Practice English Reading Exercises for B2 – Sleep, Dreams & Mental Well-being 5

Exercises:   123456

Reading 1

You are going to read an article about four students discussing the controversial trend of “polyphasic sleep” (taking multiple short naps) to maximize study time and why it ultimately failed for them.

For questions 1-10, choose from the people/sections (A-D). The people/sections may be chosen more than once.

Which person/section

1   admits to unintentionally dozing off during an assessment?

2   mentions that an inflexible routine caused them to become alienated from loved ones?

3   realised that a greater volume of study time did not equate to absorbing more facts?

4   notes an alarming deterioration in their emotional state?

5   was forced to abandon the experiment due to contracting an illness?

6   was persuaded to attempt the trend after viewing content from an internet celebrity?

7   concluded that the routine is fundamentally incompatible with everyday social norms?

8   reached a point where they found it difficult to differentiate between waking life and dreams?

9   confesses to completely ignoring a warning given by a professional?

10   accepts that the overall quality of their written coursework noticeably declined?

The Polyphasic Sleep Trap: Why Napping for Grades is a Nightmare

A Liam

I first came across the ‘Uberman’ routine on a productivity blog. The premise was intoxicating: sleep for just twenty minutes every four hours, thereby unlocking an extra twenty hours a week to revise. Despite my biology teacher warning me that it was a guaranteed recipe for disaster, I stubbornly plunged ahead, convinced I could somehow hack my own physiology. For the first few days, the adrenaline carried me through, and I felt utterly invincible. However, my body soon rebelled against the unnatural rhythm. My immune system crashed, and I caught a nasty chest infection. The absolute breaking point, though, was my mock chemistry paper. I was so profoundly exhausted that my head hit the desk, and I completely passed out halfway through the exam. Waking up to the invigilator tapping my shoulder was absolutely mortifying. It taught me the hard way that you simply cannot cheat biology; sacrificing restorative rest for extra revision time is ultimately a false economy.

B Sarah

My motivation for adopting a polyphasic sleep cycle was driven by sheer panic over my mounting university coursework. I opted for the ‘Everyman’ schedule, which involves a core sleep of three hours supplemented by three daily naps. Had I anticipated how isolating this lifestyle would be, I would never have attempted it. To make the schedule work, you have to stick to your nap times with military precision. Consequently, I had to turn down invitations to the cinema, miss family dinners, and skip weekend gatherings. If I delayed a nap by even half an hour, the resulting fatigue was unbearable. I quickly realised that the modern world simply isn’t set up for people who need to drop everything and sleep at random intervals. Even though I was squeezing in more reading, the loneliness was overwhelming. I eventually reverted to a normal eight-hour night because I desperately missed feeling connected to the people around me.

C Ben

I was lured into the polyphasic trap after watching a famous YouTuber claim it was the ultimate secret to academic brilliance. I desperately needed to boost my grades, so I eagerly adopted the ‘Dymaxion’ method, splitting my sleep into four thirty-minute blocks. Initially, I was thrilled by the sheer volume of extra hours I had gained. I was churning out essays and reading entire chapters in a single night. Yet, when my tutor returned my assignments, I was utterly dismayed. My writing was incoherent, full of grammatical errors, and lacked any logical structure. It dawned on me that while my eyes were open, my brain was barely functioning. I was putting in the hours, but I simply couldn’t consolidate new information or think critically. Without prolonged periods of deep, restorative sleep, my cognitive abilities had plummeted. I abandoned the experiment, accepting that working smarter is far more effective than just staying awake longer.

D Chloe

During the run-up to my final exams, the pressure was immense, and I decided that sleeping normally was a luxury I simply couldn’t afford. I transitioned to a segmented sleep pattern, hoping to maximise my productivity. Unfortunately, the psychological toll was immediate and terrifying. Within a fortnight, my mood had deteriorated drastically. I transformed from a fairly easy-going person into someone who was perpetually irritable and anxious, snapping at anyone who dared to interrupt my studying. Worse still, not only did my patience vanish, but the chronic sleep deprivation also began to play tricks on my mind. I started experiencing bizarre micro-sleeps while standing up, and at one point, I genuinely struggled to separate my waking thoughts from my dreams. Feeling that disconnected from reality was a genuinely frightening experience. I immediately pulled the plug on the routine. No exam is worth sacrificing your mental stability, and I learned that a rested mind is absolutely vital.

Reading 2

You are going to read an article about four people sharing their thoughts on a psychology podcast explaining why stress dreams usually involve failing an exam they passed years ago.

For questions 1-10, choose from the people/sections (A-D). The people/sections may be chosen more than once.

Which person/section

1   began listening to the broadcast with low expectations?

2   describes experiencing a bodily reaction upon waking from the nightmare?

3   was reassured to discover how widespread this particular dream is?

4   explains that the brain is effectively practising how to survive a crisis?

5   admits their former reluctance to take the interpretation of dreams seriously?

6   connects the nightmare to a deep-seated fear of being exposed as incompetent?

7   highlights how illogical the dream is considering their actual past performance?

8   currently utilises a specific coping mechanism recommended by the expert?

9   has come to recognise the dream as a warning sign of real-life overwork?

10   explicitly mentions that the scientific explanation cured their sense of embarrassment?

Back to the Exam Hall: Unravelling Our Stress Dreams

A Mark

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been plagued by the exact same nightmare: I’m sitting in a freezing exam hall, staring blankly at a maths paper I haven’t revised for. I always jolt awake with a racing heart and clammy palms, feeling utterly panicked. It’s completely irrational, especially considering I sailed through my actual maths exams with flying colours years ago. I always wondered why my mind tortured me like this, until I came across a fascinating psychology podcast. The host explained that from an evolutionary standpoint, our brains are hardwired to scan for threats. When we sleep, the mind essentially runs a virtual reality simulation of our greatest anxieties to keep us on our toes and prepare us for future crises. Hearing this was a revelation. It turns out my brain isn’t trying to punish me; it’s just an overprotective survival mechanism. Since listening, I’ve finally come to terms with the dreams, viewing them as quirky biological glitches rather than actual nightmares.

B Sarah

I stumbled upon the ‘exam nightmare’ podcast episode by pure chance. I was stuck on a particularly tedious train journey and simply clicked on the first audio file that popped up, fully expecting to switch it off after five minutes. However, I was instantly hooked. The psychologist made a compelling case that these vivid dreams about failing a test you took a decade ago are rarely about the past. Instead, they act as a mirror reflecting your current emotional state. She noted that we often revert to the intense pressure of school exams because it’s a universal baseline for stress. It suddenly clicked for me: I only ever dream about failing my university finals when I’m drowning in deadlines at the office. The nightmare is essentially a flashing dashboard light, warning me that my current workload is unsustainable. Now, whenever I find myself back in that imaginary exam hall, I immediately know I need to take a step back and book some time off work.

C Leo

Whenever I woke up from the classic “unprepared for the exam” dream, I used to keep it strictly to myself. At twenty-eight, it felt incredibly childish to still be stressing out about secondary school history tests, and I was genuinely embarrassed by my own subconscious. However, the podcast completely validated my experience by revealing that this is consistently ranked among the top five most common dreams worldwide. It was a massive relief to discover that thousands of other successful adults are haunted by the exact same scenario. The expert on the show delved into the idea of ‘imposter syndrome’, suggesting that these dreams usually strike people who are terrified of being unmasked as incompetent in their daily lives. That hit the nail on the head for me. I’ve recently taken on a managerial role, and the underlying fear of not being up to the job was manifesting as a failed history paper. Understanding the root cause has been incredibly liberating.

D Maya

Up until last week, I was highly skeptical of anything related to dream interpretation. I’ve always considered it to be absolute nonsense, assuming that dreams were just random, meaningless images firing off in a sleeping brain. Yet, the podcast approached the topic with such rigorous scientific backing that it completely won me over. The host didn’t just explain why we dream about flunking tests; she actually provided actionable steps to tackle the issue. One method involved ‘imagery rehearsal therapy’, where you spend ten minutes before bed consciously rewriting the ending of the nightmare in your mind. I decided to give it a go, visualising myself confidently turning over the exam paper and knowing every single answer. To my absolute astonishment, it has worked wonders. Not only have the stressful exam dreams faded away, but I’m also sleeping much more soundly. It’s remarkable how a little bit of psychological insight can dramatically improve your nightly routine.

Exercises:   123456