Shadowing Practice: improving your sleep is easier than you think - Learn English Speaking with Video
Creating lesson...
1
Millions of people suffer from lack of sleep, which can be linked to heart disease, diabetes, depression, and shorter life.
2
While you sleep, your body builds muscle, your mind gets clearer, and your energy levels increase.
3
Without sleep, however, all of that starts to break down.
4
Sleep deprivation actually has similar effects on the brain as being drunk.
5
Even wasting your money all these years on tequila when you could've just been crushing espresso shots.
6
How much have you had to sleep tonight, sir?
7
None.
8
None at all.
9
That's what I thought.
10
Get him!
11
into all the reasons sleep is important, you should check out the book Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker.
12
It's a really fascinating book, but TLDR, it says you should get about 8 hours of sleep every night.
13
Okay, so there's a lot of sleep myths out there.
14
Let's start by clearing those up.
15
A lot of people think they can catch up on sleep over the weekend.
16
This is not really the case.
17
You might be able to feel a bit more energy, but your sleep schedule is a lot more delicate than you think, and you need more consistency to have reliable sleep over a long period of time.
18
Get some rest, tall child.
19
Get some rest, tall child!
20
Usually people who say they only need 4 hours of sleep just have a higher tolerance for tiredness.
21
Over time, they will still feel the negative impact of lack of sleep, even if in the morning they're all perky and shit.
22
The worst is the ones who are real braggy about only needing 4 hours of sleep.
23
You may be all uppity now, but when you're 35 and you look 60, we'll see who's laughing then, okay, Dennis?
24
I have a couple friends who drink before bed because they think it helps them sleep, which, uh, first off, sounds like alcoholism.
25
But alcohol, as well as THC and melatonin, can help people become sleepy, but it totally messes with your REM cycle, which is where your body actually rests and recovers.
26
I know so many people who take melatonin every night, and it may seem effective because you feel sleepy, but you're not only giving yourself worse sleep,
27
you're also building melatonin tolerance and creating reliance on external melatonin.
28
It's kind of like if to feel good, you took drugs every day.
29
You'll take more and more, you'll develop a reliance on it, it'll become a huge problem, and eventually, you'll neglect your family and in order to feel any validation in his life,
30
your son will try to become a cartoon YouTuber.
31
Okay, here are some common mistakes people make that hurt their sleep.
32
A lot of people use their phone, laptop, or TV right before bed.
33
The blue light in these devices is also found in sunlight, and that wakes you up and suppresses your natural melatonin.
34
So doing this just before bed makes it a lot harder to fall asleep.
35
Overall, just try not to use your phone or laptop for at least 30 minutes before bed, unless it's to watch more of my channel.
36
Caffeine stays in your system for a lot longer than you think, so for most people, avoiding caffeine past 3 p.m is a good rule of thumb.
37
If you're sensitive, don't drink it past 12 p.m.
38
And for those of you who say caffeine doesn't affect you, so you can drink it late in the day, it may not make you feel sleepy, but if it's in your system, it will impact your quality of sleep.
39
So just try not to drink it too late.
40
And don't brag about being able to handle caffeine either.
41
Because then, you're just as bad as Dennis.
42
Exercising contributes to higher sleep quality, but not if it's too late in the day.
43
If your body is pumped up from lifting or cardio, it's far from ready to sleep.
44
Some people love late night workouts, but it can definitely keep you up, so try avoiding working out at least 2 hours before bed.
45
To optimize my sleep, I avoid working out… yes.
46
If you're peeing a lot in the middle of the night, every night, try avoiding liquids after 7pm.
47
Hydrating is important, so do it earlier in the day, but multiple bathroom trips during the night can disrupt your sleep cycle, or even worse, it can increase your chances of wetting the bed.
48
And even though you're an adult, everyone at school is going to find out and make fun of you.
49
And as a coping mechanism, you're going to try to become a cartoon YouTuber.
50
Irregular sleep schedules can also confuse your circadian rhythm.
51
Your body loves consistency, so sleeping at the same time every night contributes to the best sleep quality.
52
Sleeping late does happen to everyone here and there, but the key is to just try to keep a similar wake-up time in the morning.
53
If you slept late, you'll feel tired for sure, but you'll get sleepier earlier that evening, which can better help reset your sleep schedule.
54
Speaking of BetterHelp, that brings us to the sponsor of this video, Figuring It Out Yourself.
55
Licensed therapy is great, but I haven't received a sponsorship from BetterHelp yet, so until they're willing to give me some of that sweet,
56
sweet therapy cash, I'm going to be promoting people just figuring things out on their own.
57
You can do it.
58
You don't need to talk to anyone unless that person works at BetterHelp and can get me a sponsorship.
59
BetterHelp, my balls are in your court.
60
All right, so here are some science back tips to help optimize your sleep.
61
You want to keep your bedroom dark, cool, and quiet.
62
To keep it dark, I have blackout curtains, but I'm really bad at installing things, so plenty of light still spills into my bedroom.
63
So I also use an eye mask.
64
I know I can just fix the blackout curtains, but okay, you're not my mom, okay?
65
How about you just get off my case about this?
66
Your body sleeps best in a cool environment, around 65 degrees Fahrenheit, 18 degrees Celsius, or 291 Kelvin.
67
So to keep it cool when I sleep, I use a ceiling fan, air conditioning, or if you have some extra money to spend, I use this thing called the ChiliPad, which is a thin mattress cover that allows you to control the temperature.
68
It is pretty pricey, but it has totally revolutionized my sleep quality, and I'd highly recommend it if you can afford it.
69
And if ChiliPad wants to sponsor me, I am also open to that.
70
Okay, honestly, if anyone wants to give me money, you can just assume that I'm open to it.
71
To keep it quiet, it's obviously nice to live in a place that isn't too loud outside.
72
I used to live in downtown Manhattan where people yell at each other in the middle of the night all the time.
73
So I used silicon earplugs every night, which were really helpful.
74
A white noise machine can also be useful.
75
You can use an Alexa or Google Home as a white noise machine.
76
You can buy a dedicated white noise machine like this, or you can even get a white noise machine that looks like this.
77
But do this at your own risk.
78
For a while, I was sleeping with an eye mask, mouth tape, and earplugs in every night, which made me look like I was constantly in the middle of getting kidnapped.
79
But that did make me feel a bit safer because if someone broke into my apartment and saw me, they'd be like, oh, it looks like someone's already robbing the place.
80
I should probably get out of here.
81
You should also try to get some sunlight in the morning.
82
If you've ever listened to the Huberman podcast, you've probably heard him talk about getting sunlight in your eyes first thing in the morning
83
because it starts your circadian rhythm for the day, which will lead your body to more accurately know when to fall asleep at night.
84
This has really helped my sleep.
85
When I wake up after I do my morning routine, peeing, brushing my teeth, praying for more subscribers, I take a walk outside and I let the light hit my eyes.
86
It kind of feels like you're in a dramatic indie movie scene where the main character reconnects with their hometown
87
and they realize they should have never moved to the big city.
88
All they needed to be happy was right here all along.
89
You've been watching the Hallmark Channel.
90
Some people also try supplementation to help sleep.
91
Like I said before, melatonin has a host of issues, but taking magnesium has helped with my sleep quality significantly.
92
It doesn't make you sleepy like melatonin, but magnesium helps you with depth of sleep.
93
There are a ton of different types of magnesium, but the big ones to help with sleep are threonate, glycinate, and taurate.
94
I take this combination one from natural stacks every night about an hour before bed, and then I'm good to go.
95
Okay, final tip.
96
Here are the things I do to help me fall asleep.
97
First off, a cool-down routine while you're off your devices for at least 30 minutes before bed is helpful, because sleep isn't an on and off switch.
98
It's a dimmer.
99
But if If you're still having trouble, it could be that you ate late, drank caffeine late, or exercise too late.
100
Once I'm in bed trying to fall asleep, I've tried counting sheep, which does not work for me.
101
Sheep suck, they're bad.
102
All right, please cut that out in post.
103
I've tried counting down from a thousand, which is not bad because it focuses your brain on something.
104
But once you get into the double digits, it just becomes a countdown to absolute panic.
105
What's worked for me is the four, seven, eight method, which is where you breathe in for four seconds, you hold your breath for seven seconds, and then you breathe out for eight seconds.
106
This really calms my heart rate, gives me something to focus on, and puts me in a super relaxed state.
107
Not gonna lie, sometimes it's difficult to hold my breath for the full seven seconds.
108
So if you can't do that, you can inhale for two seconds and then exhale for three seconds.
109
This 2-3 method is what I do most nights.
110
And if you feel like you've been in bed forever and you just can't sleep, you should get out of bed and do something for 10 to 20 minutes.
111
Don't turn on any bright lights or go on any devices, but if you meditate, read, or even just listen to calming music, that can help you get out of that mental loop of thinking about how you can sleep.
112
Okay, here's a quick recap of everything.
113
You can't really catch up on sleep over the weekend, so try to have consistency in your bedtime.
114
Try to get around eight hours of sleep, even if you think you only need four.
115
Alcohol, weed, and melatonin may seem effective, but are actually bad for your sleep.
116
Don't use any blue light devices at least 30 minutes before bed.
117
Avoid caffeine past three.
118
Don't work out too late in the evening.
119
Avoid drinking a lot of water before bed.
120
And if you have to sleep late, try to keep the same wake up time so you have an easier time resetting.
121
All right, this one's important.
122
Email the people at BetterHelp to sponsor my channel.
123
You also wanna keep your bedroom dark, cool, and quiet with whatever you need.
124
Blackout curtains, eye masks, air conditioning, earplugs, white noise.
125
Get sunlight in the morning.
126
Try magnesium supplements before bed.
127
Use a breathing technique like the 478 method or the 23 method to fall asleep.
128
If you can't sleep, just get out of bed for a bit and do something without any devices or bright lights.
129
And subscribe to the channel and leave me a compliment to feed my bottomless need for validation.
130
Good sleep is the most underrated performance enhancer ever, and optimizing for it can improve every aspect of your life.
131
So prioritize it, invest in it, and don't be like Dennis.
📺 Same Channel
✨ Recommend Video
B21
116 sentences
Why Sleep Is So Important - and What We’re Getting Wrong
Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B24
438 sentences
Psychiatrist Explains Why You Feel Tired All The Time (No Matter What You Do...)
Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B26
45 sentences
RE3 Unit 6A
Business EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
B11
15 sentences
Cách chữa mất ngủ hiệu quả đó là đọc sách 😂 Tiếng Anh Song Ngữ #funny #talk #english
Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B22
12 sentences
How Much Sleep Do You Actually Need?
Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B26
155 sentences
Your Insomnia Is Not What You Think
Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B1163 sentences
Watch This If You Can't Sleep...
Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B21
9 sentences
Andrew Huberman on Eliminate Brain Fog
Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B23
31 sentences
How To Wake Up Better
Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B210
255 sentences
Sleep Expert Answers Questions From Twitter 💤 | Tech Support | WIRED
Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B2567 sentences
Improve Your English Just by Listening | Real English Listening Practice (B1-B2)
Daily ConversationHigh School StudentsUniversity Students
B21
215 sentences
8 Simple Hacks to Improve Your Health
British AccentDaily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This B2 speaking lesson is built on the video “improving your sleep is easier than you think”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: sleep, bed, melatonin. This video has 131 sentences and 2053 words to shadow. The speech runs for 8:57. The speaker talks fast, about 229 words per minute, so expect linked and reduced sounds. 84% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start.
Key vocabulary in this video
The 15 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| melatonin noun | /ˌmɛləˈtəʊnɪn/ | A hormone, related to serotonin, that is secreted by the pineal gland, and stimulates colour change in the skin of reptiles, and is involved in the sleep and… |
| caffeine noun | /ˈkæfiːn/ | An alkaloid, C₈H₁₀N₄O₂, found naturally in tea and coffee plants, which acts as a mild stimulant on the central nervous system. |
| sleepy adjective | /ˈsliːpi/ | Tired; feeling the need for sleep. |
| magnesium noun | /ˌmæɡˈnizi.əm/ | The chemical element with an atomic number of 12. It is a light, easily flammable, silvery-white alkaline earth metal. |
| sunlight noun | /ˈsʌnˌlaɪt/ | All the electromagnetic radiation given off by the Sun; especially, that in the visible spectrum and that bathes the Earth. |
| earplug noun | /ˈɪəplʌɡ/ | A piece of protective gear meant to be inserted in the ear canal to protect the wearer's hearing from loud noises or the intrusion of water. |
| optimize verb | /ˈɑptɪmaɪz/ | To act optimistically or as an optimist. |
| blackout noun | /ˈblæk.aʊt/ | A temporary loss of consciousness. |
| curtain noun | /ˈkɜɹt(ə)n/ | A piece of cloth covering a window, bed, etc. to offer privacy and keep out light. |
| consistency noun | /kənˈsɪs.tən.si/ | Local coherence. |
| sponsor noun | /ˈspɒn.səː/ | A person or organization with some sort of responsibility for another person or organization, especially where the responsibility has a religious, legal, or… |
| circadian adjective | /sɚˈkeɪ.di.ən/ | Of, relating to, or showing rhythmic behaviour with a period of approximately 24 hours; especially of a biological process. |
| validation noun | /ˌvæl.əˈdeɪ.ʃən/ | The act of validating something. |
| sponsorship noun | The state or practice of being a sponsor. | |
| reliance noun | /ɹɪˈlaɪ.əns/ | The act of relying (on or in someone or something); trust. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| get out of verb | To leave, exit or escape from; to become free of. | |
| wake up verb | /ˌweɪk ˈʌp/ | To stop sleeping; to awake. |
| work out verb | /ˌwɝk ˈaʊt/ | To calculate. |
| break down verb | To stop functioning. | |
| check out verb | To record the departure or withdrawal of someone or something (such as guests, employees, books, etc.). | |
| cool down verb | /kuːl ˈdaʊn/ | To become cooler; to be reduced in temperature. |
| find out verb | To discover, as by asking or investigating. | |
| get around verb | To move to the other side of (something, such as an obstruction) by deviating from a direct course or following a curved path. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- How much have you had to sleep tonight, sir?
- Let's start by clearing those up.
- How about you just get off my case about this?
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Conditional sentences if + clause, will/would + verb — a condition and its result | if it's in your system, it will impact · If you slept late, you'll feel |
| Present perfect continuous have/has been + -ing — an action that started earlier and is still going on | could've just been crushing · You've been watching |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | sleep, which can · people who say · ones who are |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | haven't received · you've ever listened · has really helped |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 54 contractions and reduced forms, such as you're, don't, I'm. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: rhythm /ˈɹɪð.əm/, thumb /ˈθʌm/, myth /mɪθ/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: validation /ˌvæl.əˈdeɪ.ʃən/, sheep /ˈʃiːp/, deprivation /ˌdɛp.ɹɪˈveɪʃən/, revolutionize /ˌɹɛv.əˈl(j)u.ʃəˌnaɪz/, crush /kɹʌʃ/
- Long words — get the stress right: melatonin /ˌmɛləˈtəʊnɪn/, magnesium /ˌmæɡˈnizi.əm/, consistency /kənˈsɪs.tən.si/, circadian /sɚˈkeɪ.di.ən/, validation /ˌvæl.əˈdeɪ.ʃən/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like melatonin, caffeine, sleepy.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.