HARDER FOR WOMEN TO SLEEP

Source: http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/wellbeing/harder-for-women-to-sleep-20090407-9xmo.html

Image taken from:

http://www.calmnatural.co.uk/files/1908276/uploaded/InsomniaWoman.jpg

A recent poll for the US National Sleep Foundation has found that many women are struggling to get an adequate amount of sleep, which appears to worsen as they progress through each stage of their life from youth to pregnancy, motherhood and menopause.

The article is a colour news story. Rather than beginning the story with facts and the 5 W’s and 1 H (what, when, who where, why, how), it opens with a nice visual description/scene, and rhetorical questions that make the reader ponder and reflect. This is effective as it engages the reader’s interest. The colour introduction makes the story more appealing and interesting as opposed to just a news story intro that simply addresses the 5W's and 1 H.

The various perspectives (through quotes from a number of different people) incorporated into the story makes this a successful piece. There are quotes from experts such as Dr Jeffery Barasch who speaks about the biological need for sleep and how many women put it last on their list of priorities because they think it’s a waste of time. He also informs the reader how a lack of sleep can adversely affect health, performance and family life. It can cause the body to become more susceptible to disease and lead to poor mental judgement and delayed reaction.


There are also quotes from a number of working women and mothers who provide anecdotes of their daily routine and who attribute a lack of sleep to the demands of work, children and household chores. Providing quotes from a number of women personalises the story and gives it a human interest angle.


The story is interesting because it also talks about how poor mood can be correlated with insufficient sleep - providing further interesting, factual information for the reader. However, a quote from an expert/researcher explaining or elaborating on this would have been useful.


Overall, this is a well-written informative piece. It provides a definition of medical terms, quotes from a variety of sources, as well as advice from experts as to what women can do to improve their sleep patterns. However, one criticism is that the story could have elaborated on the recent National Sleep Foundation poll. It failed to mention how many women partook in the survey. Saying “42 per cent of women…” or “two-thirds of women”, does not allow the reader to see the scale of the poll or give the figures meaning and impact. It almost seems like a generalisation.