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time, I’ll cover three areas:
1 how much sleep we need
2 the types and stages of sleep,
and
3 some problems with sleep in
today’s society.
So, let’s look first at how much
sleep people need. Most people
spend around a third of their lives
asleep, although the need for sleep
decreases with age.
Let me ask you some other
questions. How much sleep do
you think a one-year-old baby
needs?
S1:
Um, twelve hours?
S2:
Twenty?
S3:
Eight?
S:
Well, a one-year old baby needs
about fourteen hours of sleep a
day. How about a child of five?
S4:
Twelve hours?
S:
That’s right. Good guess.
A five-year-old needs about
twelve hours. And an adult? How
much does an adult need?
S3:
Er, eight?
S:
Exactly. An adult needs about
seven to eight hours. However,
different people need different
amounts of sleep. Some adults
need to sleep for ten hours or more
a day, while others only need half
that amount – or less. Elderly
people tend to sleep less than
younger adults at night, but they
doze more during the day.
Let’s turn now to the different
types of sleep, and I apologise for
using some rather technical
language here. There are two types
of sleep, known as REM sleep and
NREM sleep. Does anyone know
what these are? Er, well, REM
means ‘rapid eye movement’. And
NREM stands for ‘non-rapid eye
movement’. You can see it on my
slide here: REM – rapid eye
movement; NREM – non-rapid eye
movement. During NREM sleep,
our brains are not very active.
However, in REM sleep, the brain
suddenly becomes more active –
like the brain of a person who’s
awake. Our eyes move rapidly,
and we have dreams … or
nightmares.
OK, have a guess. How much of
our sleep do you think is REM
sleep – when our brain is alive,
and we have those dreams and
nightmares?
S2:
How about 50:50?
S:
That’s an interesting guess.
Because actually, in babies, REM
sleep is about one half of sleep.
But what about adults?
S1:
A third?
S:
Nearly. Nearly. In adults, REM
sleep is only about one-fifth of our
sleeping time … so about 20% …
so that means most of our sleep …
about 80% … is NREM sleep,
when the brain isn’t very active.
LESSON 8.1 RECORDING 8.2
S = Salman, S1 = Student 1,
S2 = Student 2, S3 = Student 3
S:
OK. Turning to the stages of sleep,
we can identify five stages in a
night’s sleep, as you can see on
the slide. In different stages of
sleep, our brains put together
thoughts and experiences, and
then store them in an organised
way. This gives us clearer
memories. Recent experiments
suggest that the final stage of sleep,
REM sleep, is very important for
organising our memories and helps
to improve our learning. NREM
sleep is important for making our
memories stronger
.
Experiments
have also shown that the brain
works in a different way after
we’ve had a good night’s sleep.
The final area I want to talk about
are things that can stop us sleeping
well. Can you tell me some things
that might stop you sleeping?
S1:
Noisy neighbours?
S2:
Um, lots of traffic.
S3:
Uh, you’re worrying about things.
S:
Yes, these are all true. Another
thing is too much light. Street
lights and security lights mean that
even when we’re asleep, it’s never
completely dark. And the evidence
suggests that the quantity and
quality of darkness in our lives
affects our health – 24-hour
shopping, global travel, etc.
Because of this, our days are
becoming longer and the nights
shorter – and this could also
damage our health, as we’re not
getting enough sleep.
To sum up, I hope I’ve succeeded
in showing you that sleep is a very
become somewhat sidelined.
The second problem is that students
often have a negative view of learning
languages. This might be because
many of their parents themselves had
negative experiences of learning
languages when they were at school.
Another problem is the fact that
English has become such a world
language, and so many people all over
the world now speak it. Many native
English speakers feel, wrongly, of
course, that it is not necessary or
useful to learn a foreign language
because they won’t get the chance to
use it – there is a common
misconception that because “everyone
speaks English”, it isn’t necessary to
know another language. However
wrong this attitude is, it takes a long
time to change the way people have
become accustomed to thinking.
Another factor that does not help us, as
native English speakers, to embrace the
learning of foreign languages, is
technology. Our smart phones can
now give us directions, and help us
understand menus in a foreign country
(even if the mistakes that they make
often have disastrous consequences).
I believe that understanding another
language is the basis for understanding
another culture. Languages are
essential for the UK’s future and for our
global standing, and now, more than
ever, I think we should be fostering an
open mind and an international
outlook in our young people. We need
to address the issues of language
learning as a top priority.
LESSON 8.1 RECORDING 8.1
W = Dr Wilson, S = Salman,
S1 = Student 1, S2 = Student 2,
S3 = Student 3, S4 = Student 4
W:
All right, Salman, you’re next. Are
you ready?
S:
Yes.
W:
OK, then, start when you like.
S:
Good morning, everybody. Let me
start with a question: Do you like
sleeping? … Yes, I thought that
was the answer. Well, today I’m
going to talk to you about sleep.
I hope to show you that sleep is a
very important and interesting
subject. But please stay awake –
don’t fall asleep during my
presentation!
Scientists are starting to understand
sleep much better than before, and
I’ll mention some new research in
my talk. Because of the limited
