IF YOU are one of the countless millions who fret about not getting enough sleep, there is now something else to keep you awake: the possibility that you are not only sleep-deprived, but also dream-deprived.
It turns out that dream sleep is one of the biggest casualties of our collective sleep debt. It is more common at the end of a night鈥檚 slumbers, so tends to be cut short by the need to get up for work or school. And far from being a pleasurable but superfluous state, that dreamy sleep in the morning turns out to have some important functions for your brain (see 鈥�How a lack of dreams could be messing with your mind鈥�).
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This is yet more evidence that Western society pays too little attention to the importance of good sleep. Your doctor probably asks you about diet and exercise, but how often about how well you sleep? Schools persist in opening their doors earlier than strictly necessary despite good evidence that a later start is better for teenage pupils. Paying off sleep debt at the weekend is seen as slothful indulgence rather than part of a healthy lifestyle. We must all wake up to the need for good sleep or risk sleepwalking our way to problems.
This article appeared in print under the headline 鈥淒ream on鈥�
