BBC LEARNING ENGLISH
6 Minute English
Sleepy in South Korea
This is not a word-for-word transcript
6 Minute English
©British Broadcasting Corporation 2022
bbclearningenglish.com
Page 1 of 7
Sam
Hello. This is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English. I’m Sam.
Neil
And I’m Neil.
Sam
Sleep – we all need it – some more than others. I can usually get by with around
seven hours a night but I do like to have a nap – a short sleep – in the afternoon,
when I’m not working of course. How about you, Neil?
Neil
I’m always tired and as soon as my head hits the pillow, I’m
out like a light
–
meaning I go to sleep very quickly.
Sam
Well, Neil, you might not survive in South Korea then. Apparently, it’s one of the
most stressed and tired nations on earth - a place where people work and study
longer hours and get less sleep than anywhere else. We’ll find out more later and
teach some sleep-related vocabulary.
Neil
But before we do, you need to give me a question to keep me awake and alert!
Sam
Of course I do, and here it is. In the 1960s, American man, Randy Gardner, set the
world record for staying awake for the longest period. Do you know what that
time was? Was it:
a)
64 hours
b)
164 hours, or
c)
264 hours?
6 Minute English
©British Broadcasting Corporation 2022
bbclearningenglish.com
Page 2 of 7
Neil
All sound impossible but I’ll guess a) 64 hours – that’s nearly 3 days!
Sam
Oh, well. I’ll give you the answer later in the programme – assuming you don’t
doze off! But let’s talk more about sleep now. As I mentioned, we all need it to
help our mind and body rest and relax. And going without sleep – or
sleeplessness - is bad for our health.
Neil
Many things can stop us sleeping and some of them are pressure, anxiety and
stress caused by your job. And in South Korea research has shown it’s become
increasingly difficult to
switch off
– stop thinking about work and relax. South
Koreans sleep fewer hours and have higher rates of depression and suicide than
almost anywhere else.
Sam
Se-Woong Koo has been reporting on this for the BBC World Service
Documentary podcast. He met one worker who explained why she never got time
to relax.
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