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Why the Alarm Feels Worse in the Middle of a Dream

6th grade nonfiction passage about sleep stages and grogginess: 253 words, seven questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

6th grade nonfiction sleep stages and grogginess 253 words

Why the Alarm Feels Worse in the Middle of a Dream

Some mornings you pop out of bed ready to go. Other mornings the alarm rings and you feel as if you are walking through mud. The difference can depend less on how long you slept and more on the moment you were woken up.

Sleep is not one long, quiet stretch. During the night the brain moves through stages, and the stages repeat in loops called sleep cycles. In light sleep, the body slows down and it is easy to wake. In deep sleep, the heartbeat and breathing settle into a slow, steady pattern, and it is very hard to wake someone. Later in a cycle comes a stage with vivid dreams, when the brain is busy even though the body is still. Then the loop starts again.

If an alarm rings during deep sleep, the brain has to climb out of a very quiet state in a hurry. People often feel heavy, slow, and confused for a while afterward. Scientists call this feeling sleep inertia. It usually fades within a short time, but it can make a person clumsy and cranky in the meantime.

You cannot see inside your own sleep, but a few habits help. Going to bed and getting up at about the same time each day teaches the body when to expect waking. Bright light in the morning tells the brain that the day has started, so opening the curtains is a simple trick. Getting enough hours matters too, because kids and teenagers need more sleep than adults do.

Questions

  1. What are sleep cycles? in the text

  2. What happens to the heartbeat and breathing in deep sleep? in the text

  3. What is the feeling of being heavy and confused after waking called? in the text

  4. What is one habit that helps a person wake up better? in the text

  5. Why might the same alarm feel worse on some mornings than on others? think about it

  6. Why does bright morning light help? think about it

  7. Why is it hard to wake someone from deep sleep? think about it

Words to know

cycles
patterns that repeat again and again
stages
separate steps or parts of a process
vivid
very clear and full of detail
inertia
a slowness to get moving after being still
clumsy
awkward and likely to bump into things
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One passage, three levels

The same topic and facts written three ways, so a mixed class can read and talk about one text. Each group’s sheet shows only a shape; the key says which is which.

● Easier · 213 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.3

Some mornings you jump out of bed. Other mornings the alarm rings and you feel slow, as if you are walking through mud. It may not be about how long you slept. It may be about when you were woken.

Sleep is not one long, quiet block. At night the brain goes through stages. The stages repeat in loops called sleep cycles. In light sleep, the body slows down, and it is easy to wake up. In deep sleep, the heart and breathing are slow and steady. It is very hard to wake someone then. Later in a cycle there is a stage with vivid dreams. The brain is busy, but the body is still. Then the loop starts again.

If an alarm rings in deep sleep, the brain has to wake up in a hurry. You may feel heavy, slow, and mixed up. Scientists call this sleep inertia. It fades soon, but you may feel clumsy and cranky for a while.

You cannot see your own sleep, but some habits help. Go to bed and get up at about the same time each day. Open the curtains in the morning. Bright light tells the brain that the day has begun. Get enough hours, too. Kids and teens need more sleep than adults.

▲ This passage · 253 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 5.9

Some mornings you pop out of bed ready to go. Other mornings the alarm rings and you feel as if you are walking through mud. The difference can depend less on how long you slept and more on the moment you were woken up.

Sleep is not one long, quiet stretch. During the night the brain moves through stages, and the stages repeat in loops called sleep cycles. In light sleep, the body slows down and it is easy to wake. In deep sleep, the heartbeat and breathing settle into a slow, steady pattern, and it is very hard to wake someone. Later in a cycle comes a stage with vivid dreams, when the brain is busy even though the body is still. Then the loop starts again.

If an alarm rings during deep sleep, the brain has to climb out of a very quiet state in a hurry. People often feel heavy, slow, and confused for a while afterward. Scientists call this feeling sleep inertia. It usually fades within a short time, but it can make a person clumsy and cranky in the meantime.

You cannot see inside your own sleep, but a few habits help. Going to bed and getting up at about the same time each day teaches the body when to expect waking. Bright light in the morning tells the brain that the day has started, so opening the curtains is a simple trick. Getting enough hours matters too, because kids and teenagers need more sleep than adults do.

■ Harder · 271 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 7.7

On some mornings you spring out of bed, fully ready for the day. On others, the alarm sounds and you feel as though you are wading through thick mud. The difference may depend less on the total length of your sleep than on the precise moment at which you were woken.

Sleep is not a single, uninterrupted stretch of calm. Throughout the night, the brain passes through distinct stages, and those stages repeat in loops known as sleep cycles. During light sleep the body slows down and awakening is easy. During deep sleep the heartbeat and breathing settle into a slow, steady rhythm, and it becomes extremely difficult to rouse a person. Later in each cycle comes a stage of vivid dreams, in which the brain is highly active even though the body remains still. Then the whole loop begins again.

If an alarm sounds during deep sleep, the brain must climb out of a very quiet state in a great hurry. People frequently feel heavy, sluggish, and confused for some time afterward. Scientists refer to this sensation as sleep inertia. It generally fades within a short while, but in the meantime it can leave a person clumsy and irritable.

Although you cannot observe your own sleep, a few habits can help considerably. Going to bed and rising at roughly the same time every day teaches the body when to expect waking. Bright light in the morning signals the brain that the day has started, so opening the curtains is a simple strategy. Obtaining enough hours of sleep matters as well, since children and teenagers require more sleep than adults do.

Download as one PDF

How to use it

  1. Press Read it big (or B) to put the text on the projector, or Full screen (F) to fill the whole screen.
  2. Ask the questions one at a time and use Show answer when the class has decided. A shows or hides every answer.
  3. Print student copy for the class, or Print with answers for yourself.

Ideas for class

  • Before reading, put cycles, stages, vivid, inertia and clumsy on the board with their meanings from the Words to know section and have students predict what the text will be about.
  • Read it aloud once while students follow along, then have them reread it alone or with a partner. At a calm 100 words a minute it takes about 3 minutes to read aloud.
  • Use the Read it big button (or B) to put the text on the projector, and Show answer on one question at a time so the class commits to an answer first.
  • Question 5 asks the reader to infer. Ask students to point to the words in the passage that led them to their answer.
  • Ask students to write one question the passage did not answer, then look for the answer in a book or on a classroom screen.
  • Print the student copy for independent work and keep the answer-key copy for yourself.

Related

Questions

What reading level is "Why the Alarm Feels Worse in the Middle of a Dream"?

It was written for 6th grade. It has 253 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 5.9. That is a formula's estimate from sentence length and syllables, and it is not a Lexile or a guided reading level, so check it against your students.

What do the questions ask?

There are seven. 4 ask for something the text says directly and 3 ask the reader to work something out from clues. Each has an answer in the key, and the answers are written as a teacher would accept them, not as the only possible wording.

How long does it take to read?

About 3 minutes read aloud at 100 words a minute. For a one-minute fluency check, paste it into the fluency timer and use the word count.

Can I print it?

Yes. Print student copy gives the passage, the questions with lines to write on, and the word meanings. Print with answers gives the same page with the answers filled in. Both are made in your browser.

Is this passage from a published book?

No. It was written for Peabody Teach, so there is no book to buy and no login to read it.

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