How to Use Sleep to Help Accomplish Your Dreams

Everyone knows that to work effectively, you need your sleep. But did you also know that you actually work while sleeping? Your brain is always on, even at night. So why not take advantage of that downtime and help your brain work for you while you rest? The Reticular Activating System (RAS) is the part of your brain that regulates the shift between sleep and wakefulness and plays an important role in dreaming—and so much more. Located in the brain stem, this set of nerve pathways acts as a portal between the conscious and subconscious mind. It filters information as it comes to us by what requires attention and what can be ignored. Most importantly, it can help you achieve your goals if you feed it the right information. What does feeding this part of your brain look like? It differs for each person, but it may involve repeating affirming messages to ourselves, visualizing a clear, focused picture of meeting our goal, and setting up accountability and support so your dreams are not forgotten. On the flip side, it means replacing negative thoughts that could otherwise get a foothold in our consciousness. These steps help the RAS pass the goal on to our subconscious by filtering for information that’s relevant, and ultimately, achieve that which your heart desires. While programming your subconscious mind may sound a little hokey, it may just help you achieve your dreams. Why not try putting your RAS to work for you by turning off or skipping the late night news and instead read or write out affirmations, envision a dream come to reality, and give yourself time to be thankful. In fact, a study published in Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being shows that spending just 15 minutes to note a few grateful sentiments improves sleep. Getting a good night’s sleep improves your health and can help enhance our decision-making abilities, as our brains are able to work for us while we’re sleeping. Use the powerful tool known as sleep to your advantage: get enough of it, and provide good food for thought to make sure it’s good quality sleep. Your RAS will thank you and you may be surprised by the results.