1. How much sleep should I be getting?
People do vary in how much sleep they need to function effectively in their lives. Nonetheless, an increasing number of sleep researchers are coming to the conclusion that 8-9 hours of sleep a night is needed for most people to competently perform the tasks in their daily regimen.

2. I can't seem to sleep well through the night? What should I do about this?
Check out the following: reduce stress, exercise regularly (but not before you go to bed), become a good time manager (so you have enough time for 8-9 hours of sleep), stop smoking, reduce caffeine intake, avoid alcohol (especially close to bedtime), clear your mind at bedtime, and learn to value sleep. If necessary, contact the health service at your college or university for advice about this type of sleep problem or others.

3. Can people's dreams be interpreted for insight about their personal problems?
Psychoanalytic theorists believe that highly trained analysts can do this. However, there are different theories about why people dream and what the function of dreams is. For example, in the activation-synthesis view, dreams reflect the brain's efforts to make sense out of the neural activity that takes place in sleep. In this view, interpreting dreams for insight about an individual's personal problems would not be productive.

4. I saw a hypnotist once when he came and did a show at my college. I thought the people he hypnotizes were merely part of the act, but some of them I knew and they said afterwards that indeed they had been hypnotized. Were they just kidding me or is there likely a truth to their claims?
About 10-20 percent of the population is very susceptible to hypnosis, a psychological state in which the individual is in an altered state of awareness and unusually receptive to suggestions. So your friends probably weren't kidding you, even though you may not be as susceptible to hypnosis as they were. People who are the most susceptible to hypnosis often have a tendency to become completely absorbed in what they are doing.