Matching headings test 1

 
 
 
Q5.
Sleeping patterns change with age, which is why many people over 60 develop insomnia. In America, that 
age group consumes almost half of the sleep medication on the market. One theory for the age-related 
change is that it is due to hormonal changes. The temperature rise occurs at daybreak in the young, but at 
three or four in the morning in the elderly. Age aside, it is estimated that roughly one in three people suffer 
some kind of sleep disturbance. Causes can be anything from pregnancy and stress to alcohol and heart 
disease. Smoking is a known handicap to sleep, with one survey showing that ex-smokers got to sleep In 
18 minutes rather than their earlier average of 52 minutes. 
Q6.
Apart from self-help therapy such as regular exercise, there are psychological treatments, including 
relaxation training and therapy aimed at getting rid of pre-sleep worries and anxieties. There is also sleep 
reduction therapy, where the aim is to improve sleep quality by strictly regulating the time people go to bed 
and when they gel up. Medication is regarded by many as a last resort and often takes the form of sleeping 
pills, normally benzodiazepines, which are minor tranquillisers. 
Q7.
Professor Regelson advocates the use of melatonin for treating sleep disorders. Melatonin is a naturally 
secreted hormone, located in the pineal gland deep inside the brain. The main function of the hormone is to 
control the body's biological clock, so we know when to sleep and when to wake. The gland detects light 
reaching it through the eye; when there is no light, it secretes the melatonin into the bloodstream, lowering 
the body temperature and helping to induce steep, Melatonin pills contain a synthetic version of the 
hormone and are commonly used for jet lag as well as for sleep disturbance.