Reasons for Wanting to Sleep When Reading 為什么一拿起書就犯困？

許多人都有睡前閱讀的習慣，不只是因為他們是書蟲，還因為閱讀的助眠功效實在太贊了。你可曾好奇過，為什么自己一看書就犯困呢？

You've finally tucked yourself into bed and cracked open the detective novel you've been waiting all day to get back to. Three pages later， you're fighting a losing battle against two suddenly very heavy eyelids.

You? wer e? wide? awak e? m ere minutes ago， and the protagonist just uncovered a promising new lead in the case. So， what gives？

As? the? BBC's? Science? Focus explains， the coziness of your covers could? be? working? against? you . People usually try to read in a quiet， comfortable atmosphere， and those conditions happen to be ideal for sleep. Reading also eases your mind and draws its focus away from whatever preoccupations might otherwise keep you awake.

你終于上了床，打開那本你想了一天的偵探小說。才看了3頁，你突然感覺眼皮沉重起來，掙扎一番之后還是支撐不住睡著了。

幾分鐘之前，你明明毫無睡意，書中的主人公剛剛揭示了一條關鍵的新線索。所以，這是怎么回事呢？

根據英國廣播公司《科學聚焦》欄目的解釋，和你對著干的可能正是你那舒適的被窩。人們通常會試圖在一個安靜、舒適的氛圍中閱讀，而這些條件恰巧很適合睡眠。閱讀還會讓你的精神放松，遠離那些會讓你難以入眠的思緒。

“For many people， reading can be relaxing and enjoyable， which can put your mind and body in the appropriate mindset or mood to go to sleep，” Dr Raman Malhotra， a neurologist and member of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine's board of directors， told Refinery29.“The main reason reading may help some fall asleep is that it allows your mind some time to rest and relax before turning out the lights to fall asleep.”

The concentration required to process every word can be? pretty exhausting， too， especially if your chosen tome is dense. And reading line after line of anything can make you feel like giving your eyes a break.

These factors all make reading a great activity to add to your pre-sleep routine if you're looking for ways to fall asleep faster. But if your body's snoozing impulse is continually keeping you from enjoying a good book， there are some tricks to thwart it. It is suggested to read in the morning， or try an audiobook instead. Reading in a spot that isn't your bed— preferably one where you're sitting up， rather than lying down— can help， too. Reading in a public place like a coffee shop or park can also discourage dozing.

美國睡眠醫學會董事會成員、神經學家拉曼·馬爾霍特拉博士告訴 Refinery29網站說：“對許多人而言，閱讀是讓人放松和愉悅的，可以讓你的身心進入適合睡眠的狀態。閱讀有助于某些人睡眠的主要原因在于，閱讀讓你的大腦在你關燈睡覺前有時間休息和放松。”

逐字閱讀需要你集中注意力，也會讓你感到疲倦，尤其是如果你選的書是一本大部頭的話。不論讀什么書，一行又一行地看下來，都會讓你的眼睛渴望休息。

對于想要更快入睡的人而言，上述這些因素都使得睡前閱讀成了催眠妙法。但如果打瞌睡的沖動讓你總是無法讀完一本好書，這里有幾個消除睡意的竅門。建議你在早上閱讀，或者嘗試一下有聲讀物。不要在床上閱讀，最好是在一個你能坐而不能躺的地方閱讀，這也會對你有幫助。在咖啡館或公園這樣的公共場所閱讀也可以趕跑睡蟲。

Word Study

protagonist /pr?'t?ɡ?n?st/ n. （書的）主要人物

preoccupation /pri'

?kju'pe??n/ n. 心事重重；憂心忡忡

She spoke slowly， in a state of preoccupation.

dense /dens/ adj. 難理解的，難懂的

thwart /θw??t/ v. 阻止；阻撓