★★☆Study: Humans Sleep Less, Better Than Other Animals

2015年12月17日 ★★☆, Health and Lifestyle, News Articles, Science & Health, VOA.

*Teachers will divide the article into 2-3 paragraphs to help you understand and check the pronunciation of the difficult words.

Vocabulary

*Read the words carefully.

  1. slumber./ˈslʌmbɚ/(v.)

    2. sleep

  2. primate/ˈpraɪˌmeɪt/(n.)

    3. any member of the group of animals that includes human beings, apes and monkeys

  3. lemur /ˈliːmɚ/ (n.)

    4. an animal that is related to monkeys and that lives in trees mostly in Madagascar

  4. prehistoric /əˈsoʊʃiˌeɪt/ (adj.)

    5. of, relating to, or existing in the time before people could write

    Article

    Study: Humans Sleep Less, Better Than Other Animals

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    (1) Humans need less sleep than other mammals, yet their slumber is more efficient, said researchers at Duke University in North Carolina.

    (2) In their study, the scientists researched sleep patterns of hundreds of animals. They discovered humans sleep for shorter periods of time compared to other animals.

    (3) The study also concluded that a human’s sleep is higher quality. A deeper stage of sleep, called rapid eye movement sleep, or REM, makes up 25 percent of a human’s sleep. In primates like lemurs or monkeys, REM sleep does not reach the five percent mark.

    (4) “Humans are unique in having shorter, higher quality sleep,” said David Samson, a study co-author.

    (5) Samson’s research team found that humans can prosper with an average of seven hours of sleep a day. Other primates need as many as 14 to 17 hours of sleep.

    (6) Samson said human sleep habits evolved during prehistoric times. Human ancestors moved from sleeping in trees to sleeping on the ground. Better sleeping habits resulted in better sleep in a shorter amount of time.

    Discussion

    *Let’s talk about the article base on the questions below

    1. Do you have trouble sleeping? What do you do to fall asleep easily?
    2. Why is sleep important for us?
    3. What could be the effects of sleeplessness?

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