Owls and Larks（猫头鹰与云雀）
1. In this article, we lookat the importance of sleep for learning. Most healthy adults need eight of morehours of sleep. But why do we need sleep in the first place？ We need sleep forthe brain to get a chance to rebuild memories stored during the day andassociate these with previously learned things. If this process is interruptedby, say. the sound of an alarm clock, it may not be as effective. So if yoursleep is cut short by the alarm clock, how damaging is it？ The truth is thatit&39;s difficult to predict, as so much depends on how much sleep your bodyactually needs on that particular occasion.
2. The popular belief thatpeople are naturally either larks (early risers) or owls is false. The rea- sonwhy people tend to be one or the other has more to do with lifestyle, age, andpersonality. Many people who appear to be early birds may have just become sothrough habit, for example, parents with very young children. Teenagers can havedifficulty falling asleep until late at night and then they natu-rally haveproblems getting up the following morning.
3. The main reason why owlsare owls is that they tend to spend their time over a book, movie, or com-puter game till the early hours of the morning. They enjoy the quiet of thenight when they can pursue their passion. On the other hand, larks can makebetter use of early morning hours where they can study in quiet atthe time whentheir brains are most refreshed. So which is better for learning an owl&39;s or alark&39;s lifestyle？ The simple truth is that it is more complex than simply beingone or the other. Leading a well-balanced life in terms of work and play andsleeping enough to bring maximum&39; refreshment is probably th~ secret.
4. As for naps,experts oninsomnia (失眠) argue against taking naps, as these may keep people up at night. If yournap lasts only five minutes to half an hour and does not affect your ability tofall asleep in the night, it will probably help you be more alert in eveninghours. However, if you are hav- ing problems getting to sleep at night, it&39;snot only naps that you should avoid. Try not to drink a lot of alcohol, take nicotine(尼古丁) ,do mentally intense activities like preparingfor exams or doing ex- ercise in the evening. Some people swear that drinkingcoffee never stops them from sleeping like a log,whereas others will never gonear the stuff for fear of being awake all night. However, the best advice formost is to.avoid it in the evening, and if you drink coffee before a nap,remember you are likely to awaken as soon as the caffeine starts kicking in.
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