Reducing the amount of sleep affects students' performance at school. An American study asked schoolteachers to look at the effects of sleep restriction（限制） on children between six and twelve years of age. The teachers found that children who stayed up late had trouble thinking clearly and had more learning problems.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Doctor Fallone now works at the Forest Institute of Professional Psychology in Springfield, Missouri. He presented the results last month at a science reporter conference in Washington, D. C. The Publication Sleep also reported the findings.

    The teachers were asked to complete weekly performance reports on seventy-four schoolchildren. The study lasted three weeks. During that period, Doctor Fallone and his team controlled the amount of sleep the children received.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} During another week, every child was kept awake later than normal. Each night, the youngest boys and girls had less than eight hours of sleep. The older ones were limited to six and a half hours. During the final week of the study, each child received no less than ten hours of sleep a night.

    The teachers were not told about how much sleep the students received. The study found that students who received eight hours or less had the most difficulty remembering old information. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    The study did not find that sleep restriction caused hyperactivity(极度活跃) in the children. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    Doctor Fall one said that the results provided experts and parents with a clear message: {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

    “Urgent action required”, “Do you still want to hear from us?”, “We've updated our privacy policy”, “Should we stop sending you updates? If not, act now!”

    Many of us will have received emails like this during the past few weeks. Triggering this flood of emails is something called GDPR that comes into effect in just under two weeks' time. Often the emails warn that if you don't respond, you will be removed from the company's database, which raises a lot of questions. What action, if any, do you need to take? Could it affect you financially?

    GDPR, which stands for General Data Protection Regulation, has been described as the biggest overhaul（彻底检查）of online privacy since the birth of the internet. It is designed to give all EU citizens the right to know what data is stored on them and to have it deleted, plus protect them from privacy breaches（破坏）. It comes into effect on 25 May.

    The new rules encourage the requirement for explicit and informed consent before data is processed. As a result, companies and organizations around the world are contacting users to check they are happy to carry on receiving their emails.

    However, many of us seem to be going down with “GDPR fatigue（厌倦）”: one article last week claimed that the “reconfirmation rate” - the proportion of people saying they want to continue receiving a company's emails - at UK micro-businesses was averaging just 10%, which meant “they could lose 90% of their subscribers - the life-blood for their business”. So it's no wonder some firms have adopted policies such as offering to enter people into a prize draw in return for them going in and updating their communication preferences.

    The average adult is said to have about 100 “data relationships” — companies and organizations that hold our personal data. Meanwhile, the reason why the company that occasionally emails you newsletters is now asking for your consent is perhaps because you never explicitly gave it permission to send you stuff. Maybe you only get its emails because you went to an event it organized ages ago or you once downloaded something from its website. Under the new regime, that almost certainly wouldn't count as explicit and informed consent, hence it's getting in touch now.

    The bottom line is that if it is a company or organization that you want to continue hearing from, you should probably click the button or log in to ensure you keep getting its emails. If it doesn't hear from you, it may decide to take you off its database.

    Have you ever changed your mind, or even given up a dream because you were afraid of what someone else might think of you? If you're often worried about what friends, family, or even strangers in the street might think, then you're using up a huge amount of energy worrying.{#blank#}1{#/blank#} But the steps below should help.

Step 1: Ask yourself what matters to you.

    Maybe you can't stand the gym, but your best friend works out every day. It's natural for people around you to have different values from you.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}

Step 2:{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    The truth is that I'm not the centre of the world, and neither are you! Most of the people around you are far too busy going about their own lives to think much about you.

Step 3: Recognize that their opinion can't hurt you.

    There are a few cases where opinions will make a difference.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} But the people who really matter are going to love you for who you are.

Step 4:{#blank#}5{#/blank#}

    You can't control people's thoughts. You've got no idea what might go through their head, or why. You can't please everyone all of the time, and there's no need to try to.

A. Do whatever you want to do.

B. This is a hard habit to get rid of.

C. You should make everyone around you happy.

D. So just be clear and honest with yourself.

E. Remember that they're not all watching you.

F. Accept that you can't control what people think.

G. For instance, your boss's opinion is usually important to you.

    These days our society develops rapidly and forces people to rush. It appears that people have got used to being in a hurry. However, it's better for people to take their time and live their life at a slower pace than to hurry to get things done.

    The main reason that convinces us to oppose doing work in a hurry is the possibility of doing wrongs in a rush. When people do their jobs or take action in a hurry, they can't make a sound decision and probably regret later. As the saying goes, 'Haste makes waste.' We should think carefully before making a decision and do our work less quickly. We should not make mistakes by doing work hurriedly.

    Slowing down the pace of life helps people enjoy their life better. For example, taking a train to some place certainly will take more time than taking a plane. However, taking a train makes people have enough time to get to know a lot of new friends. Besides, it allows people to fully enjoy the beautiful scenery along the way. On the contrary, being in a hurry will make us lose chances of enjoying our lives.

    Finally, slower life pace provides better health conditions for us. As is known to all, taking action in a hurry bothers people and raises their stress. People think if they are not in a hurry, they will become a loser and that annoys them. But being in a hurry can hurt people both physically and mentally. According to some studies, people who have a slower pace suffer fewer diseases, tend to be happier and live much longer than those whose life is tense, even if the former finish jobs more slowly than the latter.

    In short, working quickly will bring about more material benefits to make our society more advanced. Yet, much stress can't bring enjoyment, friends and health, which are much more important than money and other material advantages. Therefore, take your time and live your life at a slower pace.

    If you want to keep fit, please refer to the following;

    Move More

    Make it a rule to find ways to move your body. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Climb stairs instead of taking the elevator. Walk your dog; play with your kids. It doesn't have to be an hour in the gym or a 45-minute dance class. But that's great when you're up to it. At the same time, move more.

    Quit Smoking

    Ever since 1960 when it was announced that smoking was harmful to health, Americans have been reducing their use of tobacco products. Just recently, we've seen more and more teens smoking. Could it be the Hollywood influence?

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Take care! Warn your children against smoking.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    While recent studies show a glass of wine or one drink a day can help protect against heart disease, more than can cause other health problems such as liver and kidney (肝肾) disease and cancer.

    Reduce Stress

    Easier said than done, stress comes in many ways.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} Spend 30 minutes a day doing something you like such as walking on the beach or in a park, read a good book, visit a friend, listen to relaxing music, and watch a funny movie.

    Protect Yourself From Pollution

    If you can't live in a smog-free environment, at least avoid smoke-filled rooms, {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Exercise indoors in air conditioning when air quality is good.

A. Avoid Excessive Drinking

B. There are many things you can do to move your arms and legs.

C. Think carefully about what you will do.

D. Exercise outside when the smog rating is low.

E. It seems that the stars in every movie smoke cigarettes.

F. Keep a Positive Mental Outlook.

G. Some techniques given by experts are to think positive thoughts.

    If you said you were suffering from "burnout" in the early 1970s, you might have raised some eyebrows.

    At the time, the term was informally to describe the side effects that heavy drug users experienced.

    However, in 1974, a German-American psychologist Herbert Freudenberger found the volunteers at his clinic were struggling, too: their work was tough, and many were lacking in motivation. Freudenberger defined this condition as a state of extreme tiredness caused by constant overwork－and borrowed the term "burnout" to describe it.

    Late last month, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that the problem will be recognized as a syndrome (综合征) "resulting from workplace stress that has not been successfully managed."

    Feeling the burn so how can you tell if you're almost burned out?

    "A lot of the signs and symptoms of pre-burnout would be very similar to depression," says Siobhan Murray, a psychotherapist. She suggests looking out for bad habits, such as increased alcohol consumption and relying on sugar to get you through the day. Also watch out for feelings of tiredness that won't go away or not having the energy to exercise or go for a walk. As soon as you begin to feel this way, Murray advises going to see your doctor. "Depression and pre-burnout are very similar. But it is still classified as an occupational phenomenon which is still best tackled by making lifestyle changes."

    And how do you know if you're really on the edge of burnout? "Stress is really important, and anxiety is what motivates us to do well," says Murray. "It's when we're continually exposed to stress and anxiety that it starts to turn into burnout."

    You're pre-burnout: What's next?

    "Sometimes they feel the need to be too perfect so they're having to work very hard to cover up that they're not quite as good as everyone thinks." Another therapist Walker says.

    However, sometimes the work environment is the problem. According to a 2018 study of 7,500 US workers, burnout comes from unfair treatment at work, an unmanageable workload and not knowing what a person's role should involve. Workers were also stressed out by a lack of support from their manager and punreasonable time pressure.

    Whatever the cause of your burnout, Murray's top tip is to be kind to yourself.

    In Murray's experience, a key driver of burnout is today's culture of wanting it all. Often it's just not possible to have a healthy social life and complete a big project at the same time. She says it's vital to prioritize and not expect too much of yourself; when others seem like the perfect boss, parent and friend all at the same time, they're probably misleading us.

    If you feel that you might be close to joining the burnout club, take a step back, figure out what's going wrong－and let yourself off the hook.