Naps: Good for your brain? BBC News Review — Transcript

Full transcript

1. 0:00Could a short sleep during the day.
2. 0:03protect your brain?
3. 0:05This is News Review from BBC Learning English.
4. 0:09I'm Beth. And I'm Phil.
5. 0:11Make sure you watch to the end to learn all the vocabulary
6. 0:15that you need to talk about this story.
7. 0:17And don't forget to subscribe to our channel, like this video
8. 0:22and try the quiz on our website.
9. 0:24Now, today's story.
10. 0:27Our brains get smaller as we get older, but this doesn't happen as fast
11. 0:34in people who take regular short sleeps during the day.
12. 0:38That's according to a new study. Researchers suggest
13. 0:42that these naps might reduce the risk of developing conditions
14. 0:46like Alzheimer's in later life.
15. 0:49You've been looking at the headlines.
16. 0:51What's the vocabulary?
17. 0:53We have 'power nap',
18. 0:55'sharp', and 'hinder'.
19. 0:58This is News Review from BBC Learning English.
20. 1:10Let's have a look at our first headline.
21. 1:13This is from iNews.
22. 1:17Power naps linked to greater brain capacity, scientists say.
23. 1:22So brain capacity is about brain size and
24. 1:26this headline says that it's linked to something called 'power naps'.
25. 1:30Now we're going to look at this phrase 'power naps',
26. 1:34but Phil, the word 'nap'.
27. 1:36Isn't that a short sleep that babies have?
28. 1:39Well, anyone can have a nap,
29. 1:42but we're looking at 'power naps'. Now,
30. 1:45these are short sleeps,
31. 1:47usually during the working day in order to be able to do your job better.
32. 1:54And in fact, maybe I should have a power nap after recording this.
33. 1:59Well, that might be good for your brain.
34. 2:01That's what this headline is saying,
35. 2:03but there are other types of nap, aren't there?
36. 2:06Yes, you might have heard of a 'cat nap' which is kind of similar,
37. 2:11but it's not associated with work and we have other words to talk about sleep
38. 2:16like 'snooze' or 'to nod off' and many others.
39. 2:20OK, well before our audience nods off.
40. 2:23Let's look at that again.
41. 2:33Let's have our next headline.
42. 2:35Yeah. This one is from the Times.
43. 2:37Taking more naps could help you to stay sharp
44. 2:42in later life.
45. 2:44Now, again, we're talking about naps
46. 2:46and this article refers to another study which suggested
47. 2:51that having naps can help our brains perform better.
48. 2:55The word. We're looking at is 'sharp' . Now, Phil.
49. 2:58I know a sharp knife.
50. 3:00But what is a sharp brain?
51. 3:02Well, you've probably guessed that.
52. 3:05It's a metaphor.
53. 3:06If you describe someone as 'sharp'.
54. 3:09It means they're alert and they can think quickly.
55. 3:13Think about when you've had a good rest, and you're feeling good.
56. 3:17Everything just seems to be a bit easier.
57. 3:20Yep, and we use it to talk about people that always have a quick answer
58. 3:25for something. We can say that they are sharp or that they have a sharp mind.
59. 3:30Yes, and it's being used here to say that regular naps will keep your brain
60. 3:37performing well.
61. 3:39Yes, just like how practising your English
62. 3:42every day will keep your language skills sharp.
63. 3:45OK, let's look at that again.
64. 3:55OK, next headline please. This one is
65. 3:58from the Daily Express. Naps could help or hinder your health,
66. 4:04depending on their length, study suggests.
67. 4:07Now, this is actually referring to a different study and it says
68. 4:11that long naps can be associated with obesity while
69. 4:15shorter naps can reduce the risk of high blood pressure.
70. 4:20We are looking at the word 'hinder'.
71. 4:22And this is often used with the word
72. 4:25'help' isn't it. It is,
73. 4:27but it means the opposite. To 'hinder' means 'to make things harder'
74. 4:32or worse. Now,
75. 4:34here we are looking at health.
76. 4:36So, the headline is saying that some naps - shorter ones - are helpful.
77. 4:42While others - longer ones - are unhelpful.
78. 4:46That's right and 'hinder' is not that common in spoken English,
79. 4:51but it is often used with the word 'help'.
80. 4:54And that's because of those two 'h's. Hinder and help.
81. 4:58So, for example,
82. 5:00if something turns out to be less useful than you expected it to be.
83. 5:05It might actually hinder rather than help you.
84. 5:08I could also say
85. 5:10that having to work hinders me being able to take naps regularly.
86. 5:15That's right. OK, let's look at that again.
87. 5:25We've had 'power nap'.
88. 5:27A short sleep during the day.
89. 5:29'Sharp' - alert and quick thinking.
90. 5:33'Hinder' - to make something difficult or worse.
91. 5:35Now, there's more about sleep in this video,
92. 5:38where we ask 'are late nights bad for your health?'
93. 5:43And don't forget to subscribe here, so you never miss a chance to learn more English.
94. 5:49Thanks for joining us, bye. Bye.