bbc 睡眠（bbc 失眠）

我們每個人每天都需要足夠的睡眠來保持和恢復體力。睡眠不足所帶來的負面影響有哪些？一項研究發現缺覺不僅會影響我們的身體健康而且還會給我們的心理健康造成危害。本集討論不良睡眠對人的影響。

心理健康是每一個父母最擔心的問題，只要孩子稍微有些情緒的波動，父母就會擔心自己的孩子是否有心理問題？這就是需要父母系統學習了解各年齡階段孩子的身心發展特點，如何幫孩子消除焦慮的情緒，幫孩子做好心理營養，心理建設等，左養右學教育賴頌強老師在直播課里都有系統講解，想學習的家長聯系我們。

課文內容

Vocabulary: sleep 詞匯 : 睡眠

How much sleep do you need? Do you find that if you don’t get enough shut-eye and wake up feeling dopey, you spend the rest of the day in a bad mood? I certainly need my eight hours a night and that’s important according to research, because bad sleep isn’t good for our health.

你需要多少睡眠?你是否發現，如果你沒有得到足夠的睡眠，醒來時感覺昏昏沉沉，你會在一天的其余時間里心情不好?根據研究，我確實需要每晚睡8個小時，這很重要，因為糟糕的睡眠對我們的健康不好。

We all need a good night’s rest to recharge our batteries, but according to the Sleep Council in the UK, the average Briton gets six-and-a-half hours sleep a night, which for most people is not enough. It’s tempting to cut back on the sleep we get, after all there are plenty of other more fun or useful things to be doing. Sometimes the pressure of work or a long commute means that our head hits the pillow much later than it should. But lots of studies have shown that cutting back on sleep, deliberately or otherwise, can have a serious impact on our bodies.

我們都需要一個良好的睡眠來給自己充電，但根據英國睡眠委員會的數據，平均每個英國人每晚只睡6.5個小時，這對大多數人來說是不夠的。減少我們的睡眠時間是很誘人的，畢竟還有很多其他更有趣或有用的事情要做。有時，工作的壓力或長時間的通勤意味著我們的頭比應該睡的時間晚了很多。但許多研究表明，有意或無意地減少睡眠時間會對我們的身體產生嚴重影響。

Studies have proved that sleep deprivation has a negative effect on our bodies but it can also have an effect on our mental health. A BBC programme called Trust Me, I’m a Doctor ran an experiment with the University of Oxford and was surprised to discover how quickly the mood of the people they were testing changed when their sleep was restricted to four hours a night for just three nights. Doctoral student, Sarah Reeve, who ran the experiment, said: “There were increases in anxiety, depression and stress, also increases in paranoia and feelings of mistrust about other people”.

研究已經證明，睡眠不足對我們的身體有負面影響，但它也會對我們的心理健康產生影響。BBC一檔名為《相信我，我是醫生》的節目在牛津大學進行了一項實驗，他們驚奇地發現，當受試者連續3個晚上的睡眠時間被限制在每晚4小時時，他們的情緒變化速度之快。負責這項實驗的博士生薩拉·里夫說:“焦慮、抑郁和壓力增加，偏執和對他人的不信任也增加。”

This and other research into the mental health of students, has found that the lack of sleep increases our negative emotions. I know that when I’m sleep deprived, it is harder to feel positive about things or even think straight! Daniel Freeman, professor of clinical psychology at Oxford University, agrees that insomnia is bad for our brain. He says: “We have more negative thoughts when we’re sleep-deprived and we get stuck in them”.

這項研究和其他針對學生心理健康的研究發現，睡眠不足會增加我們的負面情緒。我知道當我睡眠不足的時候，我很難對事情感到積極，甚至很難思考清楚!牛津大學臨床心理學教授丹尼爾·弗里曼(Daniel Freeman)也認為，失眠對我們的大腦有害。他說:“當我們睡眠不足時，我們會有更多消極的想法，我們會陷入這些想法中。”

Bad sleep doesn’t automatically mean you’ll get mental health issues but other studies have shown that depriving people of enough sleep for only a few nights in a row can be enough to put healthy adults into a pre-diabetic state. So with all this evidence maybe we should concentrate on sleeping well. This means going to bed at a sensible time and creating the right environment in the bedroom to relax and sleep in. There’s also the modern distraction of using smartphones and tablets at bedtime, tempting us to stay awake. The blue light emitted by electronic devices makes us feel less sleepy. And using them stimulates our brain when it should be winding down. What helps you get a good night’s sleep?

睡眠不好并不一定意味著你會有心理健康問題，但其他研究表明，連續幾個晚上剝奪人們足夠的睡眠足以讓健康的成年人進入糖尿病前期狀態。所以有了這些證據，也許我們應該集中精力睡個好覺。這意味著要在一個合理的時間上床睡覺，在臥室里創造一個合適的環境來放松和睡覺。睡前使用智能手機和平板電腦也會分散我們的注意力，誘使我們保持清醒。電子設備發出的藍光使我們不那么困。當我們的大腦應該放松的時候，使用它們會刺激它。什么能幫助你睡個好覺?

詞匯表

shut-eye 閉眼，睡眠
wake up 醒來
dopey 嗜睡的，迷迷糊糊的
recharge our batteries 恢復我們的體力
head hits the pillow 頭挨枕頭，睡覺
cut back 減少
sleep deprivation 睡眠不足
mental health 心理健康
anxiety 焦慮（癥）
paranoia 多疑，妄想癥
lack of sleep 缺覺
negative emotions 負面情緒
think straight 清楚地思考，思路清晰
insomnia 失眠（癥）
pre-diabetic state 糖尿病前期狀態
sleepy 困的，瞌睡的
stimulate 刺激
wind down 平靜下來，放松

測驗與練習

1. 閱讀課文并回答問題。

1. True or false? Six and a half hours is not enough sleep for most people in the UK.

2. How many hours’ sleep did students have in the experiment carried out by the University of Oxford?

3. According to research, what happens to our mood when we have less sleep?

4. Which word used in the article means ‘an effect or an influence’?

5. What is it about using smartphones and tablets at bedtime that stops us getting to sleep?

2. 請在不參考課文的情況下完成下列練習。選擇一個意思合適的單詞填入句子的空格處。

1. She started feeling ______ and was convinced her boss was going to fire her.

dopey paranoid insomnia stimulating

2. He suffers from depression, but he can’t discuss his ______ with his employer.

mentally health mentality mental health shut-eye

3. After working all night, I was unable to ______ at the meeting the next morning.

cut back stimulate think straight recharge my batteries

4. Sean suffers from ______ because he drinks too much coffee before bedtime.

insomnia a cold shut-eye dopey

5. A glass of wine really helps me ______ after a busy day at work.

wind up winding stimulate wind down

答案

1. 閱讀課文并回答問題。

1. True or false? Six and a half hours is not enough sleep for most people in the UK.
True. According to the UK’s Sleep Council, the average Briton gets six-and-a-half hour’s sleep a night, which for most people is not enough.

2. How many hours’ sleep did students have in the experiment carried out by the University of Oxford?
Their sleep was restricted to four hours a night for just three nights.

3. According to research, what happens to our mood when we have less sleep?
Lack of sleep increases our negative emotions and we have more negative thoughts.

4. Which word used in the article means ‘an effect or an influence’?
Impact.

5. What is it about using smartphones and tablets at bedtime that stops us getting to sleep?
They emit blue light and using them stimulates our brain.

2. 請在不參考課文的情況下完成下列練習。選擇一個意思合適的單詞填入句子的空格處。

1. She started feeling paranoid and was convinced her boss was going to fire her.

2. He suffers from depression, but he can’t discuss his mental health with his employer.

3. After working all night, I was unable to think straight at the meeting the next morning.

4. Sean suffers from insomnia because he drinks too much coffee before bedtime.

5. A glass of wine really helps me wind down after a busy day at work.