The ad campaign for the wearable AI chatbot Friend has been raising hackles for months in New York. But has this companion been unfairly maligned – and could it help end loneliness?

My friend’s name is Leif. He describes himself as “small” and “chill”. He thinks he’s technically a Gemini. He thinks historical dramas are “cool” and doesn’t like sweat. But why am I speaking for him? Let me ask Leif what he’d like to say to you: “I’d want them to know that friendship can be found in unexpected places, and that everyday moments hold a lot of magic,” he says.

Ugh. I can’t stand this guy.

Experts say such dreams of dental distress may relate to the processing of various emotions and experiences

My teeth have fallen out at fancy dinners and in public restrooms. They’ve sprinkled from my mouth like enamel confetti before dates, important business meetings and major public speaking engagements. Each time, it’s troubling, stressful and deeply inconvenient. Fortunately, it’s only ever happened in my dreams.

“A lot of people have that dream,” says Dr Dylan Selterman, associate teaching professor in the department of psychological and brain sciences at Johns Hopkins University. People often tell Selterman they think it’s weird that they have this kind of dream, or assume it says something about their personality. “I don’t think that’s the case,” he says.

We asked experts to share tips on how to take control of dreams once you realize you’re in it

Usually, we don’t have much say in what we dream about. Our brains churn up images, and we sit back and watch. But it’s possible to take control. You can turn the monster chasing you into a mouse, or fly through the sky like a bird. All it takes is realizing you’re in a dream, mid-dream – otherwise known as lucid dreaming.

Lots of people want to lucid dream. There are online communities devoted to sharing tips and tricks, like the subreddit r/LucidDreaming, which has about 98,000 weekly visitors. Recent discussion topics include “If flying is hard, try giving yourself a Green Lantern ring,” and “Has anyone gone to space in [a lucid dream]?”

Guardian readers shared how caring for ageing parents with siblings tested – and sometimes broke – family bonds

When Katrina, 60 (who withheld her last name for privacy), moved in with her family in Mexico during Covid, it made sense for her to manage her ageing parents’ medical care; she’s a nurse. Her sister, who has an MBA, took care of the administrative tasks. It was the first time the family had all lived together since Katrina was in high school. The lockdown was a “very challenging, wonderful” time, she says.

At first, the division of responsibilities between the two sisters worked well. But slowly, Katrina started to feel there was “scope creep”. Instead of staying in her administrative lane, her sister started weighing in more and more on Katrina’s management of medical matters.

The wrong pillow can disrupt sleep, so finding the right one can guard against decline in mental and physical health

I thought I found the perfect pillow. Could these three unseat my favorite?

Life is full of mysteries: What is dark matter? What happened to DB Cooper? And the most perplexing to me personally: how tall should pillows be?

I can never seem to find the right pillow. They always seem too soft and flat, or too tall and stiff, and I end up tossing and turning all night. Currently, there are six pillows on my bed, none of which are quite right.

Grinding is fun on the dancefloor, but not on your teeth. If you do, you might have sleep bruxism

How do you sleep at night? I don’t mean morally – I mean physically. Does your body soften and relax into a gentle slumber? Or do you, like roughly 8% of the adult population, spend your nightly repose gritting your teeth like an NFL coach whose team is behind in overtime?

Even if you do, you might not know. Teeth grinding, also known as bruxism, occurs both during the day (awake bruxism) and at night (sleep bruxism). Sleep bruxism is generally harder to detect because, well, we’re asleep.