As you age, your sleep patterns change; so too will the time you spend dreaming and the subjects of your dreams. By their mid-forties, many people begin to go to bed a bit earlier than they used to and sleep becomes more fragmented due to naturally occurring biological changes. However, contrary to popular opinion, the need for sleep doesn’t decrease with age; the pattern of sleep may change but the need for it does not. Brain waves both in sleep and whilst awake change as you get older. The older you are, the more time you spend in the first two stages of sleep and the less time you spend in stages three and four. This means less REM sleep, and less REM sleep means that not only is your sleep less restorative but you have less time in which to dream. Because deep sleep decreases with age, it might be tempting to turn to over-the-counter sleep medications, but they can have undesired side effects.
If you are having serious problems sleeping, consult your doctor; but if you are simply more wakeful and restless in the night, the DIY perfect sleep and dreaming remedies on page xxiv of the Introduction should help you sleep and dream better.
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