Insomnia

Intro

1. Learn Vocabulary - Learn some new vocabulary before you start the lesson.

• sleeping like a log
• wide awake
• counting sheep
• tossing and turning

• insomnia
• sleeping pills
• tons
• oversleeping

• sucks
• wiped out

2. Read and Prepare - Read the introduction and prepare to hear the audio.

People around the world suffer from insomnia. The main causes are stress and anxiety. Diet and exercise habits can also contribute.

Most people have experienced insomnia for at least one night. Maybe they had an argument with a friend that wasn’t resolved. Maybe they were worried about a project at work. Emotional stress can keep us awake.

Some people experience long periods of insomnia. Often, people take sleeping pills to insure they get the rest they need.

Listen as Toby tells Erin about her recent insomnia.

Dialog

1. Listen and Read - Listen to the audio and read the dialog at the same time.

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2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.

Toby

Erin

Toby:  I just, I just finished this, this huge project that took tons of time over months and I had a lot of anxiety about it and I could not sleep the entire time. I had horrible insomnia.

Erin:  Oh, no. That sucks. And that creates so much more stress for you when you can’t sleep and, I mean, you were probably already stressed out with the project. But when you can’t sleep you just, your body just gets wiped out ‘cause you’re not getting any rest or anything.

Toby:  Yeah. And I mean, it is, it’s almost like you… you, you know it’s temporary, like, now I’m, I’m sleeping like a log again. But, but I would literally be wide awake even after working, like, 16 hours, you know, I would just lay there. And I don’t get the whole counting sheep thing. I tried it.

Erin:  I don’t either because when I’m lying there tossing and turning and I can’t fall asleep, I just get more and more frustrated with myself because I’m lying there thinking, like, why can’t I fall asleep. Oh my Gosh, like, another hour has passed by and I can’t go to sleep and I’m still wide awake and counting sheep is a myth and blah, blah, blah and I start to worry about, like, how am I gonna keep going tomorrow and I can’t keep not sleeping ‘cause I’m gonna get sick if I don’t get my rest so… then I start to worry and then I get more stressed…

Toby:  Or you fall asleep at, like 4:00 or 5:00, and then you end up oversleeping. It’s a horrible cycle.

Erin:  I know, and then when you oversleep the next day everybody calls you lazy. But no, you’ve just been up all night long.

Quizzes

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Lesson MP3

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