My fiance and I have incorporated this new strategy in our sleep habits - since we work at home and often have to deal with six hours difference in time zones when traveling. We have decided to have the token sleep in card that we can only use once throughout the week. The other days we get up at the appropriate time, resuming regular work hours. Well, regular for us anyway. This has proven so far to help.

I have noticed that, as a couple, we tend to get sick at the same time also. Always within days of each other. The same symptoms, mostly congestion with a dry cough. We have decided to turn off the heat because we both sleep better when it is cooler. The heat seems to make the air too dry in the bedroom. No one sleeps well with a stuffy nose and dry cough interfering with the body’s natural healing process. When sleeping, the body repairs itself.

Of course there are other issues that causes us to be sleep deprived. Eating too late, drinking too much, and not having your head elevated with a good pillow. These are just a few things that interfere with your sleep. Stress is also one major zapper for restlessness. Maybe the workload is too much, or you have a fear building up tension.

There are several articles on sleep deprivation, REM and NREM that you may find interesting. But read on first.

Do You Know Sleep Deprivation?

NREM (Non-Rapid Eye Movement) has four states where there is little dreaming. The first two states are considered light sleep and the third and forth deep sleep.

I always like to find out information and compare to my own experiences. Like I didn’t realize that men usually dream about other men the majority the time, where women dream equally of both sexes.

Ten percent of our dreams are sexual. Now I’m not so sure I agree with this only being ten percent. I have several in the course of my sleep that I do remember vividly. They say that if you awake from REM sleep, you are more likely to remember your dreams more vividly. Ironically, the effects of dreams on us are not limited to only the sexual ones; other dreams that can have a lasting psychological effect on you can consist of faces you have seen before but you might not recognize, or places, events and fears.

The studies are astounding when you think about how your brain sends signals to the eyes and other parts of the body to promote sleep, but the brain actually is still awake while you sleep - while the rest of your body is in a paralyzed state.

Theories vary, but the bottom line is: do we actually dream in both states? REM and NREM? I say, yes we do. It has been my experience to wake up after I heard the phone ring in a dream, expecting my fiance to call me. This has happened on a couple occasions when he has been in Europe. Obviously I was not sleeping well. Recently, he woke me up with a call and I reacted to it by saying I have to check to see if I’m awake. Is this a dream? He knew about me hearing the phone ring once in the middle of the night, waking me, and assured me it was him and I was half asleep.

Why did this happen? I was anticipating his morning call. Eager to hear from him, I was not in a full deep sleep. I don’t remember what I was dreaming prior to hearing my phone ring, but I do remember it has happened at least twice.

Some people remember dreams and others (like my fiance) don’t. But the truth is, most of us dream - unless there is a neurological problem why we don’t. Dreaming may occur while we are sleeping, be it before the Rapid Eye Movement or while we are in a semi-awake state, or in another realm such as deep sleep.

I have often heard that if you remember your dreams, you were not sleeping well. I don’t agree with this. Like I said above, I have remembered my dreams on several occasions, and find I feel wonderful and rested. I do agree that a lack of sleep creates mental and physical fatigue, which also effects our immune system and metabolism.

So about that sleep in card - it does work.

I’m sure most of you would say we should consider changing our work habits to obtain a healthier sleep pattern. Limit the working hours, have dinner at the same time every day and get to bed by 10 or 11 PM. Honestly not all of us can do that.

My fiance is a perfect example.

He busts his ass several hours of the day, but when all of a sudden his creative flow surfaces, the spontaneity is mind boggling. It is a no win situation that I wouldn’t want to change because he gets such a huge adrenaline rush. Whenever he truly becomes inspired, it can keep him up hours until he feels the physical need to put his work away for the day.

Now this is only part of his work, but for him the most enjoyable. Working to achieve all his tasks can take several hours working long into the evening, sacrificing his sleep. But, he is not alone. I have a few artist and photographer friends, as well as musician friends, that find creativity happens usually not in the so-called “normal work day”, but during the evening or very early morning - and they are sleeping during the day because when the idea comes to them, they have the urge to run with it before they loose their train of thought.

What can I say, we are keeping the token sleep in card for now.