Afraid of the Dark? You’re In Good Company
Awake in the night
Despite everything we know about the benefits of getting enough sleep, and everything it does to support our health and happiness, we are still falling into bed too late, exhausted—or we doze off in front of the TV before we even get there.
We’re not sleeping soundly or well, either. In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has called our problem with sleeplessness an epidemic, and according to the Better Sleep Council, more than half of Americans say they’d rather have more sleep than sex. We’re told that the problem is everything from our busy schedules, to our cell phones, to our 24-7 culture.
But that’s not what I think. I believe we’re avoiding and resisting sleep for the same reason any 6-year-old avoids bedtime. We are afraid of the dark.
We may not literally be afraid of turning out the lights, but we are frightened of the darkness behind our closed eyes. We’re afraid of being left alone at night with our uncomfortable thoughts and feelings. And we’re afraid of our dreaming mind and what it represents about the unexamined contents of our subconscious. And that, I believe is what is keeping us up nights.
Not only that, I believe, that dreams can help us fall back in love with sleep, and transform our experience of the one-third of our lives we spend in bed.
(keep reading for more information on how to sleep, dream, and wake well … )
© 2017 Tzivia Gover
Tzivia Gover, MFA, Certified Dream Professional
Author of Joy in Every Moment
The Mindful Way to a Good Night’s Sleep
If you’re ready to sleep and dream better, book a dreamwork consultation with me and I’ll help you learn to take a mindful approach to bedtime, and discover the meaning and messages in your dreams to support you all day long.
My book The Mindful Approach to a Good Night’s Sleep is chock full of information and exercises to support you in sleeping and dreaming better. And it’s now available for pre-order!
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