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Hello, this is 6 Minute English
from BBC Learning English.
I'm Georgie and we're ready to start,
Phil... Phil?
Sorry Georgie, I
was just catching 40 winks, you know,
getting some shut eye, dozing,
taking a nap. I was sleeping...
Sleeping at work?
Phil, how could you?
I know, I know. Sorry,
I, I didn't sleep well last night.
I'll forgive you this time, but make
sure you go to bed early tonight,
because getting a good night's sleep
is incredibly important.
For example, did you know that people
who get enough sleep live about five
years longer than people who don't?
Wow, so a good night's sleep can lengthen
your life.
In this programme, we'll be finding out
more about the benefits of sleep and
as usual, learning
some useful new vocabulary as well.
But first, now that you've woken up,
I have a question for you.
Do you know how much of the average
person's life is spent asleep?
Is it a) a half? b) a quarter?
or c) a third?
I think we spend
about a third of our lives sleeping.
OK, well, I'll reveal the correct
answer at the end of the programme.
The question of why humans sleep
is not easy to answer.
In terms of evolution, why would it make
sense to go unconscious every night,
leaving yourself vulnerable
to danger?
It can only mean that the benefits
gained from sleep are huge.
Here, science journalist Ginny Smith
explains some of these benefits
to BBC Radio 4 programme,
Inside Science.
So we've probably
all experienced this,
that if you've had a bad night's sleep
and then you try and do some work,
you just can't concentrate.
Your brain isn't in the right state
to take in new information.
But we also need to sleep
after we've learnt new things,
because that's when our brain
consolidates the information -
takes it from short-term storage
to long-term storage,
fits it in
with other things we already know,
that old adage of
if you've got a problem, sleep on it -
your brain does actually work
on things during the night,
and you can often wake up and have
solved the problem in your sleep.
When we sleep,
our brains refresh, leaving us
feeling rested in the morning.
But after a bad night's sleep,
it's more difficult to concentrate -
we can't take in,
or understand, new information.
We also have the saying if you've got
a problem, sleep on it. To sleep on
it means to delay making a decision
until you've had time to think about it.
But that also turns out to be true,
scientifically speaking.
During sleep, your brain really can
work out problems and find solutions.
But what about the other side
of the story?
What happens when you get
too little sleep or none at all?
Here's Ginny Smith again, talking to
BBC Radio 4 programme, Inside Science.
Sleep deprivation is a form
of stress,
and we know that when you
are stressed, your sort of
fight-or-flight response is activated
and that causes all these changes
in your body that focus on immediate
survival over long-term health.
But if we are chronically stressed,
money worries or a stressful job
or something that's going on forever,
or life in general,
chronic sleep deprivation
that's causing that level of stress,
then you might constantly have
a damped down immune system,
which can then lead
to all these knock-on problems.
Having none or too little of something
important is known as deprivation.
Sleep deprivation is stressful
for the body,
so stressful that it activates
a fight-or-flight response,
changes in the human body in response
to a life threatening situation,
which make us either stay and
fight the threat or run away from it.
As well as
a fight-or-flight response,
the stress of not getting
enough sleep over a longer period
also creates problems including heart
disease and a weakened immune system.
Lack of sleep has these knock-on effects -
it causes other things to happen,
but not directly.
Now, do you see why it's so important
to get a good night's sleep, Phil?
Plus, it will stop you sleeping
at work again.
Right. I think it's time
to reveal the answer to my question.
Yes. You asked me how much of the
average person's life is spent asleep,
and I said it was about a third.
Which was... the correct answer.
Assuming you sleep eight hours a day,
the average person will sleep
for 229,961 hours in their lifetime,
or around one third of their life.
OK, let's recap the vocabulary
we've learned,
starting with the phrases catch
40 winks, get some shut eye, doze,
and take a nap,
all of which mean to sleep.
When someone takes in information,
they understand it.
If you have a problem
and you sleep on it,
you delay making a decision until
you've had time to think about it.
Deprivation is an absence
or too little of something important,
such as food or sleep.
The fight-or-flight response
describes changes in the human body
in response to a dangerous situation,
which make us either stay
and fight the threat
or run away from it.
And finally,
if something has a knock-on effect,
it causes other results indirectly.
Once again, our six minutes are up,
but remember to join us again next time
for more trending topics and useful
vocabulary here at 6 Minute English.
Goodbye for now.
Bye.
Learn English from the news
with BBC Learning English.
One big story every week,
three news headlines
and all the vocabulary
you need to understand the story
in English.
Plus, you can download a free worksheet
on our website for every episode.
Search Learning English from the News
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or visit BBCLearningEnglish.com.
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