Writing Workshop 1
A2 · Writing: Letters and emails · Health and Wellbeing
😴 Sleep: Your Secret Superpower — by Dr Anna Reed, sleep scientist
What if there was a pill that made you cleverer, happier, healthier and better at sport? You would take it, right? Well, it exists. It’s free, and it’s called sleep.
🧠 YOUR BRAIN: While you sleep, your brain is very busy. It sorts the things you learned during the day and stores them in your memory, like a librarian putting books on the right shelves. In one study, students who slept after learning new words remembered 30% more than students who stayed awake.
⏰ YOUR BODY CLOCK: Have you noticed that you don’t feel sleepy until late at night, but it’s really hard to wake up in the morning? That isn’t laziness. When you become a teenager, your body clock moves about two hours later. Some schools in the USA now start at 8.30 or later, and their students get better grades.
📱 THE PROBLEM WITH SCREENS: The blue light from phones tells your brain that it’s still daytime, so it doesn’t make the sleep chemical, melatonin. And if you’re watching something exciting, your brain stays switched on.
💡 MY TOP TIPS: Go to bed and get up at the same time every day — yes, even at weekends. Stop using screens one hour before bed. Keep your bedroom cool, dark and quiet. And if you feel sleepy in the afternoon, a twenty-minute nap is fine — but not longer, or you’ll feel worse.
Sample questions (4 questions)
- Write about your own health habits (50–70 words): sleep, food, screens and exercise. What is one thing you should change?
- Write a note to your teacher to explain why you were away from school (40–60 words). Say what was wrong and what the doctor or nurse said.
- Write three pieces of advice for a friend who can’t sleep (40–60 words). Use should / shouldn’t and give reasons from the article.
Answers and hints from Migo appear when you do it online.