one of the scenes that definitely captures the films magic, when the much hated Percy Wetmore kills Delacroix's mouse and John Coffee uses his God given miracle powers to bring him back to life. 'Just after this scene Wetmore tells Delacroix that mouseville doesn't exist right before he's executed getting the whole audience to hate Percy Wetmore. It's the only time my Gran has ever sworn at the telly.
Wednesday, 22 September 2010
Trailer for the green mile
I don't think the trailer really expresses the power that this film has on a person, but still its quite an emotional trailer.
Tuesday, 21 September 2010
The Green Mile
The movie begins with an old man named Paul Edgecomb (Dabbs Greer) in a retirement center. He takes two pieces of dry toast from an orderly, who mentions Paul's habit for taking walks outside the ground. The orderly is worried about Paul, but allows him to continue with his daily routine.
Paul and several other residents are watching TV when an old movie with Fred Astaire dancing to the song "Heaven" is on. Paul sees it and walks away, followed by his friend Elaine (Eve Brent). Elaine realizes that the movie has awakened some powerful memories for Paul, and asks about it. Paul tells Elaine his story: that he was a prison guard during the Depression, in charge of Death Row, informally called "The Green Mile," because of its green tile floor. Paul's most powerful memory of this time took place in 1935....
The story then flashes back to the 1930's at the State Prison, where a young Paul (now played by Tom Hanks) is suffering from a urinary infection. Some of the other guards- Brutus "Brutal" Howell (David Morse), Dean Stanton (Barry Pepper) and Harry Terwilliger (Jeffery DuMunn) bring in a new inmate. His name is John Coffey (Michael Clarke Duncan) "like the drink, only not spelled the same." He is a gigantic muscular man, but when Paul talks to John they find that he has the mindset of a small child- very meek and apparently scared of the dark.
When John is brought in, another guard named Percy Wetmore (Doug Hutchison) is sent off Death Row to attend to work elsewhere. Percy is not happy about this, and in frustration he lashes out at another inmate named Eduard Delecroix (Michael Jeter), breaking Del's fingers. Paul is given a copy of John Coffey's records and finds that he was sent to Death Row after being convicted for the murder (and implied rape) of two small girls. John Coffey does not mention his crime, only stating that he "tried to take it back, but it was too late."
Later on, Paul is outside when he is met by Warden Hal Moores (James Cromwell). Hal gives Paul the execution papers for an inmate named Bitterbuck, and has a conversation with him about the young guard named Percy. It's revealed that Percy is the nephew of the governor's wife, and his powerful political connections are what got him hired- and keep him in the job, because Percy is apparently "stupid and mean" according to the other guards. Paul finds out that Percy has put in to be an administrator at a mental hospital, which would mean better pay and better hours. Paul theorizes that Percy wants to witness an execution up close before moving onto a new job. Warden Moores also mentions that his wife, Melinda, is not well she suffers from bad headaches and must have an X-Ray in order to find the source of the problem. That night, Paul meets with his wife Jan (Bonnie Hunt) and discusses the problem with Hal's wife.
Next day, Brutus spots a mouse in the cell block. They watch it run into a small room in the corner, which turns out to be a padded room for dangerous inmates but is currently used for storage. The guards check everything in the room but do not find the mouse. A few hours later, Percy spots the mouse and goes into a fury trying to kill it. Paul berates Percy for scaring the inmates in his pursuit of the mouse. Percy doesn't care, thinking the inmates are contemptible. Paul feels differently, believing that under enough strain the inmates would "snap" and cause serious problems. Brutus grabs Percy, but Percy threatens to use his connections to get the others fired if they hurt him.
We then see Paul and the others doing a rehearsal for the next execution, with the prison's elderly janitor, Toot-Toot (Harry Dean Stanton) helping them. Paul instructs Percy to watch and learn while the others prep the electric chair. That night, the execution of inmate Arlen Bitterbuck is carried out. Afterward, Paul confronts Percy about his new job opportunity. Percy reveals that he wants to "be out front" (meaning placed in charge of an inmate's execution) before he leaves.
Next day, the inmate named Del has found the mouse again, named it "Mr. Jingles" and is trying to tame it. The mouse is able to fetch a spool of thread as a trick. The other guards allow Del to keep Mr. Jingles as a pet.
Paul meets with Warden Hal again, getting word of a new inmate coming in, a man named William Wharton who killed three people in a holdup. Hal is almost in tears; the doctors have told him that his wife Melinda has a tumor the size of a lemon in her brain, virtually inoperable and eventually fatal. That night, Paul suffers from his urinary infection even more; he is almost in constant pain.
Paul intends to see the doctor next day after the new inmate is brought in. Percy and Harry go to retrieve Wharton from a hospital, where he is in an apparent trance presumably from medication. As soon as Wharton gets inside, he springs to life, attacking the guards and kneeing Paul in the groin. Dean is nearly strangled before anyone can get Wharton under control. When the others go to report what has happened, John Coffey asks to speak with Paul. When Paul approaches John's cell, John grabs Paul and puts his hand over Paul groin. John holds on for several seconds, until the lights flare brightly. John then lets go, coughing and gasping until he releases a cloud of gnat-like spores from his mouth. Paul asks what happened, but John can only say that "I helped." Later when Paul visits the washroom, he feels no pain at all. John Coffey's act has healed his infection.
The next morning, Paul goes into town to see John Coffey's public defender, Burt Hammersmith (Gary Sinise) who preceded over John's trial. Burt is absolutely convinced of Coffey's guilt. Back at the prison, Paul presents John with a loaf of cornbread baked by his wife, as a thanks for Coffey's "help". Coffey shares the cornbread with Del & Mr. Jingles, but does not give any to Wharton. This enrages Wharton, who takes his fury out on the guards, urinating on Harry. The guards use a fire hose to catch Wharton off guard, then wrap him up in a straitjacket and send him to the padded room. When Wharton spits on them later, he is sent to the room again.
The rehearsal for Eduard Delecroix's execution takes place the next day. Paul has decided to put Percy in charge, in the hope that he will finally leave the prison right afterward. When Percy walks by the cells later, he is grabbed by Wharton. Percy wets himself in terror, and threatens the men to never mention this. Paul states that "what happens on the Mile, stays on the Mile." They will not say anything about what happened. Del, however, delights in Percy being humiliated.
Later on, Mr. Jingles runs across the room between cells. Percy walks up and stomps on the mouse, coldly uncaring about what he has done leaving Del screaming in shock. John Coffey asks for the mouse, so Paul picks it up and hands it to John. The other guards watch in shock, awe, and possibly horror as light shines from John's hands. John coughs, releases another cloud of spores, and Mr. Jingles runs across the room- good as new.
Percy, seeing that the mouse is uninjured, is furious- thinking the guards have set out to make a fool out of him. Paul confronts Percy and gives him an ultimatum- Percy will transfer out immediately after Delecroix's execution, or the others will go public about Percy's record of mistreatment of the prisoners and his behavior on the Mile. Percy agrees.
Just before he "walks the Mile" to the electric chair, Del gives Mr. Jingles to Paul knowing that he will be taken care of. When Paul points out that he cannot have a mouse sitting on his shoulder during an execution, John Coffey volunteers to take care of Mr. Jingles.
Percy sets everything up for Del's execution, with one small exception- he does not properly soak the sponge required for proper electric conduction, wanting to punish Del one more time. As a result, the execution is excruciating for Del and the entire horrified audience- he rolls in pain, screaming and even catches fire before finally dying.
The guards confront Percy, but Paul tells them that Percy isn't worth fighting over and that he will still honor their agreement to leave.
Paul and his wife go to visit Hal and Melinda the next day. Hal reveals that Melinda is rapidly falling apart, she is losing her memory and experiencing severe behavior changes including uncontrollable cursing. Paul invites the other guards (minus Percy) to dinner later and discusses John Coffey's acts of healing both him and Mr. Jingles. Paul states that he wants to sneak John Coffey out to try and heal Melinda. The others are very skeptical, pointing out that Coffey is a convicted murderer, and it would be disastrous if they are found or if he escapes. Paul puts forth his belief that Coffey is innocent; Paul "does not see God putting a gift like that in the hands of a man who would kill a child."
The next day, they carry out the plan- Paul drugs Wharton so he will not see them leaving, then the others gag Percy and put him in the padded room as supposed "retribution" for Eduard Delecroix. They open up John Coffey's cell, and he is excited at the prospect of going for a ride outside and also seems to already know what they want him to do . John agrees to try and help Melinda. Wharton grabs Coffey as they head out, and John is apparently horrified by what he sees when touching Wharton.
They arrive at Hal's home, and Hal threatens them with a shotgun. Paul talks him down while Coffey goes upstairs to meet Melinda. John gets very close to Melinda's face and something comes out of her mouth and into his, making the light in the room shine intensely. John breaks the connection with her, falling down coughing. Melinda sits up, looking much healthier and having no memory of anything that happened before her X-Ray. Hal collapses, weeping at his wife's restoration. John continues to cough, unable to release the "spores" like before. Melinda gives Coffey a pendant with the mark of St. Christopher-the healer- as a present.
John returns to the prison, still very ill from the encounter. Percy is released, apparently keeping silent but the others still fear that he might talk. John grabs Percy, releasing the spores directly into Percy's mouth. Percy, in a daze, walks over to Wharton's cell and empties his revolver into Wharton's chest. The others seize Percy, who leans back and coughs up the remaining black spores. Upon examination, Percy appears to be catatonic. He is eventually sent to a mental hospital (ironically the same place where he was supposed to be an administrator) for presumably the rest of his life.
Coffey repeats that Wharton and Percy were "bad men," and places his hand on Paul. Paul sees that Wharton was responsible for the murder John Coffey was convicted for. Now that he knows Coffey is innocent, Paul is unsure how to proceed. He talks to his wife that night and he suggests talking to John about it. He even asks Coffey if they should just "let him go." Coffey does not want to escape; he reveals that in addition to healing he can also feel the pain of all others around him and does not wish to continue with such pain in the world. Paul offers John a last request; Coffey states that he has always wanted to see a "flicker show" (a motion picture). They bring in a movie projector with the film "Top Hat," the same movie that the elderly Paul was watching at the beginning of the movie, which is what triggered Paul's memories particularly when Fred Astaire is dancing to "Heaven" and John watches in awe saying "they like angels!"
That night, John Coffey is put to death as the guards watch on in tears. The elderly Paul's voice cuts in and states that he left The Green Mile soon after, unable to carry on after seeing John Coffey die. He and some of the others transferred to a youth corrections' facility.
Elaine admits that Paul's tale is "quite a story," and does not apparently believe it. She also points out that Paul mentioned his son being grown up in 1935, which means he should be much older than he appears.
Paul takes Elaine on a walk, and they come to a cabin in the woods. There is a mouse sleeping in a small box; Elaine is shocked to meet Mr. Jingles- Paul found the mouse again after Coffey's execution and has kept him ever since. Paul states that he is now 108 years old, and that he believes John Coffey "infected him [and Mr. Jingles] with life." Paul feels that this is his punishment for killing a genuine miracle of God- he must stay alive and watch everyone he cares about, including friends like Elaine, grow old and die before his own death.
Later, Paul is seen at Elaine's funeral, quietly wondering just how much longer he has to go. "We each owe a debt," he states, "There are no exceptions. But oh God, sometimes The Green Mile seems so long."
Paul and several other residents are watching TV when an old movie with Fred Astaire dancing to the song "Heaven" is on. Paul sees it and walks away, followed by his friend Elaine (Eve Brent). Elaine realizes that the movie has awakened some powerful memories for Paul, and asks about it. Paul tells Elaine his story: that he was a prison guard during the Depression, in charge of Death Row, informally called "The Green Mile," because of its green tile floor. Paul's most powerful memory of this time took place in 1935....
The story then flashes back to the 1930's at the State Prison, where a young Paul (now played by Tom Hanks) is suffering from a urinary infection. Some of the other guards- Brutus "Brutal" Howell (David Morse), Dean Stanton (Barry Pepper) and Harry Terwilliger (Jeffery DuMunn) bring in a new inmate. His name is John Coffey (Michael Clarke Duncan) "like the drink, only not spelled the same." He is a gigantic muscular man, but when Paul talks to John they find that he has the mindset of a small child- very meek and apparently scared of the dark.
When John is brought in, another guard named Percy Wetmore (Doug Hutchison) is sent off Death Row to attend to work elsewhere. Percy is not happy about this, and in frustration he lashes out at another inmate named Eduard Delecroix (Michael Jeter), breaking Del's fingers. Paul is given a copy of John Coffey's records and finds that he was sent to Death Row after being convicted for the murder (and implied rape) of two small girls. John Coffey does not mention his crime, only stating that he "tried to take it back, but it was too late."
Later on, Paul is outside when he is met by Warden Hal Moores (James Cromwell). Hal gives Paul the execution papers for an inmate named Bitterbuck, and has a conversation with him about the young guard named Percy. It's revealed that Percy is the nephew of the governor's wife, and his powerful political connections are what got him hired- and keep him in the job, because Percy is apparently "stupid and mean" according to the other guards. Paul finds out that Percy has put in to be an administrator at a mental hospital, which would mean better pay and better hours. Paul theorizes that Percy wants to witness an execution up close before moving onto a new job. Warden Moores also mentions that his wife, Melinda, is not well she suffers from bad headaches and must have an X-Ray in order to find the source of the problem. That night, Paul meets with his wife Jan (Bonnie Hunt) and discusses the problem with Hal's wife.
Next day, Brutus spots a mouse in the cell block. They watch it run into a small room in the corner, which turns out to be a padded room for dangerous inmates but is currently used for storage. The guards check everything in the room but do not find the mouse. A few hours later, Percy spots the mouse and goes into a fury trying to kill it. Paul berates Percy for scaring the inmates in his pursuit of the mouse. Percy doesn't care, thinking the inmates are contemptible. Paul feels differently, believing that under enough strain the inmates would "snap" and cause serious problems. Brutus grabs Percy, but Percy threatens to use his connections to get the others fired if they hurt him.
We then see Paul and the others doing a rehearsal for the next execution, with the prison's elderly janitor, Toot-Toot (Harry Dean Stanton) helping them. Paul instructs Percy to watch and learn while the others prep the electric chair. That night, the execution of inmate Arlen Bitterbuck is carried out. Afterward, Paul confronts Percy about his new job opportunity. Percy reveals that he wants to "be out front" (meaning placed in charge of an inmate's execution) before he leaves.
Next day, the inmate named Del has found the mouse again, named it "Mr. Jingles" and is trying to tame it. The mouse is able to fetch a spool of thread as a trick. The other guards allow Del to keep Mr. Jingles as a pet.
Paul meets with Warden Hal again, getting word of a new inmate coming in, a man named William Wharton who killed three people in a holdup. Hal is almost in tears; the doctors have told him that his wife Melinda has a tumor the size of a lemon in her brain, virtually inoperable and eventually fatal. That night, Paul suffers from his urinary infection even more; he is almost in constant pain.
Paul intends to see the doctor next day after the new inmate is brought in. Percy and Harry go to retrieve Wharton from a hospital, where he is in an apparent trance presumably from medication. As soon as Wharton gets inside, he springs to life, attacking the guards and kneeing Paul in the groin. Dean is nearly strangled before anyone can get Wharton under control. When the others go to report what has happened, John Coffey asks to speak with Paul. When Paul approaches John's cell, John grabs Paul and puts his hand over Paul groin. John holds on for several seconds, until the lights flare brightly. John then lets go, coughing and gasping until he releases a cloud of gnat-like spores from his mouth. Paul asks what happened, but John can only say that "I helped." Later when Paul visits the washroom, he feels no pain at all. John Coffey's act has healed his infection.
The next morning, Paul goes into town to see John Coffey's public defender, Burt Hammersmith (Gary Sinise) who preceded over John's trial. Burt is absolutely convinced of Coffey's guilt. Back at the prison, Paul presents John with a loaf of cornbread baked by his wife, as a thanks for Coffey's "help". Coffey shares the cornbread with Del & Mr. Jingles, but does not give any to Wharton. This enrages Wharton, who takes his fury out on the guards, urinating on Harry. The guards use a fire hose to catch Wharton off guard, then wrap him up in a straitjacket and send him to the padded room. When Wharton spits on them later, he is sent to the room again.
The rehearsal for Eduard Delecroix's execution takes place the next day. Paul has decided to put Percy in charge, in the hope that he will finally leave the prison right afterward. When Percy walks by the cells later, he is grabbed by Wharton. Percy wets himself in terror, and threatens the men to never mention this. Paul states that "what happens on the Mile, stays on the Mile." They will not say anything about what happened. Del, however, delights in Percy being humiliated.
Later on, Mr. Jingles runs across the room between cells. Percy walks up and stomps on the mouse, coldly uncaring about what he has done leaving Del screaming in shock. John Coffey asks for the mouse, so Paul picks it up and hands it to John. The other guards watch in shock, awe, and possibly horror as light shines from John's hands. John coughs, releases another cloud of spores, and Mr. Jingles runs across the room- good as new.
Percy, seeing that the mouse is uninjured, is furious- thinking the guards have set out to make a fool out of him. Paul confronts Percy and gives him an ultimatum- Percy will transfer out immediately after Delecroix's execution, or the others will go public about Percy's record of mistreatment of the prisoners and his behavior on the Mile. Percy agrees.
Just before he "walks the Mile" to the electric chair, Del gives Mr. Jingles to Paul knowing that he will be taken care of. When Paul points out that he cannot have a mouse sitting on his shoulder during an execution, John Coffey volunteers to take care of Mr. Jingles.
Percy sets everything up for Del's execution, with one small exception- he does not properly soak the sponge required for proper electric conduction, wanting to punish Del one more time. As a result, the execution is excruciating for Del and the entire horrified audience- he rolls in pain, screaming and even catches fire before finally dying.
The guards confront Percy, but Paul tells them that Percy isn't worth fighting over and that he will still honor their agreement to leave.
Paul and his wife go to visit Hal and Melinda the next day. Hal reveals that Melinda is rapidly falling apart, she is losing her memory and experiencing severe behavior changes including uncontrollable cursing. Paul invites the other guards (minus Percy) to dinner later and discusses John Coffey's acts of healing both him and Mr. Jingles. Paul states that he wants to sneak John Coffey out to try and heal Melinda. The others are very skeptical, pointing out that Coffey is a convicted murderer, and it would be disastrous if they are found or if he escapes. Paul puts forth his belief that Coffey is innocent; Paul "does not see God putting a gift like that in the hands of a man who would kill a child."
The next day, they carry out the plan- Paul drugs Wharton so he will not see them leaving, then the others gag Percy and put him in the padded room as supposed "retribution" for Eduard Delecroix. They open up John Coffey's cell, and he is excited at the prospect of going for a ride outside and also seems to already know what they want him to do . John agrees to try and help Melinda. Wharton grabs Coffey as they head out, and John is apparently horrified by what he sees when touching Wharton.
They arrive at Hal's home, and Hal threatens them with a shotgun. Paul talks him down while Coffey goes upstairs to meet Melinda. John gets very close to Melinda's face and something comes out of her mouth and into his, making the light in the room shine intensely. John breaks the connection with her, falling down coughing. Melinda sits up, looking much healthier and having no memory of anything that happened before her X-Ray. Hal collapses, weeping at his wife's restoration. John continues to cough, unable to release the "spores" like before. Melinda gives Coffey a pendant with the mark of St. Christopher-the healer- as a present.
John returns to the prison, still very ill from the encounter. Percy is released, apparently keeping silent but the others still fear that he might talk. John grabs Percy, releasing the spores directly into Percy's mouth. Percy, in a daze, walks over to Wharton's cell and empties his revolver into Wharton's chest. The others seize Percy, who leans back and coughs up the remaining black spores. Upon examination, Percy appears to be catatonic. He is eventually sent to a mental hospital (ironically the same place where he was supposed to be an administrator) for presumably the rest of his life.
Coffey repeats that Wharton and Percy were "bad men," and places his hand on Paul. Paul sees that Wharton was responsible for the murder John Coffey was convicted for. Now that he knows Coffey is innocent, Paul is unsure how to proceed. He talks to his wife that night and he suggests talking to John about it. He even asks Coffey if they should just "let him go." Coffey does not want to escape; he reveals that in addition to healing he can also feel the pain of all others around him and does not wish to continue with such pain in the world. Paul offers John a last request; Coffey states that he has always wanted to see a "flicker show" (a motion picture). They bring in a movie projector with the film "Top Hat," the same movie that the elderly Paul was watching at the beginning of the movie, which is what triggered Paul's memories particularly when Fred Astaire is dancing to "Heaven" and John watches in awe saying "they like angels!"
That night, John Coffey is put to death as the guards watch on in tears. The elderly Paul's voice cuts in and states that he left The Green Mile soon after, unable to carry on after seeing John Coffey die. He and some of the others transferred to a youth corrections' facility.
Elaine admits that Paul's tale is "quite a story," and does not apparently believe it. She also points out that Paul mentioned his son being grown up in 1935, which means he should be much older than he appears.
Paul takes Elaine on a walk, and they come to a cabin in the woods. There is a mouse sleeping in a small box; Elaine is shocked to meet Mr. Jingles- Paul found the mouse again after Coffey's execution and has kept him ever since. Paul states that he is now 108 years old, and that he believes John Coffey "infected him [and Mr. Jingles] with life." Paul feels that this is his punishment for killing a genuine miracle of God- he must stay alive and watch everyone he cares about, including friends like Elaine, grow old and die before his own death.
Later, Paul is seen at Elaine's funeral, quietly wondering just how much longer he has to go. "We each owe a debt," he states, "There are no exceptions. But oh God, sometimes The Green Mile seems so long."
The multiple theories proposed to explain the function of sleep reflect the as-yet incomplete understanding of the subject. It is likely that sleep evolved to fulfill some primeval function and took on multiple functions over time. (As an analogy, the larynx in all mammals controls the passage of food and air, but may have descended in humans to take on speech capabilities in addition.)
It has been pointed out that, if sleep were not essential, one would expect to find:
- Animal species that do not sleep at all
- Animals that do not need recovery sleep when they stay awake longer than usual
- Animals that suffer no serious consequences as a result of lack of sleep
Outside of a few basal animals that have no brain or a very simple brain, no animals have been found to date that satisfy any of these criteria.
Sleep Debt
Sleep debt or sleep deficit is the cumulative effect of not getting enough sleep. A large sleep debt may lead to mental and/or physical fatigue.
There are presumed to be two kinds of sleep debt, caused by partial sleep deprivation or total sleep deprivation. Partial sleep deprivation occurs when a person or a lab animal sleeps too little for many days or weeks. Total sleep deprivation means being kept awake for days or weeks. There is debate in the scientific community over the specifics of sleep debt, and it is not considered to be a disorder.
sleep deprivation is characterized by having too little sleep it can be either chronic or acute. Long-term sleep deprivation causes death in lab animals. A chronic sleep-restricted state can cause fatigue, daytime sleepiness, clumsiness and weight loss or weight gain.
Complete absence of sleep over long periods is impossible for humans to achieve (unless they suffer from insomnia) brief microsleeps cannot be avoided.
sleep
Sleep is a naturally recurring altered state of conciousness with relatively suspended sensory and motor activity, characterized by the inactivity of nearly all voluntary muscles. It is distinguished from quiet wakefulness by a decreased ability to react to stimuli, but it is more easily reversible than hibernation or coma. Sleep is a heightened anabolic state, accentuating the growth and rejuvenation of the immune, nervous, skeletal and muscular systems. It is observed in all mammals, all birds, and many reptiles, amphibians, and fish.
The purposes and mechanisms of sleep are only partially clear and are the subject of intense research.
Sleep timing is controlled by the circadian clock, sleep-wake homeostasis, and in humans, within certain bounds, willed behavior. The circadian clock—an inner timekeeping, temperature-fluctuating, enzyme-controlling device—works in tandem with adenosine, a neurotransmitter that inhibits many of the bodily processes associated with wakefulness. Adenosine is created over the course of the day; high levels of adenosine lead to sleepiness. In diurnal animals, sleepiness occurs as the circadian element causes the release of the hormone melatonin and a gradual decrease in core body temperature. The timing is affected by one's chronotype. It is the circadian rhythm that determines the ideal timing of a correctly structured and restorative sleep episode.
Homeostatic sleep propensity (the need for sleep as a function of the amount of time elapsed since the last adequate sleep episode) must be balanced against the circadian element for satisfactory sleep. Along with corresponding messages from the circadian clock, this tells the body it needs to sleep. Sleep offset (awakening) is primarily determined by circadian rhythm. A person who regularly awakens at an early hour will generally not be able to sleep much later than his or her normal waking time, even if moderately sleep-deprived.
Sleep duration is affected by the gene DEC2. Some people have a mutation of this gene; they sleep two hours less than normal. Neurology professor Ying-Hui Fu and her colleagues bred mice that carried the DEC2 mutation and slept less than normal mice
Children need more sleep per day in order to develop and function properly: up to 18 hours for babies, with a declining rate as a child ages. A newborn baby spends almost 9 hours a day in REM sleep. By the age of five or so, only slightly over two hours is spent in REM.
Newborn - minimum of 18 hours
1- 12 months - 14 to 18 hours
1-3 years - 12 to 15 hours
3 - 5 years - 9 to 11 hours
Adults and elderly - 7 to 8 hours
Restoration
has been shown to be affected by sleep. A study conducted by Gumustekin et al. in 2004 shows sleep deprivation hindering the healing of burns on rats.
It has been shown that sleep deprivation affects the immune system. In a study by Zager et al. in 2007, rats were deprived of sleep for 24 hours. When compared with a control group, the sleep-deprived rats' blood tests indicated a 20% decrease in white blood cell count, a significant change in the immune system. It is now possible to state that "sleep loss impairs immune function and immune challenge alters sleep," and it has been suggested that mammalian species which invest in longer sleep times are investing in the immune system, as species with the longer sleep times have higher white blood cell counts.
It has yet to be proven that sleep duration affects somatic growth. One study by Jenni et al. in 2007 recorded growth, height, and weight, as correlated to parent-reported time in bed in 305 children over a period of nine years (age 1–10). It was found that "the variation of sleep duration among children does not seem to have an effect on growth." It has been shown that sleep—more specifically, slow-wave sleep (SWS)—does affect growth hormone levels in adult men. During eight hours' sleep, Van Cauter, Leproult, and Plat found that the men with a high percentage of SWS (average 24%) also had high growth hormone secretion, while subjects with a low percentage of SWS (average 9%) had low growth hormone secretion.
There are multiple arguments supporting the restorative function of sleep. The metabolic phase during sleep is anabolic; anabolic hormones such as growth hormones (as mentioned above) are secreted preferentially during sleep. The duration of sleep among species is, in general, inversely related to animal size and directly related to basal metabolic rate. Rats with a very high basal metabolic rate sleep for up to 14 hours a day, whereas elephants and giraffes with lower BMRs sleep only 3–4 hours per day.
Energy conservation could as well have been accomplished by resting quiescent without shutting off the organism from the environment, potentially a dangerous situation. A sedentary nonsleeping animal is more likely to survive predators, while still preserving energy. Sleep, therefore, seems to serve another purpose, or other purposes, than simply conserving energy; for example, hibernating animals waking up from hibernation go into rebound sleep because of lack of sleep during the hibernation period. They are definitely well-rested and are conserving energy during hibernation, but need sleep for something else. Rats kept awake indefinitely develop skin lesions,hyperphagia, loss of body mass, hypothermia, and, eventually, fatal sepsis.
Ontogenesis
According to the ontogenetic hypothesis of REM sleep, the activity occurring during neonatal REM sleep (or active sleep) seems to be particularly important to the developing organism (Marks et al., 1995). Studies investigating the effects of deprivation of active sleep have shown that deprivation early in life can result in behavioral problems, permanent sleep disruption, decreased brain mass (Mirmiran et al., 1983), and an abnormal amount of neuronal cell death (Morrissey, Duntley & Anch, 2004).
REM sleep appears to be important for development of the brain. REM sleep occupies the majority of time of sleep of infants, who spend most of their time sleeping. Among different species, the more immature the baby is born, the more time it spends in REM sleep. Proponents also suggest that REM-induced muscle inhibition in the presence of brain activation exists to allow for brain development by activating the synapses, yet without any motor consequences that may get the infant in trouble. Additionally, REM deprivation results in developmental abnormalities later in life.
However, this does not explain why older adults still need REM sleep. Aquatic mammal infants do not have REM sleep in infancy; REM sleep in those animals increases as they age.
Memory processing
Scientists have shown numerous ways in which sleep is related to memory. In a study conducted by Turner, Drummond, Salamat, and Brown, working memory was shown to be affected by sleep deprivation. Working memory is important because it keeps information active for further processing and supports higher-level cognitive functions such as decision making, reasoning, and episodic memory. The study allowed 18 women and 22 men to sleep only 26 minutes per night over a four-day period. Subjects were given initial cognitive tests while well-rested, and then were tested again twice a day during the four days of sleep deprivation. On the final test, the average working memory span of the sleep-deprived group had dropped by 38% in comparison to the control group.
Memory seems to be affected differently by certain stages of sleep such as REM and slow-wave sleep (SWS). In one study, cited in Born, Rasch, and Gais, multiple groups of human subjects were used: wake control groups and sleep test groups. Sleep and wake groups were taught a task and were then tested on it, both on early and late nights, with the order of nights balanced across participants. When the subjects' brains were scanned during sleep, hypnograms revealed that SWS was the dominant sleep stage during the early night, representing around 23% on average for sleep stage activity. The early-night test group performed 16% better on thedeclarative memory test than the control group. During late-night sleep, REM became the most active sleep stage at about 24%, and the late-night test group performed 25% better on the procedural memory test than the control group. This indicates that procedural memory benefits from late, REM-rich sleep, whereas declarative memory benefits from early, SWS-rich sleep.
A study conducted by Datta indirectly supports these results. The subjects chosen were 22 male rats. A box was constructed wherein a single rat could move freely from one end to the other. The bottom of the box was made of a steel grate. A light would shine in the box accompanied by a sound. After a five-second delay, an electrical shock would be applied. Once the shock commenced, the rat could move to the other end of the box, ending the shock immediately. The rat could also use the five-second delay to move to the other end of the box and avoid the shock entirely. The length of the shock never exceeded five seconds. This was repeated 30 times for half the rats. The other half, the control group, was placed in the same trial, but the rats were shocked regardless of their reaction. After each of the training sessions, the rat would be placed in a recording cage for six hours of polygraphic recordings. This process was repeated for three consecutive days. This study found that during the posttrial sleep recording session, rats spent 25.47% more time in REM sleep after learning trials than after control trials. These trials support the results of the Born et al. study, indicating an obvious correlation between REM sleep and procedural knowledge.
An observation of the Datta study is that the learning group spent 180% more time in SWS than did the control group during the post-trial sleep-recording session. This phenomenon is supported by a study performed by Kudrimoti, Barnes, and McNaughton. This study shows that after spatial exploration activity, patterns of hippocampal place cells are reactivated during SWS following the experiment. In a study by Kudrimoti et al., seven rats were run through a linear track using rewards on either end. The rats would then be placed in the track for 30 minutes to allow them to adjust (PRE), then they ran the track with reward-based training for 30 minutes (RUN), and then they were allowed to rest for 30 minutes. During each of these three periods, EEG data were collected for information on the rats' sleep stages. Kudrimoti et al. computed the mean firing rates of hippocampal place cells during prebehavior SWS (PRE) and three ten-minute intervals in postbehavior SWS (POST) by averaging across 22 track-running sessions from seven rats. The results showed that ten minutes after the trial RUN session, there was a 12% increase in the mean firing rate of hippocampal place cells from the PRE level; however, after 20 minutes, the mean firing rate returned rapidly toward the PRE level. The elevated firing of hippocampal place cells during SWS after spatial exploration could explain why there were elevated levels of SWS sleep in Datta's study, as it also dealt with a form of spatial exploration.
A study has also been done involving direct current stimulation to the prefrontal cortex to increase the amount of slow oscillations during SWS (Marshall et al., 2006, as cited in Walker, 2009). The direct current stimulation greatly enhanced word-pair retention the following day, giving evidence that SWS plays a large role in the consolidation of episodic memories.
The different studies all suggest that there is a correlation between sleep and the complex functions of memory. Harvard sleep researchers Saper and Stickgold point out that an essential part of memory and learning consists of nerve cell dendrites' sending of information to the cell body to be organized into new neuronal connections. This process demands that no external information is presented to these dendrites, and it is suggested that this may be why it is during sleep that memories and knowledge are solidified and organized.
Preservation
The "Preservation and Protection" theory holds that sleep serves an adaptive function. It protects the animal during that portion of the 24-hour day in which being awake, and hence roaming around, would place the individual at greatest risk. Organisms do not require 24 hours to feed themselves and meet other necessities. From this perspective of adaptation, organisms are safer by staying out of harm's way, where potentially they could be prey to other, stronger organisms. They sleep at times that maximize their safety, given their physical capacities and their habitats. (Allison & Cicchetti, 1976; Webb, 1982).
This theory fails to explain why the brain disengages from the external environment during normal sleep. However, the brain consumes a large proportion of the body's calories at any one time and preservation of energy could only occur by limiting its sensory inputs. Another argument against the theory is that sleep is not simply a passive consequence of removing the animal from the environment, but is a "drive"; animals alter their behaviors in order to obtain sleep. Therefore, circadian regulation is more than sufficient to explain periods of activity and quiescence that are adaptive to an organism, but the more peculiar specializations of sleep probably serve different and unknown functions. Moreover, the preservation theory needs to explain why carnivores like lions, which are on top of the food chain and thus have little to fear, sleep the most. It has been suggested that they need to minimize energy expenditure when not hunting.
Preservation also does not explain why aquatic mammals sleep while moving. Quiescence during these vulnerable hours would do the same and would be more advantageous, because the animal would still be able to respond to environmental challenges like predators, etc. Sleep rebound that occurs after a sleepless night will be maladaptive, but obviously must occur for a reason. A zebra falling asleep the day after it spent the sleeping time running from a lion is more, not less, vulnerable to predation.
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