【推荐1】Feeling guilty about your daily afternoon nap (小睡)? Don’t. Research shows that catching a few ZZZs after lunch can be good for your brain.     1    

Napping for 30 to 90 minutes can provide significant brain benefits. Researchers looked at data from 2,974 adults in China. They discovered that those who napped for 30 to 90 minutes bad better word recall and figure drawing abilities than those who didn’t nap or napped for longer than 90 minutes. However, longer naps, particularly those longer than 90 minutes, might cause problems.     2     It in tum leads to needing longer naps during the day, which can cause mental issues, feeling dizzy after waking, and trouble sleeping at night.

Charlene Gamaldo, M.D., medical director of the Johns Hopkins Sleep Disorders Center, emphasizes the importance of considering individual sleep needs and cycles when it comes to napping.     3     She advises that if you’re experiencing sleeplessness or taking longer than 30 minutes to fall asleep at night, it might be wise to limit your nap duration. This balance is crucial for maintaining overall sleep quality.

The study also suggests that both too much and too little sleep can be linked to poor health and a shorter life.     4     For most of us, the ideal nap length can have a significant positive impact on brain health and overall well-being.

    5     So, enjoy your afternoon nap, but keep it within the golden time range to get the most benefits.

【推荐3】A traditional curriculum (课程) is the most widely accepted form of education. It refers to a teacher-centered style of education which requires students to passively receive information taught by teachers.     1    , based on what they think will be useful for the next generation in their academic and social lives.

Different from a traditional curriculum, a progressive curriculum presents a different approach to education.     2    . Teachers cease to be the authorities that are spreading knowledge, but rather only facilitate students’ research and development. School is no longer preparation for life, but rather a part of life, a process of learning and discovering that will last throughout the life of every student. Basically, it’s a reform of traditional education.     3    , although it is becoming increasingly popular in many schools across the world.

    4    . Usually, classes in schools supporting a progressive curriculum are smaller than in those supporting a traditional one. This is to ensure that students get as much attention from teachers as possible. Besides, a traditional system is mostly theoretical—knowledge is taught through lectures, worksheets, notes, and textbooks, without much practical involvement.     5    . It encourages direct experience, play, and social interaction. Furthermore, a traditional system supports knowledge in many areas, subjects and classes, while a progressive system focuses on the main interests of students and gives very deep and detailed information about those subjects, focusing the education on those subjects that are most interesting to the students at hand.