He knows when you are awake. I remember being told this growing up. Santa Claus knew it all. Santa Claus saw it all. I think many parents have used this when their kids were little and it was close to Christmas! Since I was scared to go to sleep I was always being reminded.
My girls were also scared and I told Mike early on that my mom never let me be scared and I would not make mine stay in their room scared. My girls had to go to bed, in their beds, at bedtime. I was strict about that. Sometime during the night my girls would wake up and want to get in bed with us. There is not a bed big enough for me to be the third person, let alone the fourth! We played musical beds every night. Finally, I put two sleeping bags in my room. The girls would wake up during the night and put their sleeping bags on the floor by me and fall right to sleep. They did that for years and we all got our sleep.
According to a health website the following things happen to our body while we sleep. Our brain actually sorts and processes the days information. This process is particularly important for creating long term memories. Hormones flood our bodies to help us sleep and to help our body repair itself and help it grow. Our nervous system gets a chance to relax. The stress hormone decreases during the first few hours of sleep before rising to peak after you wake up to help make you perky. During REM sleep, when you dream your muscles are temporarily paralyzed. (Is this why I would wake up scared because I could not run in my nightmares?) Your immune system helps your body fight inflammation.
God knows how important our sleep is because He made our bodies to get things done while we sleep. We have to recover from today to be able to handle tomorrow. If we are troubled or burdened it can prevent us from sleeping. We must cast our anxieties on God and trust that He is watching over us. Jesus taught us this in Matthew 8: 24, "Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping."
A favorite of mine, Proverbs 3: 24, "When you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet." And because God never sleeps He is watching over us 24/7 so whether we work during the day and sleep at night or work at night and sleep during the day, He is literally watching over us. Psalm 121: 3-4, "He will not let your foot slip— he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep."
When you hear "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" remember, more importantly, God sees you when you're sleeping! He watches over you all night. Rest well tonight. You have a special day tomorrow.