THE IMPORTANCE OF SLEEP

Getting enough sleep is crucial for both physical and mental health. A lack of sleep can (1) _______ concentration, weaken the immune system, and increase stress levels. Experts recommend maintaining a consistent sleep schedule and creating a comfortable sleeping environment to (2) _______ restfulness. (3) _______, many people still sacrifice sleep for work or entertainment, not realizing the long-term consequences. Studies have shown that poor sleep is linked (4) _______ a higher risk of chronic diseases. Additionally, sleep helps the brain (5) _______ information and improves memory retention, making it essential for learning and productivity.

The Changing Role of Women in Society

1. The greatest recent social changes have been in the lives of women. During the twentieth century, there has been a remarkable shortening of the proportion of a woman's life spent in caring for children. A woman marrying at the end of the nineteenth century would probably have been in her mid-twenties and would be likely to have several children, of whom four or five lived till they were five years old. By the time the youngest was fifteen, the mother would have been in her early fifties and would expect to live a further twenty years, during which custom, opportunity, and health made it unusual for her to get paid work. Today, women marry younger and have fewer children. Usually, a woman's youngest child will be fifteen when she is forty-five and can be expected to live another thirty-five years and is likely to take paid work until retirement at sixty. Even while she has the care of children, her work is lightened by household appliances and convenience food.

2. This important change in women's life patterns has only recently begun to have its full effect on women's economic position. Even a few years ago, most girls left school at the first opportunity, and most of them took a full-time job. However, when they married, they usually left work at once and never returned to it. Today, the school-leaving age is sixteen, many girls stay at school after that age, and, though women tend to marry younger, more married women stay at work at least until shortly before their first child is born. Very many more afterwards return to full-time or part-time work. Such changes have led to a new division of roles within the home, with the husband accepting a greater share of the duties of child-care and housework, and with both husband and wife sharing more in friendship and in interests, running the home, according to their abilities.