How Quality Sleep Protects Your Brain

Having trouble thinking creatively? Not able to focus on tasks that need to get done? Poor sleep could potentially be     1    （blame）. It turns out lack of sleep can do a number on your brain—and not just in the short term.

Research suggests not getting enough quality sleep can have serious permanent negative consequences. On the other hand, good sleep habits can have lasting benefits. Below are three research-backed brain benefits of sleep.

Stimulates creativity

Thinking in new, imaginative ways requires a well-rested brain. On the contrary, a brain     2    （suffer）from a lack of sleep is unable to think creatively.

A study     3    （report）in the journal Nature bears this out. For the study, participants learned a task     4     they had to recognize a hidden pattern in the questions they were asked. Their initial training     5    （follow）by eight hours of nighttime sleep or wakefulness or daytime wakefulness.

More than twice as many participants gained insight into the hidden rule after sleep as those who did after wakefulness, regardless of the time of day. The researchers concluded that "sleep, by restructuring new memory representations,     6    （facilitate）obtaining of expressive knowledge and insightful behavior.”

Reduces depression

Often influenced by chemical imbalances in the brain, depression and sleep problems go hand-in-hand. People with depression may either have a hard time sleeping or else get too much sleep.

While it's not clear     7     lack of sleep causes depression, it can worsen it. Studies show people who sleep fewer than six or more than nine hours a night are more likely to be depressed than those     8    between.

Solidifies memories

One of sleep's main functions is to help improve memory. It does this by enabling the brain to strengthen some neural pathways（神经通路）     9     reducing those it doesn't need. For example, your brain     10    （not need）to keep every sensory impression collected during your waking hours.

Huangshan Maofeng is a kind of green tea. It is produced throughout the Huangshan region of Anhui Province. This region    1    (have)a temperate climate and receives plenty of rainfall. The soil is deeply layered and made up of the yellow earth typically found in mountainous regions,    2    makes this area suitable for the growth of tea trees.

Huangshan Maofeng    3    (create) by a teahouse in Anhui Province in the Guangxu Period of the Qing Dynasty. Later, each year, during the Qingming period,    4    (picker)would climb high mountains in the Huangshan region     5    (collect) fat leaves and bud points, which were then fried and baked. They named the tea made from this practice Huangshan Maofeng.

Huangshan Maofeng must be picked    6    (careful). The picking standard for top-grade Huangshan Maofeng is to pick one bud and one leaf just before it’s about to unfold. After    7    (pick), the fresh leaves will be separated to ensure that all of the leaves are of high quality and    8    all of the buds are similar in size. Then they will be spread to dry out.

In order to ensure the quality and keep the    9    (fresh)of the tea, it is recommended that the tea leaves should be picked in the morning and processed in the afternoon,    10    picked in the afternoon and processed at night.

In Rawalpindi, Pakistan, the China Flower House offers a wide range of lifelike artificial flowers and plants     1    (import) from China, enticing everyone entering the shop with their appealing colors, designs and diversity.

“Pakistani people love to decorate their houses, offices, gardens, wedding parties and other events     2     these beautiful Chinese flowers and plants made from polyester.     3    (literal), no one can tell whether these are real or fake from their shape and texture,” said Muhammad Abbas.

“Besides     4    (they) attractive appearance, these products, made from high-quality material,     5     (be) easy to maintain without any trouble and cost-effective. There is no fading of colors, and they look fresh and pretty all the time. These are basic     6    (feature) that home and event decorators are in love with,” he said.

Abbas said, “I     7    (involve) in the business for the last 20 years, and never witnessed a decrease in demand and sales of Chinese flowers and plants,     8    (add) that Chinese manufacturers’ abilities in upgrading the quality and designs to meet the demand of local customers are exceptional.”

Naseem Zadi said, “I have come to buy flowers for my newly-built house,     9     I wishes to decorate. Many people do not have enough time on their busy schedules to take care of real flowers or plants and the artificial ones look lovely     10     attractive.”