Poemander

Dreams are needed, they are specifically necessary for enhancing the collective archetype. Sleep deprivation is harmful on both individual and communal levels. However, the concern is not about the total or prescribed hours of sleep everyone should get; the recommended eight hours of sleep is a fallacy similar to the ubiquitous three meals a day diet. In many situations and certain stages of development the polyphasic sleeping pattern can be rather healthier, if health is the right word, than 'normal' night sleep. The concern is about the depth of dreaming and the ability to constantly bridging the gap between the 'dreaming' and the 'real' world. And while modern people increasingly giving up their 'dreaming' experiences in lieu of a prolonged 'real' world engagement, the gap widens. This gap distances further the creative powers of dream from the daily existence, thus, depriving the 'real' world of its nourishment and causing the shallowness in the everyday life. Dreaming must overflow into wakefulness and the 'reality' must sip through the dreams, recycling and renewing itself along the way. When people don't dream, the archetype has to borrow from the other dreamers. Hence don't be surprised observing the animal behavior in people.

It is not impossible to substantially reduce the hours of sleep for some extended periods of time, and this is precisely what will be achieved by biotechnology. However, one shall not loose the intensity and the depth of dreaming in order to do so without serious repercussions. Once you have blurred the gap between the dream and wakefulness, you can extend dreaming into 'reality', and you can also learn to remain wakeful inside the dream. Upon mastering this, one can remain awake and yet not loose the intensity of dreaming for days, weeks and even months.