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📖 Why Sleep Matters for Teenagers

8th Grade reading comprehension · Health science · Read the passage, then circle the best answer.

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Most health experts recommend that teenagers get between eight and ten hours of sleep a night, yet many get far less. Homework, sports, jobs and screens all compete for those hours.

Sleep is not simply rest. During deep sleep, the brain sorts and stores the day’s memories, which is one reason a good night’s sleep can improve test performance. Sleep also supports the immune system and helps regulate mood.

Teenagers face an extra challenge: during adolescence, the body’s internal clock shifts later, so many teens do not feel sleepy until 11 p.m. or later. Early school start times can therefore leave them chronically short of sleep.

Small habits help: keeping a regular bedtime, putting phones away an hour before sleep, and getting sunlight in the morning to reset the body’s clock.

Words to know: regulate: to control or keep steady · chronically: happening again and again over a long time

  1. How much sleep do experts recommend for teens?
    1. Twelve hours
    2. Eight to ten hours
    3. Five to six hours
  2. What happens to memories during deep sleep?
    1. Nothing.
    2. The brain sorts and stores them.
    3. They are erased.
  3. Why do many teens feel awake late at night?
    1. They nap at school.
    2. Their internal clock shifts later.
    3. They drink more water.
  4. What is the author’s purpose?
    1. To entertain with a story
    2. To argue schools should close
    3. To inform teens why sleep matters and how to get more
✂ Answer key: fold or cut along the line

1. B (detail)   2. B (detail)   3. B (cause and effect)   4. C (author’s purpose)

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