Speed Reading — Sleep and Light - Level 3 — 300 wpm

Now do this put-the-text-back-together activity.


This is the text (if you need help).

Everyone knows that good sleep is important for our health. Not everyone knows how important it is to sleep in the dark. A new report says sleeping with the light on could be bad for our health. Researchers say turning off the light when we sleep helps to keep away diabetes and heart disease. Sleeping with the light on could increase the risk of getting these diseases. The researchers said around 40 per cent of people sleep with some sort of artificial light. They said even light from a television or alarm clock could affect our health. They added that the worst thing to sleep with is a main light. Sleeping in the dark is more difficult for people who live in cities, where there is a lot of outdoor light at night.

The researchers are from the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, USA. The lead researcher, Dr Phyllis Zee, is an expert in sleep medicine. She said it is healthier for us to turn off all lights when we sleep. Her team conducted a study of the blood sugar levels of 20 people after nights of sleep. The people who slept with a light on had higher blood sugar levels the next morning compared to those who slept in total darkness. Dr Zee said this is because light stimulates brain activity, which raises blood sugar levels. She said there are three things we can do to reduce the risk of illness: turn off the lights, never sleep with white or blue light; and use a blackout curtain or wear an eye mask.

Comprehension questions
  1. What does everyone know that sleep is good for?
  2. What disease could sleeping in the dark keep away besides diabetes?
  3. What percentage of people sleep with an artificial light?
  4. What does the article say is the worst thing to sleep with?
  5. Where is there a lot of outdoor light at night?
  6. What is Dr Phyllis Zee an expert in?
  7. How many people took part in a study on sleep?
  8. Who had higher levels of blood sugar?
  9. What does light stimulate?
  10. What kinds of light does the doctor say we should not fall asleep to?

Back to the sleeping with a light lesson.

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