IPMAT Indore 2023 · Verbal Ability · Question 39

IPMAT Indore 2023 previous year question on RC Main Idea Questions, with the answer and a step-by-step solution.

RC Main Idea QuestionsReading Comprehension - Question TypesMultiple choiceMedium

RC passage 1: Passage 1 – Sleep, fitness and the cost of insomnia — this question belongs to a set. Read the full set with all 6 questions →

Read the following passage and choose the answer that is closest to each of the questions that are based on the passage.

The general idea of being fit is usually assumed to be exercising regularly and having a healthy diet. It’s true to some extent. But this is not always the case. People don’t realise that sleep also plays a crucial part when it comes to physical and mental well-being. It’s a restorative process, which shouldn’t be negotiable.

Hectic working hours, increasing stress levels, and an unhealthy lifestyle can cause irregular sleep patterns. These not only disturb one’s daily routine, but can also hamper one’s health, leading to lifestyle conditions like deranged cholesterol and diabetes. It’s a preconceived notion that cholesterol and diabetes are usually genetic diseases, and unhealthy eating patterns and lifestyle exacerbate them. It is not generally known that sleep deprivation can put a person at risk of both deranged cholesterol and diabetes.

Sleep helps your body and mind repair and recharge themselves. But things can go awry if one is sleep-deprived. Insomnia can generally make the body work abnormally. It affects the mental and physical abilities to prepare the body for the next day. It leaves the brain exhausted, affecting the natural functioning of the body.

Lack of sleep can lead to higher cholesterol and blood pressure. Sleep deprivation can lower levels of leptin, a hormone that stabilises metabolism and appetite. This can also lead to obesity, if left unchecked. Sleep deprivation has been found to raise levels of ghrelin, the hunger hormone, and decrease levels of leptin, the satiety hormone. That’s why people seek relief in foods that raise blood sugar. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommends that adults should get a minimum of seven to eight hours of sleep each night. Staying up late can lead to consuming unhealthy snacks and junk food high in carbs and sugar. All this increases the risk of Type 2 diabetes and is equally connected to obesity.

Just like any other routine, having a definite sleeping pattern can help a person maintain a cycle of rest and activity. Sleeping at the same time every day and waking up on time will encourage quality sleep. Proper relaxation of body and mind before sleeping means that one should keep the mobile phone aside for at least half an hour before bed. It helps if the room is dark and quiet. Plus, one can always read a good book or listen to soothing music which can lull one into deep sleep.

The main focus of the passage is on the

A
perils of insomnia and irregular sleep patterns.
B
dangers of high levels of cholesterol and diabetes.
C
stability of leptin and ghrelin in the human body.
D
ill effects of junk food high in carbs and sugars.

Pick an option, then check.

Answer & solution

Answer: Option A

Apply the scope test. A main-idea option must cover the whole passage, not one paragraph.

(b) Cholesterol and diabetes — these are consequences the passage uses as evidence. It is not about managing them; it never discusses treating either.

(c) Leptin and ghrelin — one mechanism inside paragraph 4. Far too narrow, and the passage is about their destabilisation, not their stability.

(d) Junk food — one link in one causal chain (late nights → snacking → diabetes). A single sentence.

(a) Perils of insomnia and irregular sleep patterns ✔ — this is the thread running through every paragraph: what irregular sleep is, what it does to the body, and how to fix it.

Answer: Option 1

Shortcut. Count paragraphs per option. Three options each sit inside a single paragraph; one runs through all five. That settles it before you weigh any wording.

Then confirm with the first and last paragraphs, which bracket a passage’s central claim. Here paragraph 1 introduces sleep as essential to well-being and the last gives the remedy for poor sleep — both about sleep patterns, which only option (a) names.

IPMAT Indore 2023 · Verbal Ability · Question 39

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