Read the text. Find the details.

1 What does REM stand for?

2 What does NREM stand for?

3 How long does an average person spend sleeping?

4 How many periods of REM does an average person have a night?

5 What are nightmares?

SLEEP AND DREAM

“Oh sleep! It is a gentle thing,

Beloved from pole to pole.”

S.T. Coleridge

A famous British poet, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, wrote these words over a hundred years ago. Most people would agree with him. Sleep is very important to humans; the average person spends 220,000 hours of lifetime sleeping. The doctors and scientists have learned a great deal by studying people as they sleep, but there is still much they don’t understand.

Scientists study the body characteristics that change during sleep, such as body temperature, brain waves, blood pressure, breathing, and heartbeat. They also study rapid eye movement (REM) which suggests that sleep is not, as it was thought to be, a dormant state but rather a mentally dynamic one. Your brain is, in fact, very active in this state, almost to the level at which it is when a person is awake. But during this active stage in which most dreams occur, the movements of the rest of the body are completely stilled. This stage might last an hour and a half, and during the sleep REM and NREM (non-rapid eye movement) alternate.

Body movement during sleep occurs just before the REM stage. The average person moves about 30 times during sleep each night. Sleep is a biological need but your brain never really sleeps. The things that were on your mind during the day are still there at night. They appear as dreams, at times people believe that dreams had magical powers or that they could tell the future.

Sometimes dreams are terrifying. If you dream about something that is worrying you, you may wake up exhausted, swearing, and with a rapid heartbeat. It is possible that dreams have a positive effect on our lives. It may be that during a dream the brain can concentrate on a problem and look for a different solution.

Researchers say that normal people may have four or five REM periods of dreaming a night. The first one may begin only a half-hour after falling asleep. Each period of dreaming is a little longer, the last one lasting up to an hour. Dreams also become more intense as the night continues. Nightmares usually occur toward dawn.

People dream in color, but many don’t remember the colors. Certain people control some of their dreams. They make sure they have happy ending. Many people talk in their sleep, but it is usually just confused half sentences. Sleepwalking is most common among children. They usually grow out of it when they are adolescents. Children don’t remember that they were walking in their sleep, and they don’t usually wake up if the parent leads them back to bed. Some people have the habit of grinding their teeth while they sleep. They may wake up with a sore jaw or a headache, and they can also damage their teeth. Unfortunately researchers don’t know why people talk, walk, or grind their teeth while they are asleep.

Snoring is another problem for some people. There are a lot of jokes about snoring, but it isn’t really funny! People snore because they have trouble breathing while they are asleep. Some people have a condition called sleep apnea. They can stop breathing up to 30 or 40 times an hour. The brain is left without oxygen and this can cause its damage. Sleep apnea can also result in irregular heartbeats, a general lack of energy, and high blood pressure.

You see that sleep is very important. We spend a third of our lives sleeping, so we need to understand everything we can about sleep. Sleep well! Sweat dreams!

Vocabulary and comprehension check

1. Check if you remember the meaning of the following words. Give the Ukrainian/Russian equivalents:

breathing, heartbeat, rapid, dynamic, exhausted, swearing, period, nightmare, dawn, sleepwalking, jaw, to damage, to snore, apnea.

2. Give English equivalents of the following words and expressions:

пересічна людина, кров’яний тиск, стан покою, нерухомий, сон (2), передбачати майбутнє, дослідник, спати, заснути, скреготати зубами, головний біль, кисень.

Fill in the gaps with the appropriate words. You have more words than you need.

Alternates lifetime magical terrifying dream adolescents headache exhausted solution sore sleep

1. ______________ may need reassurance that their parents still love them.

2. Trying to find a solution to the problem had left them mentally ______________.

3. A cure for cancer could be found within our children’s ______________.

4. Her eyes were ______________ from studying all night.

5. Diamonds were once thought to have ______________ powers.

6. The idea came to him in a ______________.

7. His mood ______________ between joy and despair.

8. She went home because she had a splitting ______________.

 

Match the synonyms.

humans	a. frightening
lifetime	b. youth
alternate	c. existence
magical	d. get up
terrifying	e. interchange
adolescent	f. people
wake up	g. supernatural

 

Complete the sentences according to the text.

1. Researchers have learned a lot about sleep, but ______________________________.

2. Scientists study the changes of body characteristics during sleep, such as _____________.

3. During REM stage ________________________.

4. During NREM stage _______________________.

5. Just before the REM stage ___________________________.

6. Our body can stay stilled during the sleep but our brain ________________________.

7. Terrifying dreams are called _______________________.

8. Most people don’t remember _____________________.

9. If people grind their teeth while they are sleeping they may________________________.

10. Sleepwalking is quite common __________________.

11. At present scientists can’t explain why______________________________.

 

Answer the questions.

1 How have researchers learned about sleep?

2 What does REM mean?

3 At what stage of sleep do people move around?

4 How do dreams change as the sleep periods continues?

5 Do you believe that dreams can tell the future? Give reasons for your answer.

6 Why do people feel embarrassed if they talk in their sleep?

7 Can sleepwalking be dangerous? Give reasons for your answer.

8 Why do some people grind their teeth while they sleep?

9 Why can sleep apnea cause brain damage?

10 Can scientists explain everything about sleep and dreams?

 

Are these statements TRUE or FALSE?

1. _______We spend about a third of our lives sleeping.

2. _______Researchers now understand nearly everything about sleep.

3. _______NREM sleep comes before the REM stage.

4. _______After the three stages of NREM, REM lasts the rest of the night.

5. _______Dreams occur during the REM stage, but the brain is blank the rest of the night.

6. _______A dream about unhappy event can change your heartbeat.

7. _______Nightmares occur early when dreams are short.

8. _______People dream in color.

9. _______Sleep apnea is the cause of some snoring.

 

Read the rest of the text SLEEP AND DREAM and complete each gaps with an appropriate word. Write down four WH-questions to the text.

Most people need from 7.5 to 8.5 hours of _________ (sleep, dream) a night, but this varies with individuals. Babies sleep 18 hour, and old people need less sleep than young people. If someone sleeps longer than normal for no _________ (plain, clear) reason, there may be something physically or psychologically wrong.

You cannot save hour of sleep the way you save money in the bank. If you have only 5 hours of sleep for three nights, you don’t have to sleep _________ (spare, extra) 9 hours on the weekend.

What should you do if you have _________ (trouble, mess) sleeping? Lots of people take sleeping pills, but these are _________ (dangerous, safe) because they are habit-forming. If you take them for several weeks, it is hard to stop taking them.

Doctors say the best thing is to try to relax and to _________ (avoid, stick to) bad habits. If you always go to bed and get up at about the same time, this sets a rhythm in your life. Caffeine keeps people _________ (aware, awake ), so don’t drink caffeine drinks in the evening. Smoking and alcohol can also keep from sleep. You may have trouble sleeping if you have _________ (important, heavy) meal just before you go to bed. Try to eat earlier in the evening to sleep well.

Talking points

- What do you think of dreams interpretation?

- Have you ever had dreams which told you the future events?

Read the text and do the task given below it.

DREAM INTERPRETATION

The common dreams are so called Chase, Flying, Falling, Test, Naked, and Teeth dreams. Dreams that your teeth are falling out are one of the most common. Teeth dream scenarios include having your teeth crumble in your hands, fall out one by one, grow crooked or rot. Such dreams are not only horrifying and shocking, but often leave the dreamer with a lasting image of the dream. So what does it mean?

One theory is that dreams about your teeth reflect your anxiety about your appearance and how others perceive you.

Another rationalization for these falling teeth dream may be rooted in your fear of being embarrassed or making a fool of yourself in some specific situation. These dreams are an over-exaggeration of your worries and anxiety.

Teeth are used to bite, tear, chew and gnaw. In this regard, teeth represent power. And the loss of teeth in your dream may be from a sense of powerlessness. You may be experiencing feelings of inferiority and a lack of self-confidence in some situation or relationship in your life. This means that you need to be more assertive and believe in the value of your own opinion.

A scriptural interpretation for bad or falling teeth indicates that you are putting your faith, trust, and beliefs in what man thinks rather than in the word of God. In the Greek culture, when you dream about loose, rotten, or missing teeth, it indicates that a family member or close friend is very sick or even near death.

According to the Chinese, there is a saying that your teeth will fall out if you are telling lies.

It has also been said that if you dream of your teeth falling out, then it symbolizes money. This is based on the old tooth fairy story. If you lose a tooth and leave it under the pillow, a tooth fairy would bring you money.

Find other sources to interpret the rest of common dreams.

Lesson 5

Skim the reading to find the answer to the questions below: What are the basic emotions? What are the main facial expressions of emotions?

EMOTIONS AND FACIAL EXPRESSIONS

Emotion is one of the most controversial topics in psychology, a source of intense discussion and disagreement. In modern times the subject of emotion has become part of the subject matter of several scientific disciplines – biology, psychology, psychiatry, anthropology, and sociology. Emotions have been defined as a particular psychological state of feeling, such as fear, anger, joy, and sorry.

Certain facial expressions are associated with particular human emotions. Research shows that people categorize emotion faces in a similar way across cultures, and similar facial expressions tend to occur in response to particular emotion.

To match a facial expression with an emotion implies knowledge of the categories of human emotions into which expressions can be assigned. For millennia, scholars have speculated about categories of emotions, and recent scientific research has shown that facial expressions can be assigned reliably to about seven categories, though many other categories of human emotions are possible and used by philosophers, scientists, actors, and others concerned with emotion.

Happy expressions are universally and easily recognized, and are interpreted as conveying messages related to enjoyment, pleasure, a positive disposition, and friendliness. In fact, happy expressions may be used to hide other emotions and deceive or manipulate other people. Consider this point when viewing invariably smiling political figures and other celebrities on television.

Sad expressions are often conceived as opposite to happy ones, but this view is too simple, although the action of the mouth corners is opposite. Sad expressions convey messages related to loss, bereavement, discomfort, pain, helplessness, etc. Until recently, American culture contained a strong censure against public displays of sadness by men. Although weeping and tears are a common concomitant of sad expressions, tears are not indicative of any particular emotion, as in tears of joy.

Anger expressions are seen increasingly often in modern society, as daily stresses and frustrations underlying anger seem to increase. Anger is a primary concomitant of interpersonal aggression, and its expression conveys messages about hostility, opposition, and potential attack. Anger is a common response to anger expressions, thus increasing the likelihood of dangerous conflict.

Fear expressions are not often seen in societies where good personal security is typical, because the imminent possibility of personal destruction, from interpersonal violence or impersonal dangers, is the primary elicitor of fear. Fear expressions convey information about imminent danger, a nearby threat, or likelihood of bodily harm. Anxiety is related to fear, and may involve some of the same bodily responses, but is a longer term mood and the elicitors are not as immediate. Both are associated with unhealthy physical effects if prolonged.

Disgust expressions are often part of the body's responses to objects that are revolting and nauseating, such as rotting flesh, fecal matter and insects in food, or other offensive materials that are rejected as suitable to eat. Obnoxious smells are effective in eliciting disgust reactions.

Surprise expressions are fleeting, and difficult to detect. They almost always occur in response to events that are unanticipated, and they convey messages about something being unexpected, sudden, or amazing. The brief surprise expression is often followed by other expressions that reveal emotion in response to the surprise feeling or to the object of surprise, emotions such as happiness or fear. For example, most of us have been surprised, perhaps intentionally, by people who appear suddenly or do something unexpected ("to scare you"), and elicit surprise, but if the person is a friend, a typical after-emotion is happiness; but if a stranger, fear.

Some psychologists have differentiated other emotions and their expressions from those mentioned above. These other emotion or related expressions include contempt, shame, and startle. Contempt is related to disgust, and involves some of the same actions, but differs from it, in part, because its elicitors are different and its actions are more asymmetrical. Shame also has a relation to disgust according to some psychologists. Most psychologists consider startle to be different from any human emotions, more like a reflex to intense sudden stimulation. The startle expression is unique.