Summary of the Article
This article sets out to provide a discussion as to the role that sleep plays in the lives of human beings and animals. The author states that no one knows why sleep exists therefore setting the context for the article in which she advances the numerous theories that are advanced as to the role that sleep plays. The central theme advanced by the article is that the ultimate role of sleep may indeed be time management.
Article Structure and logic
Structure-wise, this article is well-formatted as the author begins by giving a brief overview of sleep and the ambiguity with which its role is viewed by members of the society thus laying a proper foundation for the main discussion of the paper. The author then proposes the role of sleep and subsequently proceeds to discuss and support the claims that she makes by quoting authoritative figures in sleep research e.g. Dr. Diegel who is ahead chief neurobiologist.
The credibility of the article
In this article, the author takes care to provide concrete evidence for the claims that she makes. For example, when advancing her main argument about sleep being nature’s time management too, the author reinforces her assertions by presenting the theories of authorities in psychiatry who also think that sleep optimizes animals’ use of time. However, I feel that the author provided only the bare minimum information on the other theories on the role of sleep thus presenting the reader with only one side of the coin. In my opinion, the paper would have been more informative if it had briefly discussed the other theories to enable the reader to critically evaluate their validity for himself
My opinion on the article
The article makes a good case for the role of sleep as nature’s time management tool. The article’s incorporation of the opinions of experts adds to the plausibility of the statements made therefore making it an authoritative paper. Given the mystery that surrounds the phenomena of sleep, I found this article informative as it provided a believable theory for explaining the role that sleep plays in the lives of human beings.
References
Carey, B. (2009). Sleep May Be Nature’s Time Management Tool. The New York Times. Web.