提升生活質(zhì)量最簡(jiǎn)單的方式：睡覺(jué)

Imagine this: Someone walks up to you and pitches you on a brand-new, magical pill.

想象一下：有個(gè)人走過(guò)來(lái)為向推銷(xiāo)一款全新的神奇藥片。

This pill can measurably improve your memory, overall cognitive performance, ability to learn new information, receptivity to facial cues, mood, ability to handle problems, metabolism, risk for heart disease and immune system.

這種藥片可以顯著改善你的記憶力、整體認(rèn)知表現(xiàn)、學(xué)習(xí)新信息的能力、對(duì)面部表情的接受能力、情緒、處理問(wèn)題的能力、新陳代謝、心臟病和免疫系統(tǒng)的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)。

Would you buy it?

你會(huì)買(mǎi)嗎?

Yeah, yeah, you saw this coming: That pill exists, but not in pill form. You can have all of those benefits cost-free, and all it takes is going to bed a little bit earlier. That’s it.

是的是的，你猜到了：這種藥片真實(shí)存在，但并不是以藥片的形式。你可以免費(fèi)享受所有這些好處，而且所需的一切只是早點(diǎn)睡覺(jué)而已。就是這樣。

And yet! The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have called sleep deprivation a public health crisis, saying that one-third of adults don’t get enough sleep. Some 80 percent of people report sleep problems at least once per week, and according to a 2016 study, sleep deprivation “causes more than $400 billion in economic losses annually in the United States and results in 1.23 million lost days of work each year.”

但是!疾病控制和預(yù)防中心(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)把睡眠剝奪稱(chēng)作是一場(chǎng)公共衛(wèi)生危機(jī)，它表示三分之一的成年人睡眠不足。大約80%的人每周至少報(bào)告一次睡眠問(wèn)題，并且，根據(jù)2016年的一項(xiàng)研究，睡眠剝奪“對(duì)美國(guó)經(jīng)濟(jì)造成的損失每年超過(guò)4000億美元，并導(dǎo)致每年123萬(wàn)個(gè)工作日的損失”。

If that’s not enough, here is a non-comprehensive list of the ways your sleep deprivation is personally harming you:

如果這還不夠，這里有一份關(guān)于睡眠剝奪如何損害你個(gè)人的不全面清單：

■ Your overall cognitive performance — particularly your visual attention and ability to form memories — deteriorates. (More colloquially, this is that “brain fog” we all experience after a late night.)

■ 你的整體認(rèn)知表現(xiàn)——特別是你的視覺(jué)注意力和形成記憶的能力——會(huì)衰退。(更通俗地說(shuō)，這是我們?cè)谏钜购蠖紩?huì)經(jīng)歷的“腦霧”。)

■ Your ability to learn new information is impaired, both by sleep deprivation before you learn new information and afterward.

■ 在你學(xué)習(xí)新信息的之前和之后，你學(xué)習(xí)新信息的能力都會(huì)因睡眠不足而受損。

■ You’re less likely to correctly read facial expressions, even interpreting some expressions — even neutral ones — as threatening.

■ 你可能無(wú)法正確地解讀面部表情，甚至?xí)⒁恍┍砬?mdash;—甚至是中性的那些——解讀為威脅。

■ You’re likely to be more cranky and react worse when presented with obstacles.

■ 當(dāng)遇到阻礙時(shí)，你可能會(huì)更暴躁并且反應(yīng)更糟。

■ Beyond your severely impaired mental abilities, your body is affected, too: A lack of adequate sleep can contribute to weight gain, puts you at a higher risk of diabetes and heart disease, and makes you far less resistant to the common cold.

■ 除了嚴(yán)重受損的心智能力之外，你的身體也會(huì)受到影響：缺乏足夠的睡眠會(huì)導(dǎo)致體重增加，使你患糖尿病和心臟病的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)更高，并使你對(duì)普通感冒的抵抗力大大降低。

That is insane! All of this from just not getting enough sleep! 這太瘋狂了!所有這一切只因睡眠不足!

So what are we to do? We’ve got you covered with The Times’s guide to getting a better night’s sleep.

那么我們?cè)撛趺崔k呢?我們?yōu)槟銣?zhǔn)備了時(shí)報(bào)的指南，以幫助你獲得更好的睡眠。

First, learn how much sleep you need. Generally, if you’re waking up tired, you’re not getting enough.

首先，了解您需要多少睡眠。一般來(lái)說(shuō)，如果你醒來(lái)覺(jué)得疲憊，那你就睡得不夠。

However, the gold standard of eight hours per night might not be right for you. A study from 2015 brought into question whether we need that magical number, so following your body is the best way to figure out the right rhythm. The only real guideline is to get as much sleep as you need to feel refreshed and energized the next day, and then do that every single night. Keeping a sleep diary — like this one — can help you figure this out.

但是，每晚睡八小時(shí)的黃金標(biāo)準(zhǔn)可能并不適合你。2015年的一項(xiàng)研究質(zhì)疑我們是否需要這個(gè)神奇的數(shù)字，所以遵從你的身體是找出正確節(jié)奏的最好方法。唯一真正的指導(dǎo)方針是獲得盡可能多的睡眠，以讓你在第二天感覺(jué)精神煥發(fā)、精力充沛，然后每一晚都這么做。堅(jiān)持記錄睡眠日記——就像這樣——可以幫助你解決這個(gè)問(wèn)題。

Next, figure out your body’s natural rhythm. Maybe after years of trying, you need to acknowledge that you’re just not a morning person. And that’s perfectly fine! Take this quiz to find out what kind of sleeper you are, and don’t fight your body’s natural sleep tendencies.

接下來(lái)，弄清楚你身體的自然節(jié)奏。也許經(jīng)過(guò)多年的嘗試，你需要承認(rèn)你不是早起的那類(lèi)人。這非常好!做一下這個(gè)測(cè)試，找出你是什么類(lèi)型的睡眠者，不要對(duì)抗你身體自然的睡眠傾向。

Last, keep a consistent sleep schedule. This can be the most important part of your overall sleep hygiene. We’re all equipped with a circadian clock, which is that internal 24-hour timer that naturally tells us when to sleep, and the best way to getting rest and feeling rested is to keep this consistent. Fall asleep and wake up at the same time every day (including weekends), and try to build as much regularity into your schedule as possible, including meal times, exercise routines, screen time (and when to shut off the screens) and morning sunlight time. And don’t forget to keep your bedroom cool.

最后，保持一致的睡眠時(shí)間表。這可能是整體睡眠健康中最重要的部分。我們都有生物鐘，這是身體內(nèi)部的24小時(shí)計(jì)時(shí)器，它能自然地告訴我們什么時(shí)候睡覺(jué)，休息和感覺(jué)精力充沛的最佳方法是保持這種生物鐘。每天(包括周末)在同一時(shí)間入睡和醒來(lái)，并嘗試使你的日程安排變得盡可能規(guī)律，包括用餐時(shí)間、鍛煉習(xí)慣、看屏幕的時(shí)間(以及何時(shí)關(guān)閉屏幕)和早晨曬到陽(yáng)光的時(shí)間。別忘了保持臥室的涼爽。