English Vocabulary about Sleep
In this week’s episode you can learn English vocabulary about sleep
Learn English with Everest – Podcast
In this week’s episode, we’ll be talking about the importance of sleep and how it affects our brains. You will have the chance to learn lots of English vocabulary about sleep There will be an article about the benefits of napping, we’ll hear a story about how one man’s afternoon nap may have changed the world, and there will be some tips on how to get a good night’s rest.
You’ll find the scripts for each part of this episode here and don’t forget to check out the glossary at the end for words and phrases you may not have encountered before.
English Podcast about Sleep
Intro:
How much sleep do you get a night? A good night’s sleep is just as important as regular exercise and a healthy diet. Research shows that poor sleep has immediate negative effects on your hormones, exercise performance, and brain function. But fear not, if you are not getting your 7+ hours’ sleep each night, maybe a nap can help balance things out. This episode is all about sleep…
Story One:
The afternoon nap gets a bad rap. Some see a siesta as a sign of laziness, low energy, or even illness. A recent study however has found that taking a “regular” afternoon nap may be linked to better mental agility.
The study, published in online journal General Psychiatry, examined the sleep patterns of 2,214 healthy people aged 60 and over in several large cities in China.
Of those who took part in the study, 1,534 took a regular afternoon nap of between five minutes and two hours, while 680 did not.
It was found that in addition to reducing sleepiness, naps can offer a variety of benefits such as better working memory, better verbal fluency, and can aid learning. A short afternoon nap can leave you feeling alert and ready to tackle the rest of the day. When napping, your brain clears out unnecessary information out of your brain’s temporary storage areas to prepare it for the new information to be absorbed.
So if you get caught having a nap at work, this time you have a valid excuse.
Story Two:
Still not convinced that napping is for you? Well our next story takes us back to 1869, where one man’s nap helped revolutionise the world of science. Get your duvet ready!
We all remember it from school science books, you probably had to learn it off for an exam. The Periodic Table. Did you know that 2019 marked the 150th anniversary of the Periodic Table of Chemical Elements?
Let’s go back to 1869, to St Petersburg to be precise, where Dmitri Mendeleev’s discovery was to transform chemistry from a tangle of disorganised facts into a disciplined science. His table would arrange 63 elements, into a recognisable and repeating pattern that all the other 58+ elements, yet to be discovered, would follow.
One morning in 1869, Mendeleev wrote the name of each of the known elements on separate pieces of card, added the atomic weight, a few physical properties and the formulae of its products when reacted with hydrogen or oxygen.
He began to play with these cards, eventually arranging them in rows from left to right. Happy with his morning’s work, he wrote it down on the back of an envelope. He then took an all important afternoon nap. Once he woke up, he was inspired to instead arrange the cards in eight vertical columns instead of horizontal rows and this is the format of the Periodic Table that exists today.
Is the afternoon nap the key to the discovery? I’ll let you sleep on that…
Story Three:
If you are not getting enough sleep at night, it can feel like torture. Maybe you have trouble falling asleep, or wake up in the middle of the night, or maybe you have a baby that is wreaking havoc on your sleep pattern. Either way, not getting enough sleep is cruel. Keeping your bedroom dark and at around 18.5ºC and taking regular exercise can help, as well as the following alternative remedies. As always, make sure you’ve done your homework and always consult an expert. Any tips of your own – be sure to let us know!
The following has been recommended by organic natural health experts:
Herbs
Certain herbs can relax the mind, help induce sleep and reduce disturbed sleep patterns. These include: Valerian, Hops, Passionflower, Wild lettuce.
Essential oils
Some essential oils, such as lavender, have been proven to promote a restful night’s sleep. Roman chamomile is a calming oil and Vetiver is helpful for relieving stress and tension.
Food
Cherries, goji berries, tomatoes, chillies, white or black mustard seeds, sprouted seeds, corn, rice all provide melatonin which aids sleep. Try to avoid junk food, which studies have shown can disrupt restorative sleep.
Supplements
There are certain nutrients that have been specifically linked to improvements in relaxation and a reduction in insomnia.These include: Omega-3 , Magnesium and Vitamin D
Hopefully some of these can help you drift off to the land of nod.
English Vocabulary about Sleep:
This glossary accompanies Episode 8 of the podcast series and will provide short definitions of words and terms you heard or read which may be new or unfamiliar to you.
Intro
- fear not – don’t worry
- a nap – a short sleep during the day, similar to a siesta
Story One:
- gets a bad rap – has a bad reputation
- mental agility – ability to think quickly and easily
- Tackle – to manage or deal with something (often something difficult)
Story Two:
- duvet – something that covers you in bed – also known as eiderdown, comforter, quilt, covers
- a tangle – a confused mix of things, for example, long hair can get in a tangle
- sleep on that – to sleep on something means to give yourself time, usually overnight, to think through and process an idea
Story Three:
- wreaking havoc on – destroying
- alternative remedies – non-pharmaceutical medicine, ways of healing people with local or traditional use of plants, herbs, methods
- done your homework – a way of saying do your own research, find out about things yourself
- drift off – fall asleep
- land of nod – another way to say sleep
