Pre-reading questions:
I will read each question. Then, please answer them.
- How many hours did you sleep last night?
- What time do you usually sleep at night?
Vocabulary:
I will read the words, meanings, and sample sentences. Then, repeat after me.
- exhausted /ig-ZAWS-tid/
- cycle /SAHY-kuhl/
- pattern /PAT-ern/
- perform /per-FAWRM/
- compare /kuhm-PAIR/
[adjective] – extremely tired
The troops were exhausted after months of war.
[noun] – a group of events that happen in a particular order, one following the other, and are often repeated
To complete the cycle, this element is necessary.
[noun] – a particular way in which something is done, is organized, or happens
The pattern of family life has been changing over recent years because of technology.
[verb] – to do an action or piece of work
Computers can perform a variety of tasks.
[verb] – to examine or look for the difference between two or more things
Do not always compare me with others, please.
Article reading:
Please read the whole article. Then, I will check your pronunciation and intonation.
Do you get out of bed early in the morning, invigorated and ready to face the challenges of the day? Or do you slap the snooze alarm till the last possible moment and drag your exhausted body to work? If you’re a morning person, rejoice: your circadian cycles, or natural sleep patterns, are in sync with standard work schedules and school dismissal hours.
It’s not convenient if you’re a night owl because you perform better in the afternoon and evening and stay up late, according to a recent study published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry on June 7, 2021. The researchers used sleep data from wrist activity trackers worn by over 85,000 UK Biobank Study participants, a database with detailed genetic and health data on over half a million Britons. Researchers compared sleep data to self-reports of mood and determined that people who have a disrupted sleep cycle are more prone to suffer from despair and anxiety. According to Kirsten Knutson, an associate professor of neurology and preventive medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, the health problems associated with being a night owl are likely the result of being a night owl living in a morning person’s world, which disrupts their body’s circadian rhythms. Meanwhile, Dr. Jessica Tyrrell, a senior lecturer at the University of Exeter Medical School in the United Kingdom, found that having a higher misalignment was linked to having a higher odds of depression.
Finally, there’s the chicken-and-egg dilemma, which typically plagues studies that can only show a correlation rather than a causative link. Depressed people are also more prone to have irregular sleep cycles, which will need to be investigated further in the future.
It’s not convenient if you’re a night owl because you perform better in the afternoon and evening and stay up late, according to a recent study published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry on June 7, 2021. The researchers used sleep data from wrist activity trackers worn by over 85,000 UK Biobank Study participants, a database with detailed genetic and health data on over half a million Britons. Researchers compared sleep data to self-reports of mood and determined that people who have a disrupted sleep cycle are more prone to suffer from despair and anxiety. According to Kirsten Knutson, an associate professor of neurology and preventive medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, the health problems associated with being a night owl are likely the result of being a night owl living in a morning person’s world, which disrupts their body’s circadian rhythms. Meanwhile, Dr. Jessica Tyrrell, a senior lecturer at the University of Exeter Medical School in the United Kingdom, found that having a higher misalignment was linked to having a higher odds of depression.
Finally, there’s the chicken-and-egg dilemma, which typically plagues studies that can only show a correlation rather than a causative link. Depressed people are also more prone to have irregular sleep cycles, which will need to be investigated further in the future.
Comprehension questions
I will read each question. Then, please answer them based on the article.
- Whose natural sleep patterns are in sync with standard work schedules and school dismissal hours?
- According to the article, who performs better in the afternoon and evening?
- Who is the associate professor of neurology and preventive medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine?
- Who is Dr. Jessica Tyrrell?
- What did Tyrrell find about having a higher misalignment?
Discussion questions
I will read each question. Then, please answer them.
- Are you a night owl? Please tell me more about it.
- When was the last time you slept late? Why?
- What would you do to avoid sleeping late at night? Please explain your answer.
- Do you agree with the idea that being a night owl leads to depression? What do you think so?
- In your opinion, what are the benefits of sleeping early? Please explain your answer.