Human Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! === Sleep and dreaming === {{Main|Sleep|Dream}} Humans are generally [[Diurnality|diurnal]]. The average sleep requirement is between seven and nine hours per day for an adult and nine to ten hours per day for a child; elderly people usually sleep for six to seven hours. Having less sleep than this is common among humans, even though [[sleep deprivation]] can have negative health effects. A sustained restriction of adult sleep to four hours per day has been shown to correlate with changes in physiology and mental state, including reduced memory, fatigue, aggression, and bodily discomfort.<ref name=Grandner2010>{{cite journal | vauthors = Grandner MA, Patel NP, Gehrman PR, Perlis ML, Pack AI | title = Problems associated with short sleep: bridging the gap between laboratory and epidemiological studies | journal = Sleep Medicine Reviews | volume = 14 | issue = 4 | pages = 239β247 | date = August 2010 | pmid = 19896872 | pmc = 2888649 | doi = 10.1016/j.smrv.2009.08.001 }}</ref><!--cites previous two sentences--> During sleep humans dream, where they experience sensory images and sounds. Dreaming is stimulated by the [[pons]] and mostly occurs during the [[REM phase of sleep]].<ref>{{cite web| vauthors = Ann L |date=27 January 2005|title=HowStuffWorks "Dreams: Stages of Sleep"|url=https://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/life/human-biology/dream2.htm|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120515212353/https://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/life/human-biology/dream2.htm|archive-date=15 May 2012|access-date=11 August 2012|publisher=Science.howstuffworks.com}}</ref> The length of a dream can vary, from a few seconds up to 30 minutes.<ref name=Hobson>{{cite journal | vauthors = Hobson JA | title = REM sleep and dreaming: towards a theory of protoconsciousness | journal = Nature Reviews. Neuroscience | volume = 10 | issue = 11 | pages = 803β813 | date = November 2009 | pmid = 19794431 | doi = 10.1038/nrn2716 | s2cid = 205505278 }}</ref> Humans have three to five dreams per night, and some may have up to seven.<ref>{{cite book | vauthors = Empson J | date = 2002 | title = Sleep and dreaming | edition = 3rd | location = New York | publisher = Palgrave/St. Martin's Press }}</ref> Dreamers are more likely to remember the dream if awakened during the REM phase. The events in dreams are generally outside the control of the dreamer, with the exception of [[lucid dream]]ing, where the dreamer is [[self-aware]].<ref>{{cite web| vauthors = Lite J |date=29 July 2010|title=How Can You Control Your Dreams?|url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-to-control-dreams/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150202070145/https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-to-control-dreams/|archive-date=2 February 2015|website=Scientific America}}</ref> Dreams can at times make a [[Creativity|creative]] thought occur or give a sense of [[Artistic inspiration|inspiration]].<ref>{{cite book | vauthors = Domhoff W | date = 2002 | title = The scientific study of dreams | publisher = APA Press }}</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page