F2F Class Notes (Nemo)

New research shows that many people are not sleeping enough and that this is having a serious impact on health. Professor Matthew Walker from the Center for Human Sleep Science at the University of California warned that a “catastrophic sleep-misfortune plague” was putting people in danger of ill health. He said a continued lack of sleep was putting people at risk from a large number of possibly fatal diseases. Professor Walker said people need eight hours sleep a night to stay healthy. He continued that people who don’t sleep enough will have a shorter life. Walker said the effect of not sleeping enough negatively impacts every single aspect of our health and every part of our body.
Professor Walker warned that a lack of sleep is linked to debilitating diseases such as Alzheimer’s, cancer, heart disease, obesity and diabetes. He warned that we are in a dangerous situation whereby we do not fully understand the very serious, “catastrophic” consequences of not getting eight hours a night. He gave several reasons why we are sleeping less. He said: “First, we electrified the night. Light is a profound degrader of our sleep.” He also blamed longer working hours and longer commuting times, a desire to be with friends more rather than sleep, mobile devices, and the increased availability of alcohol and caffeine. He also blamed anxiety and said: “We’re a lonelier, more depressed society.”

Vocabulary

plague (n): 1- bubonic plague , or any serious disease that kills many people: 2-a large number of things that are unpleasant or likely to cause damage:
E.g.1: Millions died of (the) plague.
E.g.2: a plague of insects

misfortune (n): 1- bad luck, or an unlucky event:
E.g.: It’s unfair to take advantage of other people’s misfortunes.

take advantage of someone -to use someone’s weakness to improve your situation:
E.g.: Don’t you realize that he’s taking advantage of you and your money?

journalist (n): 1-a person who writes news stories or articles for a newspaper or magazine or broadcasts them on radio or television:
E.g.: The journalist asked the minister how he viewed recent events.
E.g.: The journalist took notes throughout the interview.

fatal (adj): 1-A fatal illness, accident, etc. causes death: 2-very serious and having an important bad effect in the future:
E.g.1: This illness is fatal in almost all cases.
E.g.1: the fatal shooting of an unarmed 15-year-old
E.g.2: He made the fatal mistake/error of believing what they told him.

debilitating (adj): 1-causing weakness:
E.g.: Strokes are a common debilitating condition of old age.

obesity (n): 1-the fact of being extremely fat, in a way that is dangerous for health:
E.g.: A diet that is high in fat and sugar can lead to obesity.

diabetes (n): 1-a disease in which the body cannot control the level of sugar in the blood