?
http://wikiislam.net/wiki/Adverse_Effects_of_Islamic_Fasting#Pregnancies
In Pakistan, eating in public during the Muslim month of fasting is illegal. For Muslims, fasting is compulsory. However, hospital workers and travellers are exempt.
Civil Hospital Karachi staff is made up mostly of Muslims who do not tolerate that their non-Muslim colleagues eat during Ramadan.
In the wake of the incident, hospital officials have opened an inquiry to find the culprits.
The Masihi Foundation, a Christian rights organisation, and Life for All have condemned the incident, calling it a "vile act" against religious freedom and tolerance.
Political and religious leaders have also slammed the action. For Sindh Saleem Khokahr, a member of the Provincial Assembly and president of the All Pakistan Minorities Alliance, "poisoning someone for eating in Ramadan is a barbaric act and must be condemned. There are many Muslims who do not fast during Ramadan. These nurses were poisoned for eating in their cafeteria, not in public."
Six people have been arrested and one sentenced to a month in prison for eating in public during the month of Ramadan, according to the official Palestinian Authority daily newspaper. Under Islamic law, eating is prohibited from sunrise until sunset during the entire month.
In addition, the Chairman of the PA Supreme Court for Shari'ah Law said PA law should prohibit even non-Muslims and those who cannot fast for health reasons from eating in public during the month. Sheikh Yusuf Ida'is explained: "Our streets are Islamic," and formal legislation should be enacted to "severely punish" anyone who eats publicly during Ramadan. Sheikh Ida'is was appointed Chairman of the Shari'ah court by presidential order of Mahmoud Abbas in January 2012.
Yes ladies and gentlemen, Islam is a collective mental illness.
I am not Muslim but I enjoy reading you blog and find your advice here helpful to myself as well. Based on how you described the Cake-N-Shake milkshake I suspect you are fasting and wish you an easy fast, and a satisfying shake in your near future.