英語閲讀之怎樣才能睡個好覺

From eating “slumber foods” to playing the didgeridoo – David Robson looks at the tried and tested ways to get a good night’s sleep.

怎樣才能睡個好覺?大衞·羅布森着眼於以下幾種被反覆嘗試和測驗過的方法。

Few experiences are as maddening as a restless night. Sleep should, in theory, be the most natural and effortless activity in the world, yet insomnia is common to many of us.

很少有什麼體驗能像輾轉反側、難以入睡的夜晚那麼令人難受。從理論上講，睡覺應該是世界上最自然、最不費力的事情，但失眠現象卻非常普遍。

To add to the frustration, it is now becoming clear that the hours you spend in bed are just as important to your physical and mental health as those spent walking, talking and eating. A good night’s rest can help regulate your mood, sharpen your attention, and boost your memory, while ailments from heart disease to diabetes have been linked to those struggling to get sufficient sleep.

更令人沮喪的是，越來越多的證據顯示，你花在睡覺上的時間對你的身心健康的影響，與你在走路、談話和吃飯上花費的時間同等重要。睡個好覺可以調節情緒、增強注意力、提升記憶力，而心臟病和糖尿病等各種疾病也與睡眠不足存在聯繫。

Simply willing yourself to fall to sleep can make its sweet relief even more elusive, and we resort to all sorts of measures to help ease our journey to the land of nod. But what works, and what doesn’t? BBC Future has reviewed the evidence to find out.

單純用意志力讓自己入睡可能會適得其反，我們應該藉助各種措施讓自己更容易進入夢鄉。但究竟哪些有用，哪些沒用?BBC Future評估了各種證據來找出答案。

　Don’t… drink caffeine after dark

　　不要天黑後喝咖啡

Avoiding caffeine is obvious advice, but it's worth repeating. The good news is that you may not need to be as strict as once thought. If you have your last coffee in the early afternoon, most of the caffeine will have been flushed out of your body by 11pm.

別喝咖啡絕對是大家異口同聲的建議，這的確值得反覆強調。事實上，這個規矩可能不像你想象的那麼嚴格。如果你下午早一點喝咖啡，多數咖啡因在晚上11點前就會從你的體內排出。

So although avoiding coffee or tea within6 hours of going to bed will make it much easier to drop off, it is unclear whether there are any benefits to abstaining outside that time period. It’s also worth noting that not everyone is affected by caffeine equally; some people have a gene variant which means they are much less sensitive to caffeine’s effects – so it’s worth experimenting with what works for you.

所以儘管睡前6個小時內不喝咖啡更容易入睡，但目前還不清楚在這個時間段之外戒掉咖啡是否有什麼好處。值得一提的'是，咖啡因對每個人的影響不盡相同，有些人存在基因變異，因而對咖啡因不太敏感——所以只有親身嘗試才能知道哪種方法對你有效。

　Do… keep a sleep diary

　　要堅持寫睡眠日記

Cutting down on alcohol, taking regular exercise, avoiding daytime naps and following a rigid bedtime schedule can also improve your “sleep hygiene” and set you up for deeper slumbers.

戒酒、定期鍛鍊、白天別睡覺、遵守嚴格的作息時間可以改善“睡眠衞生”，為深度睡眠做好準備。

And it should go without saying that you should avoid doing anything strenuous or stressful within a few hours of sleep time – a habit that is easier said than remembered. For this reason, some studies suggest keeping a sleep diary of your activity before bed, which helps to ensure you avoid the worst triggers.

當然，在睡覺前的幾個小時內不要從事任何緊張的活動——這種習慣説起來容易，要記住可並非易事。正因如此，一些研究建議將睡覺前的活動記錄成一份“睡眠日記”，這有助於避開最糟糕的失眠誘因。

Don’t… curl up with your favourite reading device

　　不要打開你最喜歡的閲讀設備

Although the act of reading may be soporific, changes in the way we consume literature could be sending your bodily rhythms into disarray. Many e-readers are backlit with blue frequencies of light – which can fool the brain into thinking that it’s still daytime.

儘管閲讀可能有催眠作用，但由於閲讀文字的方式發生了變化，可能導致你的身體韻律紊亂。很多電子閲讀器的背光都是藍光，這會導致大腦把晚上誤當成白天。

Perhaps for this reason, a recent study found that reading on these devices for a few hours before bed seems to suppress melatonin (the sleep hormone) and therefore makes it harder to doze off, compared to a traditional paperback. The same goes for tablets, MP3 players and smartphones.

或許正因如此，最近有研究顯示，睡前幾小時閲讀這些設備似乎會抑制褪黑素(睡眠激素)，因此與傳統的紙面文字相比，反而會加大入睡難度。平板電腦、MP3播放器和智能手機同樣如此。

So if you want to feel refreshed the next day, the bedroom may be the perfect place for an analogue revival.

所以，如果希望第二天精神百倍，那就最好不要在牀上使用數字設備。

　Do… try some “slumber-foods”

　　要嘗試一些“助眠食物”

According to the old wives’ tale, cheese and chocolate before bed will give you nightmares. That remains to be proven scientifically, but your day’s meals can certainly influence how quickly you get to sleep, and the quality of your slumbers.

有一種民間説法是，睡前吃奶酪和巧克力會做噩夢。這仍然有待科學驗證，但白天攝入的食物顯然會對你的入睡速度和睡眠質量產生影響。

Meals high in carbohydrates and protein (especially oily fish), but low in fat, show moderate benefits to overall sleep duration and quality, provided they are eaten at least an hour before you plan to drop off. Food rich in tryptophan (an important precursor to several neurotransmitters), and the hormone melatonin, might also help regulate the body clock to prepare your brain for a more restful night.

高碳水化合物、高蛋白(尤其是富含油脂的魚類)，但低脂肪的食物可能給整體的睡眠時間和睡眠質量帶來一定的好處，前提是要在睡覺前至少一小時攝入。富含色氨酸(這是多種神經遞質的重要前體)和褪黑素的食物或許也有助於調節生物鐘，讓大腦為更深度的睡眠做好準備。

A recent review, charting the evidence so far, suggests that about 300g of turkey, 200g of pumpkin seeds, or a glass of tart cherry juice, could give you the necessary dose of these compounds – though hard evidence is lacking.

最近的評估表明，300克火雞、200克南瓜籽或一杯酸櫻桃汁便可為你帶來足夠劑量的這些混合物——但目前還缺乏確鑿的證據。

Do… sleep in a new position (or learn the didgeridoo)

　　要採用新的睡姿(或學習迪吉里杜管)

Many restless nights can be linked to sleep apnoea – a condition linked to snoring, in which the airways becomes constricted when you are unconscious. Often, the sleeper doesn’t even realise what has woken them up with a start – despite the fact that it can happen many times in one night.

很多焦躁不安的夜晚都與睡眠呼吸暫停有關——這種狀況與打鼾關係密切，在這種情況下，氣道會在你沒有意識的情況下收縮。通常情況下，睡眠者甚至不知道是什麼把他們叫醒的——儘管這種情況每晚都會發生許多次。

There are several causes, but some cases may be easily solved by switching from lying on your back, to sleeping on your front or side. Another, more left-field suggestion is to learn the didgeridoo; perhaps because it strengthens muscles in the respiratory system.

打鼾的原因有很多，但有些情況下，可能只需要從仰卧位變成俯卧位或側卧位即可解決。還有一種比較怪誕的建議，那就是學習迪吉里杜管，可能是因為這麼做可以強化呼吸系統的肌肉強度。

A small study in the British Medical Journal found that learning the instrument gave some sufferers a smoother sleep with fewer interruptions. Certainly not a solution for everyone – particularly those with close neighbours trying to get some sleep themselves.

《英國醫學期刊》(British Medical Journal)的一項研究發現，學習樂器可以讓一些睡眠呼吸暫停患者獲得更加安穩的睡眠，減少被打斷的次數。這顯然不適合所有人——尤其是當你的鄰居們也希望好好睡覺時。

As you may have gathered, there is no fool-proof path to a sleepless night. But by considering the different cocktail of factors that may make you toss and turn in bed, you can at least start to experiment with your habits to see what works for you. It certainly beats counting sheep.

你可能已經發現，沒有能夠絕對避免失眠的方法。但如果能充分考慮各種可能導致你輾轉反側、難以入睡的因素，你至少可以開始嘗試改變習慣，看看哪些方法適合自己。這肯定比數羊有效。