Steps for More, and Better, Sleep
這樣做，你可以睡得更香甜
I regret that for most of my adult life, I treated sleep as more a luxury than a necessity. There was always something more to do before I crawled under the covers and turned out the light. I realize belatedly that I might have been more productive — and a lot nicer to live with — if I had given sleep its proper due.
在我成年后的大部分時間里，我將睡眠更多地看成是奢侈品而非必需品，對此我深感懊悔。我總覺得在蓋上被子、關(guān)掉燈之前，還有什么事沒做完。很久以后我才意識到，如果我能給予睡眠應(yīng)有的尊重，也許我在工作中會更加富有成效，在生活中也更能勝任一個好伴侶的角色。
By failing to acknowledge chronic sleep deprivation, I dozed during countless cultural events, and on two occasions I fell asleep while driving, barely escaping disaster. I have since reordered my priorities and learned to avoid distractions and activities that can keep me from getting the sleep my body and mind really need.
我一度不愿承認自己長期缺覺的事實，結(jié)果在各種文化活動中打過瞌睡，有兩次在開車時睡著，險些晾成大禍。打那以后我就重新安排了做事情的輕重緩急，躲開了一些娛樂活動，趁機補充身體和大腦亟需的睡眠。
About 70 million Americans sleep poorly or not nearly long enough to achieve the full physical, emotional and cognitive benefits sleep can bestow. There are myriad reasons, ranging from self-inflicted disruptions to those that are seemingly unavoidable. But there are also potential solutions to most of the factors that can interfere with sleep. For the sake of your health and longevity, I urge you to give them a try.
有約7000萬美國人睡眠較差，或因為缺覺而無法得到睡眠所能夠給予的充足的體力、情緒及認知益處。原因林林總總，有些是因個人造成，也有些貌似難以避免。但對于絕大多數(shù)干擾睡眠的因素，總會有辦法解決。為了你的健康長壽，我鼓勵你至少去嘗試一下。
How much sleep do you need? Sleep requirements depend on age. Newborns sleep 16 to 18 hours a day, preschoolers need 11 to 12 hours, and elementary school children need 10 hours. Adolescents should get 9 to 10 hours, though most teenagers sleep only about seven hours.
你需要多少睡眠？睡眠量取決于年齡。新生兒每天睡16-18個小時，學齡前兒童需要11-12小時，小學生則要10小時。青春期少年應(yīng)保證9-10小時睡眠，不過大部分青少年都只睡7小時。
Given the opportunity to sleep as long as they want, most adults average about eight hours a night. There are individual differences, of course, but the usual range is between seven and nine hours. Getting less than the amount of sleep you need during the school or workweek builds up a sleep debt that cannot be fully erased by “sleeping in” on the weekend. This pattern can also mess up your biological clock, making it hard to get up on Monday morning.
如果成年人能有機會想睡多久就睡多久，大部分人平均每晚可睡8小時左右。當然這當中存在個體差異，但通常睡眠長度都在7-9小時這個范圍內(nèi)。如果在上學或上班時，你無法得到自己需要的睡眠長度，你欠下的“睡眠債”將越積越多，而在周末補覺也不可能將欠下的債一筆勾銷。這種睡眠模式還會打亂你的生物鐘，讓你在周一早上很難從床上爬起來。
It was long ago shown that a midafternoon nap of about 20 minutes can improve alertness and productivity and reduce mistakes among sleep-deprived workers, yet few employers offer a midday lie-down or provide a place for one.
很久以前就曾有研究顯示，缺覺的員工如果能補個20分鐘左右的午覺，他們就可以更清醒、更有效率，也會較少犯錯，可甚少有雇主允許員工中午打盹，也不會提供午睡的地方。
Age also affects the quality of sleep and the amount of time spent in the various stages of sleep. These include REM, or rapid-eye-movement sleep (often called dream sleep), and three types of non-REM sleep: the light sleep of Stage 1, followed by the more relaxed sleep of Stage 2 and the most restorative deep sleep of Stage 3.
年齡也會影響睡眠質(zhì)量和不同階段睡眠的時間。睡眠包括了快速眼動睡眠（rapid eye movement, 簡稱REM，又稱做夢睡眠）和三種類型的非快速眼動睡眠：第一期的淺睡眠，隨后到來的第二期更為放松的睡眠，再到第三期最能補充元氣的深睡眠。
Young children spend most of the night in deep sleep, which is why they can often sleep through loud noise, bright light and being carried from car to bed.
兒童睡覺時大部分時間處在深睡眠階段，所以就算處在噪音、亮光的環(huán)境里，或者從車里被抱到床上，他們往往也能照睡不誤。
But with age, the time spent in deep sleep diminishes and any number of disturbances can cause awakenings. For women going through menopause, for example, sleep is often interrupted by hot flashes. Even if there are no external disturbances, elderly people may be awakened many times during the night by the discomforts of illness or pain, the side effects of medication or the need to urinate.
隨著年齡增長，深睡眠的長度漸短，而外覺的干擾總會讓人驚醒。比方說，更年期的婦女常因潮熱發(fā)作而導致睡眠時斷時續(xù)。而老年人就算睡覺時沒有外界干擾，也會因為病痛帶來的不適、藥物副作用或者需要起夜，導致一晚上可能醒來多次。
Poor sleep among the elderly may in part account for problems with memory and concentration, depressed mood and daytime sleepiness. I often see gray heads nodding off at events, even during matinees.
老年人睡眠質(zhì)量不好，可能會導致記憶或注意力出現(xiàn)問題、情緒消沉、白天昏昏欲睡。我曾多次看到“銀發(fā)族”在活動進行到一半時打起了瞌睡，甚至連看日場電影時也不例外。
If noise or light disturbs your sleep, you can counter them with a white-noise machine and light-blocking shades. Keep the room cool and avoid weighty covers. Two years ago, I summarized factors that commonly interfere with a good night’s sleep, but a quick review, followed by some valuable new tips that have helped me, may help you too.
如果噪音或光線影響了你的睡眠，你可以使用制造白噪音的機器及隔光窗簾。保持房間涼爽，避免蓋過重的被子。兩年前，我在文章里總結(jié)過一系列影響睡眠的常見原因，但對之進行簡單回顧，并補充一些對我有益的新建議，也許也能幫助到你。
EXERCISE Physical activity leaves you tired, but if you do your workout within two or three hours of bedtime, you may be too revved up to fall asleep easily.
鍛煉體力活動會令你困倦，但如果你在臨睡前的兩三個小時內(nèi)進行健身，可能會因為太興奮而無法快速入睡。
MEDICATION Many drugs, both prescription and over-the-counter, contain stimulating chemicals like pseudoephedrine and caffeine, commonly found in decongestants and painkillers. Beta-blockers, used to treat certain heart conditions and high blood pressure, may be disruptive as well. Ask your doctor if you can use an alternative drug.
藥物 很多藥物，包括處方藥和非處方藥含有像偽麻黃堿和咖啡因這類刺激性化合物，在減充血劑和止痛劑中尤為常見。用于治療某些心臟病和高血壓的β-阻斷劑，也可能影響睡眠。你可以咨詢醫(yī)生，了解是否可以換藥。
FOOD AND DRINK Eating a big meal close to bedtime can be a problem, especially if you are prone to indigestion. Drinking a caffeinated beverage late in the day can disturb the sleep of anyone who has not developed a tolerance to caffeine by drinking too much of it. Caffeine’s stimulating effects can last for six to eight hours and make it hard to fall asleep or cause middle-of-the-night wakefulness.
飲食 臨睡前吃頓大餐會影響睡眠，如果你容易消化不良，就更需注意了。要是你沒有因喝大量咖啡而對咖啡因產(chǎn)生耐受，在晚間喝含咖啡因的飲料也會干擾睡眠。咖啡因的刺激作用可持續(xù)6-8小時，導致你難以入睡或半夜醒來。
Alcohol may help you fall asleep, but when its effects wear off hours later, you may wake up and be unable to get back to sleep. (I and others I know find wine especially problematic and avoid drinking it with dinner.)
酒精或許有助你入睡，但它會在幾小時后失效，你將醒過來，并且很難繼續(xù)入睡。（我和我我認識的一些人都發(fā)現(xiàn)，紅酒對睡眠影響尤其大，因此在晚餐時盡量不喝酒。）
STRESS Anxiety, excessive stress and difficulty shutting out worries trigger the release of body chemicals that act as stimulants. Try a relaxing bedtime ritual like a hot bath, meditation or progressive muscle relaxation, starting at the toes and working up to your head. Or, odd though it may seem, try reading something dull.
壓力 焦慮、過多的壓力、難以將憂慮釋懷，都會促使身體產(chǎn)生類似興奮劑的化合物。你可以嘗試采取一些舒緩的睡前習慣，比如泡熱水澡、冥想，或者進行漸進的肌肉放松，從腳趾頭開始，一直放松到頭部。要么你也可以讀一本枯燥的書，雖然這建議看來有點無厘頭。
If things you must remember or do the next day keep popping into your head, put a pad and pen next to the bed, write them down and then do your best to forget about them until morning.
如果你一直記掛著明天要做的事情，可以在床邊放上紙筆，將它們寫下來，然后盡量把這一切拋到腦后，等到天明后再辦不遲。
OTHER TIPS Years ago I mentioned that leg cramps were waking me up well before the alarm, and readers responded with myriad solutions, from bedtime stretches to magnesium supplements. What has worked best: drinking about eight ounces of tonic water (diet version) every day. Tonic water contains modest amounts of quinine, which used to be sold over-the-counter to reduce leg cramps.
其他建議 幾年前我曾在文章中提到，我總是因為腿抽筋，在鬧鐘響起前早早就醒了。讀者提供了從睡前進行伸展運動到服鎂劑在內(nèi)的諸多建議。而對此的最佳解決方案是：每天喝約8盎司（合227克）的低卡路里湯力水。湯力水含有微量奎寧，過去這種非處方藥可用于減少腿部抽筋。
Another innocuous sleep aid that has proved miraculous for me is a nightly supplement of melatonin, which the body naturally produces after dark. The pineal gland in the brain is inactive during the day, but after sundown it starts spewing melatonin into the bloodstream.
在我身上證明有奇效的另一種助眠方式，是每晚服一粒褪黑素，每到天黑時，身體就會自然生成這種激素。腦部的松果體在白天不活躍，而到日落時，它就開始將褪黑素泵送到血流中。
With a supplement on board, I fall asleep quickly, and if I awaken during the night, I return to sleep easily. A three-milligram supplement near bedtime is considered harmless and may help you as well, though it should not be given to children without consulting a doctor.
吃一粒褪黑素，我可以很快睡著，而且就算夜間醒來，也能很快重新入睡。睡前服用3毫克的褪黑素是安全的，或許也能幫助你入睡，不過在未經(jīng)醫(yī)生許可下不要給兒童服用。
If hot flashes are your current problem, ask your doctor about trying the prescription drug gabapentin.
如果你目前遇到了潮熱發(fā)作的問題，可以咨詢醫(yī)生，看看是否可服用處方藥加巴噴丁(gabapentin)。
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