Response-to-Text Writing Directions: Read the passage below and write an essay

about it.

Summarize the main ideas of the passage in your own words.

Then respond to one or more of these ideas.

The summary should be a small part of your essay (about 20%). The rest of it (about

80%) should focus on your own

ideas. Explain how one or more ideas from the article

relate to something you have

experienced, seen, read, or learned about.

You will have 90 minutes to complete your essay.

Getting Enough Sleep

Did you get enough sleep last night? Scientists say that people need between

seven and nine hours of sleep per night to be at their best, but 35% of Americans sleep

less than this amount. There are multiple reasons why people don't get enough sleep and

it really affects how your brain functions.

Many people in the United States work long hours. Paul Martin, author of

Counting Sheep: The Science and Pleasures of Sleep and Dreams, points out that most

people spend much more time working and commuting than sleeping. In part, this is

because American culture places a high value on hard work and much less

value on

good

sleep. Those who work a lot are seen as industrious, whereas those who

sleep a lot may

be viewed as lazy.

At the end of the day, screens are a big temptation. It's so easy to watch

television, play video games or scroll through social media

. The pull to watch

just one

more video or read just one more post can be

almost impossible to resist. It gets late

very

quickly and suddenly, you don't have

enough time to sleep. Even worse, the light from

screens tells your mind to stay awake and

makes it harder to sleep. In addition, when

you

have a lot of screen time before bed,

your quality of sleep will not be as good, either.

People who don't get enough sleep often suffer from cognitive impairment. For

instance, they may have trouble with emotional

regulation, remembering things or

making good decisions. This is

because high quality sleep isn't just for your body

. It's a

time when your mind restores

and repairs itself. In addition, that's when your memories

are consolidated, which in turns

help you remember information you learned that

day.

Sleep is very important for our physical and emotional wellbeing. However, to get

more sleep, we may need to change

our habits and routines.



What is the main ideas