Well-being 2: Sleep & Relaxation

Introduction

Jack: Hello my name’s Jack

Rich: and I’m Rich and welcome to this week’s Premier Skills English podcast.

Jack: In the Premier Skills English podcast, we talk about football and help you with your English.

Rich: Don’t forget you can find the transcript for all our podcasts on the Premier Skills English website.

Jack: In this week’s podcast, we’re going back to our series of podcasts that focus on well-being.

Rich: If you remember a couple of weeks ago we did a podcast all about looking after yourself. Well, this podcast follows on from that and covers the topics of sleep and relaxation.

Jack: In this week’s roleplay Rich talks about how he’s finding it difficult to get to sleep and I give him some advice because I think it’s connected to his daily routine.

Rich: Jack gives me a routine to follow - he found the advice on the #staywell hub on the Premier League website. We’ll share the links to the resources on the website. You’ll find out later if the advice that Jack gives me works and whether I finally start sleeping better.

Jack: You’ll hear the roleplay in three parts and after each part, we will look at some language. This week we’re going to focus on vocabulary.

Rich: First we’ll look at some words and common collocations connected to sleep and then we’ll also look at some phrases that are used to talk about healthy routines and feeling positive.

Jack: Your task this week is to analyse the daily routine plan I follow and tell us what similar and different things you do on a normal day.

Rich: If you are listening to us on Apple Podcasts or Spotify or any other podcast platform, you should also check out our website.

Jack: On the Premier Skills English website, you’ll find the transcript, examples and activities to help you understand the language, and a task for you to complete with other listeners.

Rich: Before we do the roleplays let’s look back at last week’s football phrase.

Last week’s Football Phrase 

Jack: OK, our football phrase. If you’ve not listened to the podcast before, every week we set our listeners a challenge. We explain a football phrase or word and you have to guess what it is.

Rich: When you know the answer, go to the podcast page on the Premier Skills English website and write the word or phrase in the comments. If you’re correct we’ll announce your name on next week’s podcast.

Jack: Thanks for all your answers last week. The first listener with the correct answer was WSanta from Argentina but we had quite a few right answers last week. Maybe the phrase was too easy!

Rich: Congratulations also go to: Abdlrhmn from Egypt, HSN, Mehmet Sisman and MoBeckham from Turkey, Hayato from Japan, Mario from Mexico, Liubomyr from Ukraine, MohamedKuna from Sudan, Emmanuel from France, Daniel Baron from Colombia and Jacek-Poland from Poland and Jacek from Poland.  

Jack: Is Jacek from Poland and Jacek-Poland from Poland the same person? I wonder ... Let us know in the comments section, Jacek! Later on, at the end of the podcast, we’ll tell you the answer to last week’s football phrase. We’re going to give you one more chance to guess now. Are you ready?

Rich: Last week’s football phrase was penalty shootout. The phrase describes what happens when the scores are level in a cup competition after full-time and extra-time. Five players from each team take part in a penalty shootout if the scores are still level the other players have to take part - even the goalkeepers!

Jack: Last week’s podcast was about good causes. We asked you about the good causes you support.

Rich: Thanks to HSN from Turkey for his reply. HSN told us that he gives money directly to people who need it and through a weekly donation that he makes on his mobile phone.

Jack: Donations, supporting good causes, raising money for charity. We looked at lots of vocabulary in last week’s podcast.

Rich: If you haven’t heard this podcast it’s called Learning Vocabulary: Good Causes ... and you can find it on the Premier Skills English website or on Apple Podcasts.

Introduction to roleplay 1

Jack: As we said earlier, in this week’s roleplay we’re talking about sleep and relaxation. You’ll hear the roleplay in three parts. After each part, we will look at some language for you to learn or revise.

Rich: You’re about to listen to the first part of the roleplay. I’m having problems getting to sleep.

Jack: While you listen we want you to answer two questions.

Rich: Question one is: How am I feeling?

Jack: Question two is: What do I think are the causes of sleep problems?

Roleplay 1

Jack: Morning, Rich. You look a bit rough - heavy night?

Rich: You could say that. I didn’t get to sleep until about three in the morning.

Jack: Out partying?

Rich: I wish! I went to bed at eleven but I just couldn’t get to sleep. I think I’m suffering from insomnia - I’m definitely not getting enough sleep.

Jack: Well, if you’re not staying up too late it could be something else in your daily routine.

Rich: I don’t know … I’m just feeling tired all the time. The other day I fell asleep when I was watching the match - I missed a goal!

Jack: Yeah, that’s not normal, is it?

Rich: And I’m always feeling irritable and just have no energy - I feel so lethargic all the time, you know what I mean?

Jack: Yeah, it’s easy to lose enthusiasm for stuff when you’re tired all the time.

Rich: Didn’t you have problems with insomnia a while back? I remember you talking about sitting on the sofa at four o’clock in the morning.

Jack: I did. It was a while ago now. I couldn’t sleep at all. I was working too much, eating all the wrong things, not doing enough exercise and my work-life balance was all wrong.

Rich: So what did you do?

Jack: Well, I actually got a lot of advice when I was reading about football.

Rich: Reading about football?

Jack: Yeah, well, on the Premier League website there are loads of articles about looking after yourself and I saw one about how to get a good night’s sleep. It was all about routines and what you do in the day - it’s all connected.

Rich: Sounds good - I wouldn’t mind getting eight hours sleep again every night.

Jack: You need a plan, Rich … I can help you if you like. We can go through it together.

Language focus 1

Rich: Before the roleplay, we asked you two questions. The first question was:  How am I feeling?

Jack: Well, Rich mentioned feeling irritable which is when you get annoyed or angry very easily. He also said that he feels tired all the time and that he doesn’t have much energy.
The second question was: What do I think are the causes of sleep problems?

Rich: Jack mentioned things like working too much, eating the wrong things and not doing enough exercise.

Jack: I spoke about work-life balance. Work-life balance is the amount of time you spend working compared to the amount of time relaxing with friends and family and doing things you want to do.

Rich: This is an important phrase when we are speaking about relaxing. Do you have a good work-life balance?

Jack: Let’s look at some more vocabulary you may have heard in the roleplay. We’re going to look at some collocations with the word sleep. Listen to this part of the roleplay again and listen for the phrases with sleep.

Rich: I wish! I went to bed at eleven but I just couldn’t get to sleep. I think I’m suffering from insomnia - I’m definitely not getting enough sleep.

Jack: Well, if you’re not staying up too late it could be something else in your daily routine.

Rich: I don’t know … I’m just feeling tired all the time. The other day I fell asleep when I was watching the match - I missed a goal!

Jack: Let’s start with to get to sleep. Rich couldn’t get to sleep - he’s having problems getting to sleep.

Rich: To get to sleep basically means to succeed in starting to sleep. We often use it when we have difficulty sleeping. I couldn’t get to sleep last night because of the noise in the street.

Jack: We can sometimes replace get to sleep with fall asleep. Listen:

Rich: I didn’t get to sleep until three in the morning. I didn’t fall asleep until three in the morning.

Jack: In these two examples get to sleep and fall asleep mean the same. When we use negative forms they usually mean the same.

Rich: However, in the roleplay, I said ‘I fell asleep when I was watching the match’.

Jack: When we use fall asleep in a positive form it often means to sleep unexpectedly. I once fell asleep on the train and missed my stop. I ended up in London when I wanted to get off in Birmingham!

Rich: That’s embarrassing. Another phrase you heard in the clip we played is to get enough sleep. We often talk about getting enough sleep - getting a sufficient amount of time to sleep.

Jack: I don’t get enough sleep - I only get five hours sleep a night.

Rich: That’s not enough sleep - you don’t get enough sleep. It’s important to get a good night’s sleep.

Jack: A good night’s sleep is another phrase we used in the roleplay. A good night’s sleep means a good quality sleep that is relaxing and sufficient.

Rich: People often talk about getting eight hours sleep being important. Do you get eight hours sleep every night?

Jack: We’ve looked at quite a few phrases connected to sleep already and you can find more activities connected to the language of sleep and revise what you have learned on the Premier Skills English website.  Now I think it’s time to move on to the second part of our roleplay.

...

Jack: Rich is at my house and I am showing him what I found out about sleep on premierleague.com - the Premier League’s website and passing on some advice.

Rich: If you want to look at this article and watch the video we’ve put links on the Premier Skills English website.

Jack: While you listen we want you to answer two questions.

Rich: The first question is: What does Jack do in the morning?

Jack: And the second question is: What do I do before I go to bed?

Roleplay 2 

Rich: So you say this will help me get a good night’s rest?

Jack: It’s tried and tested, Rich. It worked for me.

Rich: And you follow this all the time?

Jack: Not all the time - but mostly, yes.

Rich: Come on then let’s have a look … Start your day with a morning walk or run and get plenty of fresh air and sunshine.

Jack: I like to go for a run - but sometimes I just walk the dog and throw a ball around and think about the day ahead.

Rich: But if I don’t get to sleep until three, how am I going to get up at seven and go for a run.

Jack: It’ll get easier if you follow these steps. Being out early in the morning feels nice - getting some exercise and thinking about what you need to do for the rest of the day.

Rich: What’s this? A healthy and hearty breakfast. That’s more like it - a full English?

Jack: No way - not for me. Muesli, grapefruit and yoghurt - I sometimes have pancakes on a Sunday! This gives you plenty of energy to get through the morning.

Rich: Mm … this would probably stop me from snacking, I suppose. I sometimes skip breakfast or just grab a coffee.

Jack: Then it’s time to get to my desk and to get productive. I always start by checking messages and checking in with others.

Rich: I’ve probably done that already - I sometimes see messages at two in the morning.

Jack: That could be why you’re having trouble sleeping - you’re not switching off and relaxing. I never look at anything work-related in the evening and definitely not at two in the morning!

Rich: Yes, maybe I should turn my phone off - it’s always beeping.

Jack: I always turn off my phone before bed - don’t use it as an alarm clock!

Rich: What’s next on this list?  Getting productive.

Jack: I do two hours of solid work. I’m totally focused and then I have a break - maybe I have a coffee. I take ten minutes sitting in the kitchen and really enjoy it. I relax.

Rich: I’m probably on my third coffee already and I have it at my desk.

Jack: Not good, Rich. You need to take time out for yourself. Taking breaks helps you be more productive at work and no coffee after 12.

Rich: Really?

Jack: After my coffee I work for another hour - maybe an hour and a half and then I make sure I get outside before lunch.

Rich: More exercise?

Jack: Maybe just some light exercise - I might just do a chore - go down to the shops - take some recycling or something. Then I get back home for a sugar-free lunch.

Rich: Salad?

Jack: Sometimes but not always. Plenty of greens are good but I might have a jacket potato with a little bit of butter, too. Then the afternoon is similar to the morning.

Rich: And what about after work?

Jack: Well, it’s time for my workout. I do an hour of strenuous exercise every day. Twice a week I go to the gym, Thursdays it’s football and on the other days it’s usually a run or a bike ride.

Rich: I’m starting to see why you get to sleep easily - you must be exhausted in the evening!

Jack: No way! You get used to it. When I’ve finished I check in with loved ones - it might be face-timing a friend or calling my dad for a chat.

Rich: And then?

Jack: Then it’s a healthy dinner - loads of veggies - not all the time I love a steak now and again, too. Then, I take some time for myself - I might watch a bit of Netflix or play a computer game.

Rich: Until midnight?

Jack: No way. I disengage and relax an hour before bed always - no screentime at all. I might have a bath or read for a while then bed at ten thirty-elevenish and I sleep like a baby every night.

Rich: And this is what you want me to do?

Jack: This is what I want you to do. Give it two weeks and if you’re not sleeping like a baby I’ll give you your money back.

Rich: Money?

Jack: Joking, Rich. Just give it a try.

Rich: I will. I will.

Language focus 2

Rich: Before the roleplay, we asked you two questions. The first question was: What does Jack do in the morning?

Jack: Well, I suppose the key things are that I get up early and get outside and do some exercise and that I have a healthy breakfast.

Rich: And our second question was: What does Jack do before he goes to bed?

Jack: I think the most important thing I do is relax and keep away from screens for an hour before I go to sleep.

Rich: We used lots of phrases connected to routines and being healthy in the roleplay. Let’s look at some of that language now.

Jack: The first phrase I want to look at is plenty of. Plenty of is similar in meaning to other quantifiers such as lots of - they can mean a large number or quantity of something.

Rich: But plenty of also means enough or more than enough. Listen to how Jack uses plenty of when describing his breakfast:

Jack: No way - not for me. Muesli, grapefruit and yoghurt - I sometimes have pancakes on a Sunday! This gives you plenty of energy to get through the morning.

Rich: We used more examples of plenty of in the roleplay. Jack spoke about eating plenty of green vegetables at lunch and I mentioned getting plenty of fresh air and sunshine in the morning.

Jack: Getting plenty of fresh air and eating plenty of vegetables are two important things to fit into your daily routine. What else did we speak about?

Rich: We spoke about how we work and when we work. Listen to this part of the roleplay again:

Jack: Then it’s time to get to my desk and to get productive. I always start by checking messages and checking in with others.

Rich: I’ve probably done that already - I sometimes see messages at two in the morning.

Jack: That could be why you’re having trouble sleeping - you’re not switching off and relaxing. I never look at anything work-related in the evening and definitely not at two in the morning!

Jack: I spoke about getting productive - this means doing a lot in the time that you have.

Rich: Yes, it’s important to be productive and do your work so you can have more time to relax and do what you want to do later.

Jack: We used the phrase to check in with others in the roleplay. To check in with someone means to talk or contact them to find out some information or to see what they are doing.

Rich: Jack spoke about checking in with work colleagues at the start of his working day - this is probably very important if you are working from home and not in the office.

Jack: But it’s not only about work. I also said I spend an hour each day checking in with loved ones. This might be talking to family and friends who live with me or in another place.

Rich: Yes, it’s important to check in with people and see what they have been doing.

Jack: We also spoke about it being important to relax especially away from screens - our computers, TVs and mobile phones. I told Rich that he’s not switching off and relaxing.

Rich: To switch off is a phrasal verb which has two meanings. It can mean to turn off an electrical device. We switch off our phones in cinemas or when we go on an aeroplane.

Jack: But it can also mean to stop thinking about something. In the roleplay, I’m talking about work - it’s important to stop thinking about work and what you need to do - you need to disengage and relax. You need to switch off sometimes.

Rich: OK, there was a lot more language connected to healthy routines and you can check your understanding of more of these phrases on the Premier Skills English website where we have more activities for you.

Jack: Now we’re going to move on to the final part of our roleplay.

…

Rich: It’s a few weeks later and I’ve been following the routine which Jack showed me. We’re going to find out how I got on.

Jack: While you listen we want you to answer a question:

Rich: The question is: What do I like best about my new routine?

Roleplay 3

Jack: Morning, Rich. You look full of beans this morning

Rich: I am. I’ve been following those steps you showed me - well most of them.

Jack: How’s it going?

Rich: Brilliantly! Well, the first few days were difficult but now - I have so much more energy. I’m up first thing in the morning and raring to go.

Jack: And the insomnia?

Rich: Honestly - it’s gone. When I hit the sack I’m asleep within five minutes - tops.

Jack: And what’s working well?

Rich: I think getting up early. The idea of getting outside and getting some fresh air before sitting down at my computer is brilliant.

Jack: It is nice, isn’t it?

Rich: And disconnecting - picking up a book at night. I’m reading in bed again and I love it - I leave my mobile in the living room and relax.

Jack: Well, that sounds brilliant - I’m really happy it’s working for you - you look and sound much happier but now the big question!

Rich: What’s that?

Jack: Did you manage to stay awake for the whole 90 minutes last night?

Language focus 3 

Rich: Before the roleplay, we asked you a question. The question was: What do I like best about my new routine?

Jack: Well, Rich is generally happy but he mentions getting up early and getting outside to do some exercise as his favourite thing.

Rich: In the roleplay, I’m really positive about the changes I’ve made to my routine. Let’s look at a bit of language that shows this.

Jack: I tell Rich he is full of beans. To be full of beans is an idiom that means to have lots of energy. I could also have said that Rich was full of energy.

Rich: I said I was up first thing. First thing is an informal way of saying very early in the morning and to be up means to be out of bed and awake - I like to be up first thing.

Jack: He said he was up and raring to go. If you are raring to go you are very enthusiastic about going somewhere or doing something.

Rich: And my sleeping problems - my insomnia - has gone. I sleep like a baby when I hit the sack now.

Jack: A couple more idioms there. To hit the sack means to go to bed and to sleep like a baby means to sleep really, really well.

Rich:  If you want to learn more about the language we have used in our roleplay we have lots of extra materials on the website to help you study and understand. We also have the transcript if you want to read and listen at the same time so we hope to see you there.

TASK

Jack: In this week’s task, we want you to analyse my daily routine and tell us whether your routine is similar or different.

Rich: Do you get up early and do some exercise outside?

Jack: Do you take plenty of regular breaks during the day?

Rich: Do you have a healthy lunch and dinner?

Jack: Do you check in with loved ones every day?

Rich: Do you switch off before you go to bed?

Jack: Try to use some of the language we have used in this podcast when you write your answers in the comments section on the Premier Skills English website or on Apple Podcasts

Football Phrase

Rich: It’s time for this week’s football phrase. Have you got one Jack?

Jack: I have. This week’s football phrase is * ****** ****. I think this is a very strange phrase - we all know that a football is round not ******! The phrase describes a pass that goes sideways across the pitch - not forwards or backwards. An attacker might play * ****** **** to a teammate that is in space.

Rich: It’s a tricky one this week but if you think about shapes I’m sure a lot of you will get it right.

Jack: Let’s see who can get this football phrase right and who is first this week. And if you are still wondering what the answer was to last week’s football phrase it was penalty shootout.

Rich: If you have a football phrase that you would like us to use in the podcast, just get in touch and let us know.

Jack: Right, that’s all we have time for this week! Don’t forget to write your answers to our questions and make a guess at our football phrase in the comments below. If you get it right, we’ll announce your name on next week’s podcast.

Rich: If you have a question for us about football or English you can email us at premierskills@britishcouncil.org

Jack: or you can leave your questions and comments on the website in the comments section or on our Facebook page.

Rich: or you could give us a rating and a fantastic review on Apple Podcasts.

Jack: Bye for now and enjoy your football!