Why We Sleep LEVELED BOOK • V

Why We
A Reading A–Z Level V Leveled Book
Word Count: 1,137

Connections
Writing
Think about your bedtime routine and sleep
habits. Using information from the book,
write about whether you would change
your habits.
Math
If people spend about one-third of their lives
asleep, how many years have you spent
asleep so far?

•V
P• S
Written by S. E . Virgilio
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 Why We
Words to Know
anabolic activity monitor
brain waves restores
catabolic activity schedule
function sleep-deprived
immune system solidifying
molecules temporary
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Written by S. E. Virgilio
www.readinga-z.com Why We Sleep
Level V Leveled Book Correlation
Focus Question © Learning A–Z
Written by S. E. Virgilio
LEVEL V
Fountas & Pinnell R
How is sleep important to good health? All rights reserved. Reading Recovery 40
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DRA 40
 Introduction
Many know the pleasure of curling up
between soft sheets and slowly fading into
blissful slumber . Getting a good night’s sleep
is how we rest and recharge after a full day of
Table of Contents
busy activity . People and most other animals
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 need sleep to function properly . Like food and
What Is Sleep? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 water, sleep is necessary to keep minds sharp
and bodies fit and ready to go .
The Need for ZZZs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Sleep Patterns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Wowser!

Did you know that people spend about a third of
Getting a Good Night’s Rest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 their lives asleep? That means someone who is seventy-
five years old has spent twenty-five years snoozing!
Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Why We Sleep • Level V 3 4

 What Is Sleep?
Falling asleep happens naturally and regularly .
Sleep is also easily reversible; a loud noise is often
all that is needed to wake a sleeping person .

So what is sleep, and what makes us fall

asleep? People have struggled for centuries
to answer these questions . The ancient Greek
philosopher Aristotle considered sleep a quiet
time of rest brought on by eating . That idea is
not as strange as it sounds—most people are
ready for a nap after enjoying a big meal .
A special machine is used to record brain waves.

Do You Know? Some eighteenth-century researchers

Aristotle believed that speculated that sleep was caused by “sleep
digesting food sent warm toxins” that built up during the day and
vapors to the head. The eventually caused the brain to shut down .
vapors then cooled and
As people slept, the substances faded away,
went to the heart, causing
people to feel sleepy. and their effects wore off .
While this is not true, A better understanding of sleep emerged in
how sleepy you feel does
the early twentieth century . Studies conducted
depend on the kind of
food you eat. Some foods by German researcher Hans Berger showed
cause a sleepy feeling, that the brain does not really shut down . Instead,
while others, like chocolate, brain activity changes as wakefulness shifts to
have caffeine. Those foods sleep . The idea that the brain remains somewhat
can make you perk up
active during sleep was groundbreaking . Berger’s
instead of wind down. Aristotle
discovery prompted more research into how the
brain functions during sleep .

Why We Sleep • Level V 5 6

 Researchers wanted to know just what caused The Need for ZZZs
those changes in brain waves . Scientists learned If our brain doesn’t shut down while we
that a buildup of a substance called adenosine snooze, what does it do? The answer: it helps us
affects the brain and triggers sleep . The body learn by solidifying memories and information
produces adenosine naturally as it expends for long-term use .
energy . Over the course of a day, more and more
of this substance travels to the brain . There, it The brain first stores much of what we learn
acts to slow down many body processes that are in what is called short-term memory . Short-term
active when we are awake . It seems that those memory provides a good temporary storage
eighteenth-century scientists who thought of site for new information, but it isn’t big enough
sleep toxins were not that far off . or strong enough to hold everything forever .
We need to move information from short-term
Awake and Asleep memory to long-term memory. This happens while
1 awake we sleep . Our brain creates new connections to
2 awake with eyes closed reorganize information and knowledge . Doing
this cements information in long-term memory,
3 falling asleep
making it easier to recall and use what we’ve
4 asleep
learned .
5 deep sleep

6 asleep, dreaming

Machines that record

brain activity show that
a sleeping person’s brain,
particularly while dreaming,
can be just as active as
it is when that person
is awake. Tighter waves
indicate more activity in
the brain, and looser waves
occur during relaxation.
Source: VEM / Science Source
Scientists examine a man’s brain and body during a sleep study.

Why We Sleep • Level V 7 8

 We also need sleep to
help our bodies fight illness
and heal wounds . Sleep
strengthens the body’s
immune system—the network
of cells and tissues that work During sleep, white blood
cells multiply to strengthen
to fight infection . The body the immune system and
focuses its energy on healing fight sickness.
Professional athletes need sleep to strengthen body tissues and restore rather than other activities . Studies show that
energy levels.
during sleep, the body produces more white
Not only does falling asleep involve a change blood cells, which fight illness . That’s why doctors
in brain activity, but the body’s processes change recommend bed rest for their sick patients .
as well . When we are awake, the body breaks
down cells and molecules as we use energy . This
Sleep Disorders
breaking-down process is called catabolic activity.
There are a number of different sleep disorders. Here are
When we are asleep, the body shifts to anabolic three of the best-known ones.
activity, when new molecules form and cells are • Insomnia is an inability to fall asleep. People may suffer from
built up . This process restores body tissues and insomnia for any number of reasons. Stress and worry may cause
helps them grow . insomnia. Chronic pain or disease may make it impossible to sleep.
• Narcolepsy is almost the opposite of insomnia. People affected
For this reason, sleep is essential to athletes . with narcolepsy may automatically fall asleep at any time. They
During training, they constantly break down may experience sudden muscle weakness that causes them to
cells and tissue . They need adequate rest to restore fall to the ground, unable to move. These sleep attacks can be
startling to observers.
those tissues and make them stronger . Anabolic
• Sleepwalking is fairly common among teens. It is rare in adults.
processes are also the reason that new babies Sleepwalkers move about with their eyes open and engage in
sleep so much . Most infants double their birth everyday activities such as walking, talking, or doing chores.
weight in five months . That rate of growth can A sleepwalking episode usually lasts less than ten minutes. It
only happen if there is more building-up activity is not dangerous or harmful to wake a sleepwalker, but it’s best
to simply lead the person back to bed.
than breaking-down activity .

Why We Sleep • Level V 9 10

 Sleep Patterns Length of Sleep Stages
The benefits of sleep don’t all happen at once .
Sleep goes through multiple cycles . To understand
Stage 1 NREM
how sleep works, researchers monitor brain 5%
Stage 2 NREM
activity, eye movement, breathing rates, and 50–60%
heart rates in sleeping people . They record all
REM
these measurements in a single graph called 20–25%
a hypnogram . The hypnogram shows a pattern
of different stages of sleep . Stage 3 NREM
15–20%
Source: The Brain
There are two types of sleep—rapid eye from Top to Bottom
movement (REM) sleep and non-rapid eye This chart shows about how much time per night the average
movement (NREM) sleep . NREM sleep has three adult spends in each stage of sleep. The length of sleep stages
differs from person to person depending on various things,
different stages . During the first stage, people feel including age.
drowsy and start to doze . They may twitch and
suddenly jerk awake, imagining they are falling .
During stage 2 NREM, muscle activity
This stage doesn’t last more than ten minutes .
decreases and the sleeper becomes less aware
of the outside world . This is when memories
Sleep Stages in Cycles
start to shift from short-term to long-term . Half
Cycle 1 Cycle 2 Cycle 3 Cycle 4 Cycle 5
Awake
or more than half of all sleep time is spent in
REM sleep stage 2 NREM sleep .
NREM stage 1
During stage 3 NREM, sleepers begin to dream
NREM stage 2 and form permanent memories . Breathing rate,
NREM stage 3 heart rate, blood pressure, and brain temperature
11 pm 12 am 1 am 2 am 3 am 4 am 5 am 6 am 7 am are lowest during this stage . It is usually very hard
to wake someone from this deep sleep . This stage
As shown in this sample hypnogram, a sleeping person goes through
the stages of sleep in multiple cycles each night. lasts for nearly a quarter of sleep time .

Why We Sleep • Level V 11 12

 After cycling through NREM stages, sleepers Getting a Good Night’s Rest
enter REM sleep, which is quite different from the Many things should happen when our tired
other stages of sleep . As the name suggests, closed head hits the pillow . When they don’t, it can
eyes move rapidly from side to side . It’s as if they cause trouble for us during the day .
are watching a ping-pong match . Brain activity,
breathing, and heart rate are almost at waking When we are sleep-deprived, we can become
levels . Instead of resting, the brain is speeding cranky and make more mistakes when working .
along, yet the sleeper’s body is completely still . We are also less creative and have difficulty
Muscles become almost completely paralyzed with problem solving . Our brain doesn’t struggle
during this stage . Perhaps that is because of the alone—studies show that the body has a harder
wild dreams that take place during REM sleep . time maintaining a stable body temperature
without enough sleep . Wounds even take longer
to heal .
Sweet (and Not So Sweet) Dreams
Dreams occur during REM and deep sleep. We dream
every night, although we don’t always remember our dreams.
All dreams have two things in common. They are story-like
narratives, and they generally include the dreamer as a main
character.
Not all dreams are pleasant. Nightmares are frightening dreams
that may cause sleepers to wake up distressed. Young children can
experience extreme nightmares called night terrors. Night terrors
can cause them to scream and thrash
about without being fully awake.
For centuries, people have pondered
the meaning of dreams. Ancient cultures
believed they were messages from the
gods. Today, some people think that
dreams are a product of imagination.
Others think dreams may contain some
kind of hidden message. Naps don’t always make up for a lack of good nighttime sleep, but a quick
nap can help improve mood, alertness, and performance.

Why We Sleep • Level V 13 14

 Glossary
anabolic activity a metabolic process during which
(n.) the body builds or mends cells (p . 9)

brain waves (n.) patterns of brain activity that can be

measured in electric currents (p . 7)

catabolic activity a metabolic process during which

(n.) the body breaks down cells to use
for energy (p . 9)
Sticking to a sleep schedule, even on weekends, can help you fall asleep and
stay asleep all night. function (v.) to act or work as expected (p . 4)

immune system a system that moves antibodies

It is vital to maintain good and consistent sleep
(n.) through the body to fight infection
habits . Try to go to bed and wake up at the same (p . 10)
time each day . This helps keep your body on a
molecules (n.) the smallest parts of a substance that
regular schedule . It also helps if you limit screen
can exist by themselves, each made
time; try not to watch television, do computer
of one or more atoms (p . 9)
work, or even use a tablet or smartphone right
before turning in for the night . Avoid intense monitor (v.) to observe or check the progress
of something over time (p . 11)
activity before going to bed; going for a walk is
fine, but anything more could increase your body restores (v.) returns something to its original
temperature and make it hard to fall asleep . condition (p . 9)

If you do have trouble falling asleep, try taking schedule (n.) a plan for when and where one or
more events will take place (p . 15)
a warm bath or shower beforehand . Either one
will relax your muscles and help you slip into sleep-deprived not having enough sleep (p . 14)
a peaceful slumber . (adj.)

solidifying (v.) making stronger or more definite;

Good sleep habits keep the body healthy and
reinforcing (p . 8)
the mind sharp . Remember, if you don’t snooze,
you just might lose! temporary (adj.) lasting for a limited amount of time (p . 8)

Why We Sleep • Level V 15 16