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Bill Appleton, a man who worked full time for The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and full time for my father, John Kennedy’s construction business, convinced my teenaged butt that I only needed four hours of sleep each night. It worked out well initially, but later in life, it caught up with me. I began learning about all things rest-related and changed my sleep patterns accordingly—my energy and ability to concentrate shot up, causing my productivity to increase substantially.
By learning about our Arcadian clocks, I got myself in synch and progressed further. Then a monkey wrench was tossed into the mix; I volunteered to work rotating shifts at the Michelin tire manufacturing plant in Greenville, SC, because it was so interesting to see how the tires were made. Having worked in the aerospace industry, I could see that Michelin used equal or better technology to design and manufacture tires than we used on the Saturn Rocket.
Michelin required working seven-day shifts, off a day and a half; seven evening shifts, off two and a half days; then seven graveyard shifts, off four and a half days (“long weekend”). Believe it or not, the evening shift was the hardest because you would be energized and wound up in the middle of the night when everyone else was asleep.
After six years of rotating shifts, I was happy to return to working days even though it took months to adjust. Fortunately, the rest of my career day work prevailed. Getting enough peaceful rest fuels all the good things that make our lives work in cohesive ways.
During my senior years, proper rest became necessary to be planned every 24 hours. It is amazing how a simple lack of sleep can make many bodily functions go awry and make us more susceptible to various illnesses. The bottom line is to respect your body’s physical and mental need for REST! Thanks for listening.
William Leroy Kennedy
Former Financial Services Professional at Kennedy Group, Ltd. – Financial/Motivation
Studied Architectural Engineering at Prairie View A&M University “Giving a strong recommendation: Khan Academy for educational success”
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