Many would like to say that dreams don’t have a price; everyone is free to have them. Although the act of dreaming asleep or awake costs nothing, there are barriers* to dreaming that are intimately linked to socioeconomic status (SES). Where you come from, who you know, what you see, and what you feel you are capable of, play a huge part on your ability to dream and your ability to envision a prosperous future. Most dreams occur during Rapid Eye Movement sleep (REM) which begins around 70 minutes after falling asleep and recurs every 90-120 minutes. By that logic, someone who sleeps longer has a higher chance of dreaming, while those who sleep less hours have fewer REM cycles and forego those dreams. Could less REM sleep also correlate with less dreams (in the metaphorical sense) when we are awake?

In 2013, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention published a national poll revealing that poorer people get less sleep. The poll shows that those at or below the poverty line are much more likely to forego a full eight hours of sleep and actually sleep six or less. In a society that prides itself of squeezing every drop of productivity from its workforce, the logic should be that more active hours should equate higher income and vice versa. However, the numbers show an inverse correlation between income and waking hours.

You don’t always need to look at hard data to know why this might be true, simply keep up with Humans of New York to catch stories like that of this mother who works 95 hours per week,

Although she is well on her way to becoming a "Big Boss", in a fair world, a woman who works that hard should be making considerably more than minimum wage and shouldn't have to work three jobs.

Alternatively, simply recall your college days working a job while studying full-time and trying to remember what feeling rested*** felt like. For many of us, we would habitually say that napping was one of our hobbies. Arguably, still is.

Is lack of sleep causing poverty or is poverty causing a lack of sleep? I know that I lost many hours stressing over my finances whilst attending college, so much so that I opted to take a semester off. According to research conducted in the United States by Mona El-Sheikh, there is a link between socioeconomic status, academic achievement and brain development. So perhaps a lack of rest early on, can inhibit achievement in the long run. Her work primarily focuses on the effects of SES on sleep and the outcomes for children who live under stringent circumstances. Children from disadvantaged backgrounds face greater barriers to achievement than their peers: Consider stress factors in the home that are due to or further aggravated by the lack of resources, the decreased time for sleep or study if the child or young adult has to provide an additional income to the home, or even external cultural pressures like bullying or low expectations set by peers who equate poverty with failure. I was fortunate enough to not have to get a job before I went to college, but I very rarely saw my father because he was always working or… Trying to catch some rest. I knew that he had to work to care for us, so every thing he bought, every moment he spent with us, and every ride he gave me meant the world. In exchange, for most of my childhood in the United States** I never asked for new clothes and wore ill-fitting or torn pants. I was too polite to ask. As an adult, I have learned to ask for what I want, but a lot of people who grow up under similar or worse circumstances retain this hesitation. Not knowing how to ask has a direct correlation with less promotions, less risks, less developed relationships, and less opportunity.

(Key takeaways of El-Sheikh's research)

There’s a saying that goes, “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take,” and not asking means taking no shots. I was also fortunate enough that despite identifying as Latina, my peers saw me as Asian-American and the stereotypes (at least academically) were in my favor. People expected more from me, but my friends of Hispanic/Latino descent told me that when they were in high school they were discouraged from taking the more difficult courses by school counselors despite a stellar academic record thus far. Discrimination happens and we need to be aware that discrimination at any level, age, or institution is fundamentally wrong. It happens to children who fall asleep in class. Teachers don’t often understand what problems the children might be hiding at home so the easiest assumption is laziness or video games late at night. The truth, like most truths, can be more complex than that. Studies are impacted; performance in sports and hobbies declines; unhealthy relationships can develop; and prospects for the college track plummet.

Does going to college really make a large difference in income? Yes. Plain and simple, higher education is not only a place to develop your mode of thinking and to form an understanding of the global society we inhabit, but it is an express track to a large network of alumni and professionals willing to lend a hand. Lack of sleep at an early age (due to external factors) leads to a likelihood of struggle in academia and in turn struggles in the workforce only for the cycle to repeat itself. This is why we need a fair living wage, this is why we need to regulate compensation for executives in every sector (if they are doing little to support their employees), this is why we need to live in an even more generous welfare state because cycles are impossible to escape if you’re caught up in the whirlpool; only someone outside the scope of the systemic problems can drop a lifeline.

It’s not enough to tell someone to “try harder” or to change their habits. Those with privilege must empower those without. The goal is to change the environment for those who are simply trying to survive. We live in a world of excess in the hands of a few that could easily re-create realities for millions of people. However, not all of us are incredibly wealthy and the best we can do is what we must do. If you have the courage, don’t shy away from your dreams. If you have the influence, give someone that first chance. If you have an extra something, give it to those who need it most. If you have more data or understanding, teach someone something new. If you have a moment, talk to someone you don’t automatically agree with. If you have a smile, give it to someone who doesn’t. If you have a hug to give, give it freely you have many more to give. Inspire the world you want to live in and, if you can, get enough rest to do it all again tomorrow.

Sweet dreams.

Footnotes:
*Extensive research suggests that there is a link between race and socioeconomic outcomes, however the aim of this piece is to link sleep, cognitive development and wealth.
**I was incredibly spoiled in Argentina. We had a babysitter who cooked and cleaned for us, I took art and Kung Fu lessons, and I had an awesome piñata at every birthday party.
***BONUS: Follow this link to master your time.