When US student Olivia Priedeman, 17, woke up one morning, she thought she had had a dream about making plans with a friend. But it wasn’t a dream. Her phone showed that during the night, Priedeman had read a text message from her friend. She did it while she was fast asleep.
Reading and responding (反应) to text messages while asleep – called “sleep texting” – is an unusual sleep behavior, similar to sleepwalking. It’s also a growing concern among doctors: young people can’t live without their cell phones.
One in three teenagers sends more than 100 text messages a day, according to the Pew Internet & American Life Project. And at least four out of five teenagers said they sleep with their phone on or near their bed.
Elizabeth Dowdell, a professor at Villanova University in Pennsylvania, has studied sleep texting. She said that having a phone nearby all night is a big part of the problem.
“That phone is in bed with them or sometimes on top of their chest when they’re sleeping or even in their hand. So the response is kind of automatic (自动的),” she said.
Andrew Stiehm, a sleep medicine expert with Allina Health in Minnesota, agrees. It’s possible for the part of the brain that controls motor (运动神经) skills to wake up, while the part of the brain that controls memory and judgment may remain asleep. That’s why some people can perform basic movements – such as walking, talking, texting or even driving – while they’re sleeping.
Some of Dowdell’s students have admitted that they’re disturbed by their nighttime texting behavior. But because sleep texting is unconscious (无意识的), it’s a difficult habit to break.
Dowdell said she knows of some students who wear socks on their hands to keep themselves from texting.
Marjorie Hogan, a doctor at Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, suggests keeping all electronic devices outside the bedroom at certain times.
Shay Radhakrishnan, 16, admits that she sleeps with her phone. But now the practice is giving her some pause (停顿).
“A lot of people leave their phones on their side tables, but for some reason I leave mine on my bed,” she said. “It is probably dangerous because it will probably wake me up a lot more – and probably cause me to start sleep texting.”
What happened to Olivia Priedeman?

A．She sleepwalked to a friend’s house.

B．She phoned one of her friends during the night.

C．She dreamed of making plans with a friend.

D．She read a text message from her friend while asleep.

How does sleep texting happen?

A．Some parts of the body are out of control during sleep.

B．The brain part controlling motor skills wakes up during sleep.

C．The brain part controlling judgment stays awake during sleep.

D．The brain part controlling memory becomes unconscious during sleep.

What does doctor Hogan suggest people who sleep text do?

A．Stop texting during the daytime.

B．Keep their phones out of their bedrooms while they sleep.

C．Take some medicine to control the behavior.

D．Wear socks on their hands to stop themselves from texting.

Which of the following statements about sleep texting is TRUE?

A．Sleep texting can reduce the quality of one’s sleep.

B．It’s easy to break away from a sleep texting habit.

C．Sleep texting does more harm to one’s health than sleepwalking.

D．One in three teenagers has a sleep texting habit.

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