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Many people say that when they use weighted quilts (被子), they have better sleep, lower stress and anxiety, and are more relaxed than using a light one.

But there aren’t many studies to show the benefits of lying under a weighted quilt. Recently, researchers from Uppsala University in Sweden did a study to find out whether using a weighted quilt can actually help sleep.

Twenty-six young, healthy adults took part in the study. In one stage, they were covered with a weighted quilt (weighing about 12% of their body weight) for one hour before bedtime, then they had an eight-hour sleep. Researchers collected their saliva samples (唾液样本) during the pre-sleep hour to record changes in melatonin (褪黑素) and other hormone concentrations (激素浓度). In the next stage, participants (参与者) were covered with a light quilt (2.4% of their body weight) for the night.

They found that when participants laid under a weighted quilt for an hour before bedtime, they showed a 32% increase in salivary melatonin concentration (唾液褪黑素浓度).

Melatonin plays a big role in body’s sleep-wake cycle. The body produces melatonin at night, and there are a few ways to get melatonin from other sources—certain foods (like cherries and milk) or melatonin supplements (补充剂).

While this study is small and just a first step exploring the health benefits of weighted quilts, it does suggest that weighted quilts may help sleep. More related studies will be carried out in the future.

1．What does the underlined word anxiety probably mean?

A．Happiness.

B．Concern.

C．Excitement.

D．Fear.

2．How did researchers measure the changes of melatonin in the study?

A．By recording how long the participants have deep sleep.

B．By asking if the participants sleep well the whole night.

C．By collecting participants’ saliva samples before bedtime.

D．By giving participants medical examination after sleeping.

3．In the study, if the participant’s weight is 60 kg, how heavy will the light quilt be?

A．About 1.5 kg.

B．About 3.5 kg.

C．About 7.5 kg.

D．About 12.5 kg.

4．What can you infer (推断) from paragraph 5?

A．Drinking milk can help people sleep well.	B．The body can not produce melatonin itself.
C．Melatonin can hardly influence one’s sleep.	D．Melatonin supplements can be used every night.

5．Which is the best title for the passage?

A．Better sleep, better health	B．Earlier bedtime, better sleep
C．Melatonin: your sleep saver	D．Weighted quilts: a better choice