To sleep perchance to dream

As Hamlet said when he was thinking of topping himself due to his uncle killing his dad and the fact that his dad's murderer was now his step dad and his proper dad's ghost was haunting him and his sister was cutting up rough too, to sleep perchance to dream, ay, there's the rub. I think that Hamlet was worried about the possibility of nightmares that would haunt him even in death. I often wonder how important dreaming is to getting good nights sleep. Sleep itself is a mystery in many ways but dreaming is even more of a mystery. Some people find it difficult to remember their dreams, though I mostly remember mine vividly.

There are supposed to be several different levels of sleep and the level associated with dreaming is the stage of rapid eye movement or REM. It is certainly true that if you are awoken suddenly during this stage of sleep you are more likely to recall your dreams. The explanations of the reasons why we dream have changed throughout the ages. In ancient times dreams were thought to have prophetic meanings, and I guess that even in some of today's cultures this is still believed. If you dreamt that you had won the lottery and you woke up with a clear recollection of the numbers would you buy a lottery ticket? I certainly would even though I know that to do so would be superstitious nonsense.

If dreaming is an essential ingredient of getting a good night's sleep, then so too is a comfortable bed. I find that if I am trying to grab some sleep when in an uncomfortable position I sleep and wake in starts, tossing and turning all night long. The perfect example is trying to sleep on an aeroplane during a long haul flight. I always wake up feeling worse that if I hadn't slept at all. I love my bed, I love that feeling of sinking into the welcoming mattress and drifting into sleep, perchance to dream.
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If dreaming is an essential ingredient of getting a good night's sleep, then so too is a comfortable bed. I find that if I am trying to grab some sleep when in an uncomfortable position I sleep and wake in starts, tossing and turning all night long. The perfect example is trying to sleep on an aeroplane during a long haul flight. I always wake up feeling worse that if I hadn't slept at all. I love my bed, I love that feeling of sinking into the welcoming mattress and drifting into sleep, perchance to dream.