Talking About Sleep

李会

Even though sleep might seem boring to you， its actually very important. In fact—believe it or not—sleep is just as important for your body as eating and exercising. Without  enough sleep， youll feel tired and even a little crabby1 or depressed2 sometimes. People of all ages need sleep， although the amount of sleep everyone needs changes at different times. Kids of your age need about 8 to 10 hours of sleep a night to be bright and alert3 the next day in school.

But as you probably know， its not always easy to get that much sleep. Six out of every 10 kids under age 18 complain4 of being tired during the day， because theyre not getting enough sleep. Have you been having any nightmares5 lately？ Sometimes its hard to fall asleep when youre afraid of having a scary6 nightmare. If the fear of nightmares is keeping you awake， try talking to your parents. Sometimes talking about the nightmares （and even drawing a picture of them） can help you stop having them.

Notes： 1. crabby adj. 易怒的 2. depressed adj. 憂郁的 3. alert adj. 机敏的 4. complain v. 抱怨 5. nightmare n. 噩梦 6. scary adj. 吓人的