A big part of being healthy and happy in this world is to make sure you're spending your workday doing something you enjoy. Even the best of dream jobs can be stressful and tiring at times, and so if you're like most people and aren't in your dream job then those tiring stressful days are only that much more common. If you're feeling overwhelmed with stress, unhappiness, or even simple boredom in your current work situation it may be worth considering taking a vacation into another vocation. Because stress, unhappiness, and boredom are not healthy.

Well one guy, while sitting in traffic one day on the way to his executive office job in the Midwest, thought pretty much that exact same thought one day -- and an idea was born.

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Martha covered this last night, and it's something dear to my heart -- preventing nightmares. Many of us have experienced nightmares of some type. Stress, fear (irrational or not) and other factors all can lead to nightmares. If you're tired of the unsettling these dreams cause, what can you do to curb them?

It's hard to say that the conscious mind has control over dream types, but according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine, there are things you can do to stop or greatly reduce the number of bad dreams you have. Oddly enough, many of these are simple steps -- nothing out of the ordinary here.

It's one of the best things you can do for yourself if you have nightmares -- confront the problem and deal with it without using prescription drugs or other potential semi-solutions. If you have regular nightmares, it's up to you to use a root cause approach and delete them from everyday life.

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Sleep is a wondrous thing -- our bodies get to rest and recharge chemically (from a biological standpoint), while our mind sorts out the junk from the day and catalogs some things while throwing other things in the trash for disposal later.

It's been said that we remember everything, every day -- and our brain files away all that data for later recollection (or not). The science of sleep was renewed in that vein recently by Dr. Ross Levin, who looked at why long-ago memories could be brought back into people's dreams when triggered by different types of trauma.

This is common in war veterans, many of which can lead normal lives until a traumatic even spurs old memories and some kind of downward spiral happens as a result.

Can therapy help those who have sleep disorders or constant nightmares as a result? Dr. Levin thinks so, and for those who have crippling sleep episodes, proper treatment can be the only alternative.

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I think we'd all like to be able to control and "direct" our dreams, especially the fun ones where we're flying or have just won the lottery. Very few people ever get to experience what's called a "lucid dream," but there are some out there who claim it's a skill that can be taught. Although there is some debate on whether people can just interact and change the course of a current dream or if they can custom-design a dream from the ground up, retreats and courses are available across the country for those who want to give it a try. And the phenomenon is even hitting Hollywood, with several hit movies having been inspired by lucid dreams.

I think lucid dreaming is possible, although I'm not so sure about taking courses or classes to learn how. And to me part of what makes a dream a dream is the fact that you can't control it.

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Other than a fleeting image here and there when I first wake up, I rarely remember my dreams. It's too bad, really... they may be more exciting than I realized. University of Montreal researchers recently conducted a sleep study with 109 women and 64 men. Each study participant submitted journals of their dreams. All in all, both men and women dream about sexual encounters about 8% of the time.

While the amount of randy dreams may be the same, there was a distinct difference in content. Women were twice as likely to dream about sex with public figures and more women dreamed about sex with previous or current partners. Men leaned toward the adventurous side and were more likely to dream about multiple partners or sex in public places.

A similar study was conducted 40 years ago. At that time, women reported significantly fewer sex dreams than men. Researchers at the time assumed that meant women didn't fantasize about sex as much.

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Ever have a food dream? I do all the time, and I always wake up absolutely starving, which means I just have to sneak in the kitchen and get some sort of snack to help me go back to sleep. I dream of beef, which is a bit odd because I'm not particularly crazy about beef when awake. I also dream of cake, lobster dripping in garlic butter, cheese, and pretty much anything else that is either too expensive or too rich to eat on a regular basis. Funny, I never dream of salad.

eDiets dissects your food dreams in this article, and tells you what your mind is trying to tell you. For me, I think my dreams are my body's way of telling me that it's craving these things. Luckily, it's pretty hard to find cake in my fridge in the middle of the night (or any other time too) so I satisfy my midnight stomach rumbling with some dry cereal or a hot cup of milk.

What do you dream of?

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I'm not really sure that I buy the idea that someone can "interpret" another person's dream, or that there are common dream symbols. After all, we all have our own unique perspectives. For instance, I love dogs. So when I dream about a dog, the interpretation would likely be very different from a person who's has dog-infused nightmares.

Nevertheless, I found this article on the five most common dreams interesting. The idea behind the article is that we should pay attention to our dreams, because they usually tell us something about our waking lives. For example, if you've been avoiding a necessary conversation or are avoiding responsibility, or if you're depressed, you may dream that you are falling. And if you dream that your teeth are falling out, it may be that you've been gossiping just a little too often. By paying attention to themes in your dreams, you may be able to solve conflicts in your daily life.

Want to keep track of your dreams? Dream experts say you should write them down immediately upon waking (they're stored in the same part of your brain as short-term memory) and try to figure out what the main conflict is. Finally, give your dream it's own movie title to help you decipher just what your subconscious is trying to tell you.

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At some point or another you were probably told to stop daydreaming and focus: stop wasting your time. I mean, how easy is it to get wrapped up in your own personal world of thoughts and dreams? What you may not be aware of, however, is that not only does daydreaming take up almost half our day, but it is also highly beneficial!

In those quiet moments of our minds, we can effectively sort out problems or relieve stress. The stimulation we get from drifting out can refresh the imagination and clear your head. In fact, daydreaming can achieve four important things. One activity is relaxation: nothing puts a smile on your face like imagining yourself on a remote beach sipping on a coconut.

Dreaming also gets rid of fear and anxiety. One of the most important things I've heard concerning bad emotions which have taken place in the past is just to have a short memory. Focus on the present and dream about the future: it helps! Dealing with conflict is another aspect of everyday life that daydreaming can help with. Relationships depend on this sort of thing according to psychologists. Read on for more information about the benefits of daydreaming.

[Thanks, Liz!]

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