Sleeping toward Perfection

Sleep is an ever present, but absolutely necessary part of our lives. It rejuvenates our bodies, keeps our brains healthy and gives us a needed break from the hassles of daily life. For these reasons, sleep is something we all look forward to. A good night's sleep is a chance to reboot our human computing system, leading to better, faster performance.

Sleeping is a way for us to connect to the other people or animals in our lives. It can also be an opportunity to withdraw from the company of others and have much needed private time. Nevertheless, many people greatly enjoy sleeping with their pets, providing feelings of warmth and camaraderie. Others sleep with spouses, fiancées, or significant others, making their relationships even closer and more meaningful. The decision to sleep together is always an important step in any romantic relationship.

Sleeping also gives us a change to have dreams and nightmares, which serve their necessary purposes for our lives. They are our subconscious minds giving us messages about how we need to live healthier lives or to treat other people in our lives with the respect that they deserve. Dreams also serve as force for creativity, in endeavors that include art, music, writing, etc. We then wake up refreshed, inspired and ready to take on the day with ideas for making it in this world. In my daily life, dreams make some pretty damn good stories!

A bedroom's atmosphere is either conducive to sleep, or it is not. Many people need to improve the appearance and organization of their bedrooms in order to feel more comfortable in them. In other words, some adults are too messy for their own good! They can unwittingly be creating a physical environment that makes them sadder and more depressed. With limited space and a tendency to collect odds and ends throughout their lives, many people have bedrooms that are cluttered or untidy. Thus, many adults need to "go clean their rooms!"

Our bedding is important due to our personal preferences and to its effect on the quality of our sleep. This does not just include mattresses and box springs, but also sheets, blankets and pillows. I, for example, prefer soft mattresses to firm ones, but someone else may want to sleep on one as hard as a rock! I also like it cool enough in my bedroom to be able to pull the sheets and blanket up around my neck; I just like the feeling of being covered.

We all have our own personal preferences and touches when it comes to our sleep. Nowhere is this more apparent than in what we wear to bed. Our sleepwear ranges from pajamas to nothing at all, reflecting our place in life. I like to wear pajamas; underwear alone just feels too weird for me. What we wear to bed is also dependent on the climate of our region, the season of the year and who may or may not see us in sleepwear. Plan for your own comfort and that of those who share your home or apartment.

One-third of our lives is heavily influenced by the question of whether we sleep alone or with someone else. This defines both our physical and emotional space, as well as our desires and self-image. While sleeping with others can be intimate, it does have its pitfalls. You often have one person, for example, who hogs the blankets or takes up too much space in the bed. When a relationship sours, one person always ends up sleeping on the couch, which is one insult away from being booted out the door!

Human beings often experience difficulty when they sleep at different places. These individuals range from business travelers to homeless individuals without any fixed address. Some people stay with family, always feeling like a bothersome guest or bouncing back and forth between dwellings of multiple relatives. It's always a little awkward being a guest! To quote Grace Slick, "friends, baby, they treat you like a guest."

  

Sleep is not always easy and effortless; sometimes it can be difficult for people. Many have personal sleep issues that involve snoring, night terrors, violent nightmares or grinding one's teeth during the night. Others have outdoor noises to put up with, such as barking dogs. Sometimes people have difficult neighbors to contend with, ending up like Elaine Bennes in the Seinfeld episode with the ever-barking dog. I myself have had a fitful combination of violent nightmares and teeth-grinding. For this very reason, I even had to have a root-canal in 2012; my enamel had been completely worn away!

Many Americans don't get enough sleep in their lives; it should take up 8 hours, or one-third of their day. They may have insomnia, which causes them to need sleep medication on a regular basis. Other people wake up during the night and have trouble falling back to sleep. They may spend time reading or watching TV, which can be too distracting for the person. Often, people don't have enough time to devote to sleep, due to vigorous work schedules. More than a few people go to bed too late on a weeknight, glued to TVs and computer screens.

Too much sleep can be as bad as too little, especially for those suffering from depression or other forms of mental illness. I myself am guilty of this, due to my recent bout of depression, though I mostly overcame this tendency of mine. Oversleeping will make anyone more tired and constantly feeling that they need a lot of sleep. At the end of the day, it actually makes your depression worse and helps you gain a lot of weight, creating numerous other health problems. Instead, take a walk or find some other productive activity!

For women and men starting or expanding their families, their sleep is greatly impacted by pregnancy and children. Sleeping difficulties are associated with pregnancy, because it's the body's way of preparing the woman for motherhood. For parents of infants, it is quite a challenge to get some sleep while caring for an infant. Unfortunately, parents tend to get somewhat used to a lack of sleep. It helps create the relentless stress that adults experience in their 30s and 40s.

Even as the children get older, it can still be hard sleeping with children in the house. Young children sometimes sleep in their parents' bed, or a child will freak out when they have a nightmare. As a kid, I would often have nightmares and wake my parents up! It's also difficult for parents to sleep when they worry about their adolescent or young adult children. They always fear getting the dreaded call during the middle of the night. For most of my 20s, I was that young adult, staying out all night or fumbling for my house key at 2:37 a.m.

Unfortunately, many people in America today are forced to sleep in some very harsh circumstances. These include the military (especially in time of war), prisons/police stations, abusive homes, or sleeping during a violent storm. Prisons are especially rough for sleeping because inmates get rudely awaken by corrections officers for bed checks or body searches. Unfortunately, sleeping in an abusive household is all too common in America today. There is a lot of anger and aggression in society that needs to be cured.

  

Sleep is often adversely impacted by noise outside the home, as well as factors inside the home or just in the person's head. They may hear cars on a busy street, car alarms, loud drunks walking by their house or apartment (if they live near a bar or nightclub as I once did), fireworks, or other noises. In some areas, people always think that it's the 4th of July, setting off industrial-strength fireworks! These are often inconsiderate assholes who live outside the law. Over time, though, people get used to such noises and can usually sleep through them.

Sleeping will cure a lot of life's problems, though it can create some new ones. It gives us what we need to rest our minds and always be at our best. Sleep is a bastion of comfort and stability, in a world of discomfort and chaos. Many of us have sleeping difficulties or related mental health issues, but we can all work to solve these problems in our lives. We can truly make the necessary changes so that we can sleep toward perfection!