One of my favorite things to do is to doze in the morning until I’m fully awake. It can sometimes take hours as I lay in an alpha state, dreaming of intense things while thinking any minute I’ll get up, only to turn on my side with a sleepy smile to sink deeper into my reverie.

I recently asked a Japanese executive what he liked to do in his spare time.

“Sleep,” he said without skipping a beat.

He works too much and plays too little. My guess is he probably hasn’t remembered a single dream in years.

Dreams are life-sustaining, not only because they help warehouse all our subconscious thoughts, but also because they provide us with a feeling of hope that things could be different than they seem, starting first with a dream that may later turn into reality.

You can’t dream if you don’t sleep. Most people don’t get enough shut-eye, which can actually shorten your life.

Go slow. Doze more. Worry less. Make time for dreams. They are not only magical. They are restorative too.