Lack of sleep has been an issue of concern in the United States. It has been found that nearly half of the American population has difficulty sleeping. Research has indicated that the problem of sleep has reached worrying proportions (CNN.com, 1997). Sleep costs the country up to 150 billion dollars a year. Some people dismiss their lack of sleep arguing that their jobs need their attention. However, there is enough research to show that of sleep is not good for working (CNN.com, 1997). Heavy truck drivers cause many accidents through lack of sleep; 30-40% of accidents by the truck driver have been proven to be due to fatigue (CNN.com, 1997). Such causes can be prevented if the drivers would ensure that they get enough rest before starting their journey (CNN.com, 1997). They should stop to take a nap if they feel tired on the way. The problem can be dealt with if people get enough sleep. That can be done by having enough number of shifts hence workers get enough rest before reporting to work (CNN.com, 1997). Different stakeholders (including the government and the public health organizations) should come together to sensitize people on the importance of good sleep habits.
According to Sigmund Freud (as cited in Settanni, 1995), we can be able to interpret dreams only if we penetrate beneath the meaning. Like poetry, art, and literature, dreams make to a good number of people. Though dreams do not follow the rules of logic, they do make sense (Settanni, 1995). Everyone dreams during sleep, but not everyone can recall his or her dreams. In my case, I do not remember some of the things I dream about; additionally, some of the things I experience in my dreams are not vivid. People tend to remember their dreams mostly when they are anxious (Settanni, 1995). At times, people remember their dreams but some episodes are not fully clear. To other people, dreams can be very vivid to the extent that the one dreaming has difficulty understanding that he or she is not awake. Although there are arguments that dreams are random brain activities, I do not agree. In my case, dreams are somehow related to my life. That is why I agree with Freud that dreams are a source of wish fulfillment. Many times, I dream about the things that I wish to have. Probably, that occurs because dreams offer insight into one’s unconscious mind; therefore, it is possible to dream about the things that we wish for but cannot say them in real life because we are conscious about what we say (Razinsky, 2013).
References
CNN.com. (1997, March 17). Lack of sleep America's top health problem, doctors say. Retrieved February 2016, from cnn.com: http://edition.cnn.com/HEALTH/9703/17/nfm/sleep.deprivation/index.html
Razinsky, L. (2013). Freud, Psychoanalysis and Death. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Settanni, H. (1995). Essays in Psychology and Epistemology. Lanham: University Press of America.
