B1 • Reading Comprehension

Why We Need Sleep

Read the passage, then answer the questions.

Name: Date:

Sleep can seem like a period when very little happens, but the brain and body remain surprisingly active. During sleep, the body carries out important repair work, while the brain processes information gathered during the day.

Sleep is closely connected to learning. When people learn something new, the brain needs time to organise and strengthen those memories. A good night's sleep can therefore make it easier to remember vocabulary, facts or skills the following day. Lack of sleep, on the other hand, can make concentration and decision-making more difficult.

Sleep also affects emotions. Tired people may become impatient or find ordinary problems harder to manage. Over time, regularly getting too little sleep can affect physical health as well.

The amount of sleep people need varies with age and from person to person. However, good sleep habits are useful for almost everyone. Going to bed at a similar time, reducing bright screens before bed and keeping the bedroom comfortable can all help. Sleep is not wasted time; it is an essential part of learning, recovery and wellbeing.

Questions

1. What does the body do during sleep?

2. What does the brain do with information during sleep?

3. How can sleep help a learner?

4. Give two possible effects of lack of sleep.

5. Does everyone need exactly the same amount of sleep?

6. Name two sleep habits suggested in the text.

7. What does 'essential' mean in the final sentence?

8. Why does the writer say sleep is 'not wasted time'?

9. What is the main purpose of the text?

10. Which paragraph mainly discusses emotions?

Why We Need Sleep — Answer Key

1. It carries out important repair work.

2. It processes and organises information and strengthens memories.

3. It can make it easier to remember new vocabulary, facts or skills.

4. Difficulty concentrating or making decisions; impatience or difficulty managing problems; poorer physical health over time.

5. No.

6. Any two: similar bedtime, reducing bright screens, keeping the bedroom comfortable.

7. Necessary or extremely important.

8. Because important learning, memory, repair and recovery happen during sleep.

9. To explain why sleep matters and suggest good sleep habits.

10. The third paragraph.

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