Five Tips to Get Rid of Insomnia趕走失眠的五個小妙招

現代人失眠現象非常普遍，你知道睡眠有多重要嗎？你想睡個好覺嗎？學會這5個小技巧，從今天起，告別失眠。

Not getting enough sleep will take a toll on your health and job performance. Robert Oexman， director of the Sleep to Live Institute， says that a “lack of sleep can manifest itself in erratic behavior， short tempers， and bad decision-making”.

不充足的睡眠對你的健康和工作表現都會起到負面影響。睡眠與健康研究機構的董事羅伯特·歐克斯曼提到，“缺乏睡眠體現在神情飄忽，脾氣暴躁，以及決策不當上”。

Workers who are sleep-deprived are more likely to have difficulty remembering details and have a harder time dealing with high-stress situations. And those who regularly skimp on sleep—getting just one to two hours less than the hours you need—increase their risk of infection， weight gain， diabetes， and heart， said Oexman.

睡眠不足的工作者在對細節的記憶上更費勁，并且應對高壓環境也較困難。而那些習慣性少眠的人——比正常睡眠時間要少1—2小時——更有受感染、增重、患糖尿病和心臟病的風險，歐克斯曼說道。

To help you get the rest you need， weve listed five easy tricks to fall asleep faster：

為了幫助大家獲得足夠的睡眠，我們列出了5個簡單的快速入睡方法：

1. Stick to a bedroom routine.

堅持規律作息。

You should participate in the same relaxing activities before heading to bed each night， says Oexman. Some helpful exercises include taking a hot bath or reading a book in low light. Oexman also recommends keeping your room cool （65 to 68 degrees ℉） and dark.

你應該每晚在睡覺前都做一些相同的放松活動，歐克斯曼說。那些簡單的活動包括洗熱水澡或在柔光中閱讀。歐克斯曼同樣建議要保持臥室的涼爽（65—68華氏度，相當于18—20攝氏度）和暗度。

2. Dont use your phone as an alarm clock.

別拿手機當鬧鐘使用。

We know that we should set limits on technology usage before bedtime. You may not know that even having your phone nearby isnt helping you sleep， since you may feel inclined to check it if you cant fall asleep.

我們應該知道睡前要限制科技產品的使用。你也許不會知道甚至手機放在近距離位置也會影響睡眠，因為當你失眠時就會不自覺地去查看手機。

“Your bedroom should be reserved for sleep， and nothing else，” says Oxeman. “Theres no excuse—if your cellphone is your alarm clock， then buy a $5 alarm clock and solve the problem.”

“你臥室的功能就是睡覺，沒有其他用處。”歐克斯曼說。“不要找借口——如果你用手機來設鬧鐘，那么就買個5美元的鬧鐘來解決這個問題。”

3. Practice deep breathing.

練習深呼吸。

Once youre in bed， if your body is still wired from the day， you will have a difficult time falling asleep. According to an article on WebMD， when you practice deep breathing， your brain recognizes that youre trying to relax and sends a message to your body to do so. “Those things that happen when you are stressed， such as increased heart rate， fast breathing， and high blood pressure， all decrease as you breathe deeply to relax.”

一旦上床后，如果你還被白天的事情干擾著，那你要入睡就困難了。MD網站上的一篇文章寫道，當你在做深呼吸的時候，大腦便意識到你在試圖放松，然后就會給身體發出放松的信號。“那些高壓情況下會出現的情況，例如心率加快、呼吸急促、血壓升高，在深呼吸放松時都會緩解。”

Vikki Stark advises in Psychology Today how to effectively breathe deeply， “On the inhale， visualize the clean， fresh air coming into your lungs， traveling around your body and cleansing all your cells. On the exhale， imagine all the toxins and negativity being safely expelled into the atmosphere， leaving your body restored. Focus on this steady， calm inhale-exhale， and I guarantee that you will start to feel more peaceful and relaxed. But its not going to happen the first time you try it. Its an exercise so you need to practice it to get the best effect. Keep going till you feel your body let go.”

《今日心理》的威奇·斯塔克給出了怎樣才能有效深呼吸的建議：“吸氣時，想象干凈、新鮮的空氣流入肺部，傳遍全身，洗凈了所有的細胞。呼氣時，想象所有的毒素和廢物都被安全地排放到體外，而你的身體也恢復如初。全身心投入到穩定平和的呼吸過程中，我保證你將開始覺得身體更加的平靜、放松。但第一次嘗試的時候效果不會很明顯。這個過程需要你不斷練習直到取得最佳效果。堅持到身體感覺輕松的那一刻。”

4. Relax the muscles in your toes.

舒展足趾肌肉。

Progressive muscle relaxation is a method that helps relieve anxiety and stress， which often keeps people up at night. This technique requires you to focus on tensing and relaxing a specific muscle group. Catherine Darley， director of the Institute of Naturopathic Sleep Medicine in Seattle， advises focusing this progressive relaxation technique on your toes.

漸進式肌肉放松法是緩解焦慮和疲勞的有效方法，該方法通常需要練習者在晚間站立。這項技巧要求你集中注意力去緊繃和放松一個特定的肌肉組織。西雅圖自然睡眠療法醫學研究所主任凱瑟琳·達利建議，要專注地在腳趾上使用這種漸進式放松法。

“Curl your toes tightly for a count of seven， and then relax，” she says. “Repeat through each muscle group， working up from your toes to your neck.”

“將腳趾用力彎曲7秒，然后再放松。”她說道，“在每個肌肉組織中反復練習，從腳趾到頸部自下而上進行。”

5. Participate in a mindless activity.

做一個不費腦力的游戲。

Sleep expert Dr Vicky Seelall recommends playing a mindless game， such as counting backwards from 100 in multiples of three. This rhythm of counting can put you in a sleepy state and is exactly the reason why people “count sheep” to fall asleep. Counting in multiples of three is more difficult than merely counting backwards and will force your brain to focus just on the counting so that your mind wont wander into other thoughts.

睡眠專家維奇·希羅建議玩一種不費腦力的游戲，比如在100以內，倒數出3的倍數。這種節奏計數能將你帶入睡眠狀態，這也正是為什么人們一“數羊”就能入睡的原因。數3的倍數比一般的倒數要難，并且這個過程會致使你的大腦完全投入到數數中，而不會游離到其他思緒中去。

Word Study

manifest /'m?n?fest/ v. 顯現;使人注意到

skimp /sk?mp/ v. 節省，吝惜（時間、錢等）

visualize /'v??u?la?z/ v. 使形象化;想象;構思;設想

She couldnt visualize climbing the mountain.

tense /tens/ v.（使肌肉）拉緊，繃緊

His muscles tensed as he got ready to run.