Sleep is On Your Mind

When my dreaded alarm clock goes off at an hour when most young children are already bounding toward the school bus, my not-a-morning-person arms are scrambling to turn it off. I lie in wait for twenty minutes, waiting for the second alarm until I reluctantly sigh into my pillow and roll out of bed to get out the door as quickly as possible. For this reason, I am jealous of people who willingly get out of bed the second their first alarm screams, ready to greet the day. On the other hand, if you have a needy relationship with your pillow and comforter, like I do, you may also put great emphasis on how you sleep and think that the way you sleep (restless, like a baby, full of dreams, or fitful) can translate into what type of day you will have. A new study suggests that your unconscious dreams may just help accomplish your professional and personal dreams outside the covers.

Although sleep may be hard to come by these days due to the way you keep your room or the popularity of technology always at your fingertips, Carpenter Co and Ipsos, a maker of comfortable cushioning and an independent research company want to inspire you to get better sleep. A recent study entitled, “Sleep Better, Dream Bigger,” surveyed 1,000 people over the phone at random and asked them questions about their sleep habits, and in turn, about their life goals and dreams. The results were varied and scattered by region of the United States and accounted for according to the population differences around the country. Ipsos’ Telephone Express called 1,000 Americans from April 16 -19 and recorded the findings from those willing to cooperate in the survey.

The highest percentage the survey found, was that 92 percent of the people polled said that they believe there is a direct relation between their overall functionality and whether or not they got a good night’s sleep. The second highest percentage, 88 percent, said that the most important product that helps them sleep soundly is a pillow, or in my case, a family of pillows.

Even though the beginning of June was full of presentations at the Associated Professional Sleep Societies annual meeting held in Seattle, this survey in particular is trying to lighten the mood by gauging not how well you sleep or how often, but how you feel about your life depending on how much you value sleep while you are awake. Some might say it may be a strange take on the subject of sleep, others may say its genius, but regardless of what some say, the people in the study seem to still dream big, even if they happen not to remember their dreams while asleep.

The apex of the study seems to culminate around the idea that Americans still have dreams for a better life, better job, a better world. Incredibly, even in this struggling economy, 77 percent of those polled still hold onto their “big” dreams of what they want to achieve in their lifetime. Because this poll was on such a small scale, obviously this doesn’t speak to everyone, but the small percentage it does encompass seems to be relatively happy. When broken down into categories: the unemployed still hope for a better future at 86 percent; those aged 55 and older at 39 percent do not have grand dreams; and a sad 21 percent of the Americans asked responded “No” to the question of still having big dreams.

The study cited a September 2008 research paper done by Yankelovich claiming, “More than half (56%) are getting only six hours or less of sleep on average each weeknight.” However, because this study could not be found in full, the percentage cited does not apply to the 1,000 participants in the main study but to an unknown number of volunteers. While that number may sound low with the average hours being 8 and the recommended number of sleep hours supposed to be between 8 and 10, there are people who can function very well on 6 hours of sleep without any drawbacks.

Even though the study seems optimistic in the outcome with a large percentage still believing in their dreams. Thirty-nine percent of people living in the United States blame the economy for their lost, or diminished, dreams. More than half of the survey predict that tomorrow’s generation will have a harder time achieving their dreams. However, of those that still have hope, 45 percent have big dreams related to family. While this study may sustain the idea that sleeping better makes your dreams bigger, even if there is no science behind it, it gives you a little more to think about the next time your rest your head on that comfortable pillow.