Talking about naps

Neil
Hello! Welcome to another episode of Real Easy English, our podcast where we have real conversations in easy English to help you learn. I’m Neil.
 
Georgie
And I’m Georgie. You can watch this video with subtitles on our website, where you’ll also find a worksheet to test what you’ve learned. Visit bbclearningenglish.com.
 
Neil
Hi, Georgie. How are you?
 
Georgie
I’m good, thank you. How are you?
 
Neil
I’m kind of tired today.
 
Georgie
So, you’re tired? Well, today we are talking about naps. Maybe you can have a little nap in the office later. And a nap is when you have a short sleep in the daytime. So, Neil, do you usually nap?
 
Neil
Err… no, I don’t. I’m not very good at having naps. I find it difficult to get to sleep in the day, and if I do have a nap, afterwards I feel really bad.
 
Georgie
Mmm. Yeah, me too. The only time I will ever have a nap is if I’ve got up really, really early. For example, if I’ve got up early for a flight, like 4am, then I might have a nap in the afternoon. But I really avoid naps because, like you, when I wake up I feel worse. I never feel better after a nap so I don’t understand people that nap all the time.
 
Neil
Mmm. My wife is an expert at napping.
 
Georgie
Oh yeah?
 
Neil
She can switch herself off and on like a light. I think it’s an amazing skill. I’m very jealous.
 
Georgie
Yeah. Does she do it often?
 
Neil
Yeah. She works very early, and late sometimes, shifts. So, I think if you have that kind of job, napping is really important.
 
Georgie
Mmm. I don’t nap because it doesn’t help me but I really enjoy… I enjoy the actual process of napping. It’s nice to go to sleep, isn’t it? You feel relaxed.
 
Neil
You do, yeah. I don’t sleep enough, I don’t think.
 
Georgie
No.
 
Neil
And it makes me feel good when I sleep well, but usually I enjoy the evening so much that I don’t want to go to bed early.
 
Georgie
Mmm. So, you don’t sleep very much or very well. Does that make you tired during the day?
 
Neil
Often, yes, I feel tired, but it’s not as bad as it used to be because my kids are older now. How about you? 
Georgie
Yes, I often feel quite energetic in the morning and then I… My energy crashes in the afternoon, which is why I often drink coffee once in the morning and once in the afternoon to boost my energy.
 
Neil
Mmm. Is there anything else you do to feel better – feel less tired?
 
Georgie
Erm… not at the moment, but I know that when I exercise that helps me feel more energetic, which is strange because you’d think that would make you more tired, but it often gives people energy. What about you? Any tips for feeling less tired?
 
Neil
Yeah, I absolutely agree. If you’re feeling tired, sometimes a good thing to do is do some exercise, or go and get some fresh air, go for a walk. And instead of making you feel more tired, it makes you wake up a bit.
 
Georgie
So, I often feel very energetic in the morning, but then my energy crashes in the afternoon. Do you have the same Neil? Do you find your energy crashing or going down in the afternoon?
 
Neil
Yes, sometimes. Sometimes in the afternoon, I yawn a lot. A yawn…
 
Georgie
Mm-hmm, I’ve seen that.
 
Neil
…a yawn is when you open your mouth and breathe deeply. I’ll show people. You go: “Aahh!”
 
Georgie
Yes, I’ve seen you do that in the office. You yawn a lot.
 
Neil
Yeah, sorry. I’ve seen people, actually, in our office snoozing!
 
Georgie
Having a snooze – like having a little nap. I’ve seen it too.
 
Neil
Yeah, and not because they’re lazy: because sometimes people here have to work very late at night or very early in the morning, so they’re tired.
 
Georgie
Yeah.
 
Neil
OK. Let’s recap the vocabulary we’ve heard in this programme, starting with nap. A nap is a short sleep during the daytime. And that’s a noun, but it’s also a verb: to nap.
 
Georgie
We also heard snooze, which is similar to nap. If you snooze, you sleep lightly for a short time.
 
Neil
And we heard yawn. A yawn is when you breathe in deeply when you’re tired, like this: “Aahh!” And I do it a lot.
 
Georgie
We also heard crash. If your energy crashes, it falls or goes down. For example, my energy often crashes in the afternoon.
 
Neil
That’s it for this episode of Real Easy English, but we’ll be back next week with another real conversation in easy English.
 
Georgie
Try the worksheet on our website to test what you’ve learnt. Visit bbclearningenglish.com. And why not try our new easy video series, The London Letter Challenge? You can also find it on our website. Goodbye for now.
 
Neil
Goodbye!