Part 1: Reading

4
Source #2

1he lnformauon ln Lhls arucle ls based on lnformauon ln Lhe followlng sources:
huLp://sclence.nasa.gov/sclence-news/sclence-aL-nasa/2001/asL04sep_1/
hup://sclence.nasa.gov/sclence-news/sclence-aL-nasa/200S/03[un_naps/
hup://news.sLanford.edu/news/2006/ocLober2S/med-nap-102S06.hLml
hup://healLhysleep.med.harvard.edu/healLhy/sclence/varlauons/lndlvldual-
varlauon-geneucs
hup://www.humngLonposL.com/2010/01/14/famous-nappers-
hlsLorlcal_n_423279.hLml?
slldenumber=1urLMc2yC83u&slldeshow#sllde_lmage
hup://www.nyumes.com/books/rsL/m/maas-sleep.hLml
hup://vlrgll.azwesLern.edu/~dag/lol/SlesLaSense.hLml
hup://www.spu.edu/depLs/uc/response/auLumn2k6/feaLures/sleep.asp
hup://www.sleepfoundauon.org/arucle/sleep-Loplcs/napplng
hup://www.slesLaawareness.org/pages/slesLa-facLs.php
hup://www.nyumes.com/2012/09/23/oplnlon/sunday/
reLhlnklngsleep.hLml?pagewanLed=all&_r=0
hup://www.educauonworld.com/a_admln/admln/admln31S.shLml

1he Secret 1ruth about Napp|ng

Napp|ng: Cn|y for k|ds?

ln general, Amerlcans regard napplng as an unproducuve hablL. 1hey Lhlnk LhaL only
llule chlldren should Lake naps. Powever, Lhere ls evldence LhaL napplng can beneL
people of all ages.

Iamous Nappers

Many famous hlsLorlcal gures have been nappers. Amerlcan presldenLs !ohn l.
kennedy, 8onald 8eagan, and 8lll CllnLon all Look frequenL naps Lo help Lhem deal wlLh
Lhe pressures of leadlng a powerful nauon. napoleon 8onaparLe, a lrench emperor,
ofen gave rouslng speeches aL a momenL's nouce. erhaps Lhls was due Lo hls hablL of
Laklng frequenL naps. WlnsLon Churchlll, who helped lead Lhe Allled owers Lo vlcLory
durlng World War ll, slepL for aL leasL an hour every afernoon. Pe sLaLed LhaL a nap
could renew a person's energy.
Part 1: Reading
5
CLher famous hlsLorlcal nappers lnclude Lhe brllllanL sclenusL AlberL LlnsLeln and Lhe
world-changlng lnvenLor 1homas Ldlson. 1he amazlng arusL Leonardo ua vlncl also Look
naps. 1hey all had unusual sleep pauerns LhaL allowed Lhem Lo work ln a focused and
creauve way. Maybe lf Ldlson had sklpped hls naps, he would never have lnvenLed Lhe
llghL bulb. Maybe Leonardo would have been Loo sleepy Lo palnL Lhe Mona Llsa.

Naps for Certa|n Careers

Sclenuc sLudles show Lhe beneLs LhaL naps can provlde for lndlvlduals wlLh unusual
work schedules. Lxamples lnclude asLronauLs and cerLaln medlcal personnel. 1he
human body operaLes accordlng Lo an lnLernal clock. 1hls clock operaLes ln relauon Lo
Lhe LarLh's pauern of darkness aL nlghL and brlghL llghL durlng Lhe day. When a person's
lnLernal clock ls ln sync wlLh her or hls hablLs, Lhe person can mosL llkely sleep well aL
nlghL and remaln awake and alerL all day. 8uL lf Lhe person's [ob makes for lnLerrupLed
sleep-or sleep aL odd hours-Lhe lnLernal clock can become confused. 1hen Lhe person
has Lrouble gemng enough sleep.

AsLronauLs Lravellng ln space are noL exposed Lo regular pauerns of llghL and darkness.
As a resulL, asLronauLs average Lwo hours less sleep Lhan usual durlng every nlghL Lhey
spend ln space. 1hey ofen have Lrouble concenLraung. 1hey also become grumpy.
nASA declded Lo sLudy wheLher asLronauLs should Lake naps. 1hey dld research wlLh
volunLeers. 1he researchers found LhaL napplng lmproved memory, buL noL alerLness.
nASA researchers also concluded LhaL longer naps worked beuer Lhan shorLer ones.

uocLors ln Lralnlng, known as resldenLs, work very long hours. As a resulL, Lhey are ofen
sleep-deprlved. Lmergency-room docLors worklng aL nlghL also have problems sleeplng.
Sleep experLs recommend LhaL Lhese healLh workers Lake shorL naps on Lhe [ob. A Leam
of researchers led by uavld l. ulnges, a professor aL Lhe unlverslLy of ennsylvanla,
found LhaL lemng sub[ecLs nap for as llule as 24 mlnuLes lmproved Lhelr cognluve
performance. So even shorL naps can reduce Lhe number of mlsLakes a ured person
makes.

1he maln Lake away seems Lo be LhaL a deep sleep, wheLher lL ls nlghmme sleep or a
day-ume nap, prlmes Lhe braln Lo funcuon aL a hlgher level, allowlng us Lo come up wlLh
beuer ldeas, nd soluuons Lo puzzles more qulckly, ldenufy pauerns fasLer and recall
lnformauon more accuraLely.

Part 1: Reading
6
S|esta 1rad|non

1here ls a word ln Lhe Spanlsh language Lo descrlbe Lhe hablL of Laklng a nap ln Lhe mld-
afernoon: slesLa. Powever, Laklng a mldday nap ls noL only common ln Spaln. ln
Creece, for example, people have Lradluonally Laken a break ln Lhe mlddle of Lhe day.
1hey have eaLen a large meal and Lhen Laken a nap.

lL ls noL Lhe blg noonume meal LhaL makes Creeks sleepy. Lvldence suggesLs LhaL mosL
people become drowsy beLween 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. ln fasL-paced Amerlca,
workers and sLudenLs usually ghL Lo sLay awake durlng Lhls so-called nap zone."

Afer a nap, people Lend Lo be happler and more alerL. 1hey do beuer work and avold
mlsLakes. nappers may even have beuer long-Lerm healLh Lhan non-nappers.

I|nd|ng 1|me to S|eep

8uL ndlng ume Lo sleep-or Lo nap-can be challenglng. SLudenLs lnvolved ln sporLs or
oLher exLracurrlcular acuvlues afer school aren'L ofen able Lo nd ume Lo nap before
evenlng sleep ume. And ndlng places Lo nap durlng Lhe day aL school ls challenglng.
Powever, AnLon Anderson, an Lngllsh Leacher aL Creenwlch (ConnecucuL) Plgh School,
declded Lo do someLhlng Lo help Lhe waves of weary Leens he was seelng every day. ln
1998, he founded Lhe ower napplng Club, whlch allows sLudenLs Lo nap for abouL 20
mlnuLes aL Lhe end of Lhe day before golng on Lo exLracurrlcular acuvlues. lLs mouo:
veol, vlJl, uotmlcl (Laun for l come, l sow, l slept.)

1he ower napplng Club co-presldenL emphaslzes Lhe boosL LhaL naps provlde.
"Cbvlously, lL's no subsuLuLe for sleep, buL l denlLely feel more relaxed aferward," she
says.