為什么你會睡不好

M ichelle Ullman著湖北武漢景一編譯

為什么你會睡不好

M ichelle Ullman著湖北武漢景一編譯

Are you tired ofwaking up more tired than when you went to bed?Does it seem like a good night’s sleep ismore elusive than your half-remembered dreams?If you’ve been having a tough time falling asleep lately,chances are,the cause is either something you’re doing,or something you’re not doing.Here are some common reasons you’re having a hard time sleepingwell.

你是否覺得醒來的時候比上床睡覺的時候更累？是否覺得一個好覺比一個依稀記得的夢更加難得？如果你最近一直很難入睡，有可能原因在于你正在做的某些事情或者你沒做的某些事情。以下是一些常見的導致睡眠質量差的原因。

★Nighttime Exercise

A casual around-the-block stroll1with your dog before his bedtime is fine,but a heartpumping,sweat-dripping cardio workout2within three hours of your own bedtime is toomuch. Your body temperature and heart rate naturally drop as you fall asleep—but exercise raises those two body functions,and stimulates your entire nervous system,making it tough to sleep.Instead, schedule yourworkout for themorning,or hit the gym on your lunch hour.

★夜間鍛煉

在你的狗睡覺前牽著它在街區里悠閑地散步沒什么問題，但是在你自己就寢前三小時以內做讓人心跳加劇、汗流浹背的有氧運動就過頭了。當你入睡的時候你的體溫和心率會自然下降，然而鍛煉會讓它們升高，刺激你的整個神經系統，讓你很難入睡。因此，將你的鍛煉安排在早上，或者在午餐時間去健身房會更好。

★Room Tem perature

Most sleep experts recommend keeping your bedroom at a moderate318 to 22 degrees at night,butmany people like to cut energy costs by turning the thermostat4down to the freeze zone during the winter,and switching the AC5off during the summer,leading to a sweltering bedroom.However,your body needs to cool slightly at night for themost refreshing sleep,which is impossible in an overly heated bedroom.A too-cold room,on the other hand,will wake you up.If you don’t want to adjust the thermostat to the comfort zone,then wear thick socks to a well-blanketed bed during cold days,and set up a portable fan next to your bed in the summer.

★房間溫度

大多數睡眠問題的專家建議晚上保持臥室溫度在舒適的18至22度之間，但很多人為了削減能源開銷喜歡在冬季把恒溫器調低到冷凍區間，在夏季關掉交流電源，使得臥室悶熱。然而，你的身體需要一個稍微涼爽點的環境來進行讓人恢復精神的睡眠——在一個熱烘烘的臥室里這是不可能的。另一方面，一個太冷的房間又會讓你清醒。如果你不想把恒溫器調到舒適區，那么在寒冷的日子里就穿厚襪子，把床蓋得暖暖的，夏天則在床邊放一個便攜式的風扇。

★Stress and W orry

Probably the most common non-medical reason for short-term insomnia6is a mind filled with worries or stress.During the day,the activities of life tend to distract you,but once you settle yourself into bed,your mind is free to roam.For most people,it’s not the good aspects of their lives that theirmind chooses to focus on,but rather,the negatives.You can improve this in severalways.

1.Write down your worries before bedtime,along with a few things you are grateful for,as a regular part of your nighttime routine.

2.If yourmind really starts to fret7,get out of bed—without turning on any lights—and go sit in another dark part of the house.This breaks the worry cycle and you’ll probably find your mind quickly calms down enough to return to bed.

3.One of the most effective ways to conquer worry and stress is with a daily meditation practice.You don’t need to be an expert yogi or spend hours sitting on a mat—as little as ten minutes each day is beneficial.

★壓力和焦慮

也許最常見的短期失眠的非醫學原因是焦慮或壓力。白天，生活中的各種活動往往會分散你的注意力，但一旦你躺到了床上，你的意識就開始自由地漫游。對大多數人來說，注意力不會集中到他們生活中好的方面，而是恰恰相反，集中在了消極的方面。你可以用以下幾種方法去緩解。

1.在睡覺前寫下你的擔憂和一些令你感到愉快的事情作為你每晚的習慣。

2.如果你真的開始煩躁，離開床，不打開任何燈，坐在屋子里的另一個黑暗的地方。這可以打破焦慮圈，你可能會發現你的心很快就平靜下來了，你也可以回到床上了。

3.戰勝壓力和焦慮的最有效的方法之一是每天冥想練習。你不需要成為一個瑜伽專家或花幾個小時坐在墊子上，每天花短短的十分鐘都是有好處的。

★Late Afternoon Caffeine

You know a bedtime cup of coffee is a bad idea,but did you know that the half-life of caffeine is 3 to 5 hours,leaving the remaining half in your body formany hoursmore?That’swhy a late afternoon cup of Joe8can disrupt your sleep later that night.Although caffeine’s effects on you depend on your tolerance,the dose and your age,it is best to keep your consumption below 400mg per day,and stay away from caffeine sources after lunchtime.

★午后的咖啡

你知道睡前喝杯咖啡是一個壞主意。但你知道咖啡因的效果減半的時間為3到5個小時，留在你的身體里的剩下的一半的效果的時間會更長嗎？這就是下午晚些時候的一杯咖啡可以擾亂你的睡眠的原因。雖然咖啡因對你的影響取決于你的耐受性、劑量和你的年齡，但是最好讓你的攝入量在每天400毫克以下，并且在午餐后遠離各種咖啡因來源。

★Too M uch Light

Whether it’s coming from your reading lamp,the television,or outside your window,light exposure at bedtime impairs your quality of sleep.For some people,even the light of a bedside alarm clock is enough to signal their brain that it’s time towake up.Luckily,this is one sleep issue that’s easy to solve.Turn off your electronics(including phones,tablets and laptops)at least an hour before bedtime.If light from an outside source shines into your bedroom,hang curtains (this is especially important if you work nights and need to sleep during the day).Close your bedroom door to shut out light from other areas of the house.Or for the simplest solution,put on a sleepmask before closing your eyes.

★光線太亮

無論光是來自你的閱讀燈，電視，還是來自你的窗戶外面的光源，在睡覺時亮光都會損害你的睡眠質量。對一些人來說，即使是床邊鬧鐘的光也足以使他們的大腦發出該清醒的信號。幸運的是，這是一個很容易解決的問題。至少在睡前一個小時關掉你的電子產品（包括手機，平板電腦和筆記本電腦）。如果有外部光源的光照進你的臥室，掛起窗簾（如果你是夜晚工作，白天睡覺的話，這是尤其重要的）。關上你的臥室門以阻隔從房子的其他區域射過來的光。或者用最簡單的辦法，在睡前帶上眼罩。

★TheW rong Snack

Is your bedtime snack a slice(or two)of pizza or a bag of chips?If so,don’t be surprised when you’re lying awake staring at your ceiling.A full load of fat or protein right before bedtime sends your digestive system into overdrive,making it difficult to sleep.But hunger pains can wake you up aswell.Proper diet of dinner is the best choice.

★錯誤的零食

你的睡前零食是一片（或兩片）披薩餅或者一袋薯條嗎？如果是這樣的話，當你躺在床上（睡不著）盯著天花板時，不要感到驚訝。臨睡前滿滿的脂肪或蛋白質會讓你的消化系統超速運轉，讓你難以入睡。但饑餓的痛苦也同樣會喚醒你。晚餐時合適的飲食是最佳的選擇。