Sleep Is Not Doing Nothing

Health · The Body · Page 1 of 4

Name Date
DIRECTIONS: Read what your body does while you sleep. Then answer.
Three jobs your body does while you sleep:
The day gets filed
What is worth keeping gets stored, so you still remember it next week.
You grow
Mostly at night, in deep sleep.
Practice sinks in
Something you were clumsy at yesterday is better today, with only sleep in between. You test this on page 3.
  1. A friend says "sleep is just resting — I could rest by sitting still". Give them two things on this page that sitting still does not do.
  2. You stay up late before a test to study more. Using this page, what is the problem with that plan?
  3. Why do you think small children sleep so much more than grown-ups do?

Backwards From the Alarm

Health · The Body · Page 2 of 4

DIRECTIONS: Work backwards from the alarm to find your bedtime. Then answer.
You need about 10 hr of sleep a night. Start at the alarm and take the steps away.
The alarm goes off at7:00 am
Take away 10 hr of sleep → asleep by9:00 pm
Take away 20 minutes of teeth, water and getting into bed → start going to bed at8:40 pm
  1. Your alarm is at 6:30 am instead. What time do you have to start getting ready for bed?
    Show your work
  2. You go to bed on time but lie awake 25 minutes. How much sleep did you get? What could you change?
  3. Sleep debt. You get an hour less than you need, every night, Monday to Friday. How many hours short are you by Saturday morning?
    Show your work
  4. You sleep in two extra hours on Saturday. Does that pay it back? What happens to the rest?

A Week, and One Experiment

Health · The Body · Page 3 of 4

DIRECTIONS: Fill in the log every morning for a week. Then do the experiment.
NightLights outAlarm / woke upHoursHow the day went (1–5)
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
The experiment
1 Pick something fiddly you cannot do yet, like juggling two balls or a tongue-twister. 2 Practice ten minutes tonight. Then try ten times and write how many you got right. 3 Do not touch it again today. 4 Tomorrow morning, before practicing, try ten times again.
What I practiced
Out of ten, last night
Out of ten, this morning
The difference

What the Experiment Said

Health · The Body · Page 4 of 4

DIRECTIONS: Use your log and your two scores.
  1. Did you get better overnight? By how much? You did nothing in between, so what did the work?
  2. Look at your log. Is there a pattern between the hours column and the last column? Say so if there is not.
  3. One week is not much evidence. Give one reason your log might be misleading.