克服成人噩夢，獲得更好睡眠的7種方法

克服成人噩夢，獲得更好睡眠的7種方法

We leave behind our fears of monsters under the bed as we say goodbye to our childhoods, but one can follow us into adulthood and loom over our heads.

當(dāng)我們告別童年時代時，我們把對床底的怪物的恐懼拋在腦后，但是有一個怪物會隨著我們進(jìn)入成年，并在我們的腦海中浮現(xiàn)。

Nightmares are more common in childhood, but anywhere from 50% to 85% of adults report having occasional nightmares.

噩夢在童年時期更常見，但50%到85%的成年人偶爾會做噩夢。

Almost everyone can experience nightmares — and especially during the pandemic.

幾乎每個人都可能經(jīng)歷噩夢——尤其是在流行病期間。

"With a combination of additional stress and safer-at-home orders, more people are struggling with nightmares," said Jennifer Martin, a professor of medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles, and member of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine's board of directors.

加州大學(xué)洛杉磯分校大衛(wèi)格芬醫(yī)學(xué)院的醫(yī)學(xué)教授、美國睡眠醫(yī)學(xué)學(xué)會董事會成員詹妮弗·馬丁說:“由于額外的壓力和呆在家更安全的命令的雙重作用下，越來越多的人都在與噩夢作斗爭。”

If your days are filled with online school for the children, social distancing, masks and a daily death toll, isn't it no wonder adults are having nightmares at night?

如果你的日子里充斥著孩子們上網(wǎng)課、(保持)社交距離、戴口罩和每日死亡人數(shù)，成年人晚上做噩夢難道不奇怪嗎?

"Dreams do usually incorporate things that happened during the day, leading some researchers to hypothesize that dreams and rapid eye movement sleep is essential for memory consolidation and cognitive rejuvenation," said Joshua Tal, a sleep and health psychologist based in Manhattan.

來自曼哈頓的睡眠和健康心理學(xué)家約書亞·塔爾說:“夢通常包含白天發(fā)生的事情，這導(dǎo)致一些研究人員假設(shè)，夢和快速眼動睡眠對記憶鞏固和認(rèn)知恢復(fù)至關(guān)重要。”

Nightmares are what the American Academy of Sleep Medicine call "vivid, realistic and disturbing dreams typically involving threats to survival or security, which often evoke emotions of anxiety, fear or terror."

美國睡眠醫(yī)學(xué)學(xué)會稱噩夢為“生動的、現(xiàn)實(shí)的、令人不安的夢，通常涉及對生存或安全的威脅，經(jīng)常引發(fā)焦慮、恐懼或恐怖的情緒。”

Trying out these 10 steps could help you ease your nightmares and improve your sleep and quality of life.

試試這些10種步驟，可以幫助你緩解你的噩夢,改善你的睡眠和生活質(zhì)量。

1. Establish a sleep routine

建立睡眠規(guī)律

Create a nighttime routine to improve the quality of your sleep and reduce nightmares.

制定一個夜間計劃來提高你的睡眠質(zhì)量，減少噩夢。

Nightmares, Martin said, occur during rapid eye movement sleep, the phase during which our muscles relax and we dream. Waking up during REM sleep enables recollection of the dream and resulting distress.

馬丁說，噩夢發(fā)生在快速眼動睡眠期間，這是我們肌肉放松和做夢的階段。在快速眼動睡眠中醒來可以回憶起夢和由此產(chǎn)生的痛苦。

"One of the most effective ways to treat nightmare problems in adults is actually to get them sleeping more soundly (so) they wake up less often," Martin said.

馬丁說:“治療成人噩夢問題最有效的方法之一就是讓他們睡得更沉，這樣他們就不會經(jīng)常醒來。”

A healthy sleep routine begets sound sleep. Develop one by exercising, setting regular sleep and waking times, ensuring your room is dark and cool, avoiding stimulating beverages after midafternoon and engaging in relaxing activities.

健康的睡眠規(guī)律能帶來良好的睡眠?？梢酝ㄟ^鍛煉、設(shè)定有規(guī)律的睡眠和睡醒時間、確保你的房間黑暗涼爽、避免在下午三點(diǎn)左右喝刺激性飲料以及從事放松活動來培養(yǎng)這種能力。

2. Cut back on alcohol

減少飲酒

Alcoholic beverages can induce restlessness and awakenings throughout the night — potentially helping you remember nightmares, Martin said.

酒精飲料會導(dǎo)致整晚的不安和醒來——這可能有助于你記住噩夢，馬丁說。

"A lot of people use alcohol as a way to wind down and feel sleepy at the end of the day, but it's really not the right solution," she added. Instead, try herbal teas and other beverages conducive to sleep.

她補(bǔ)充說:“很多人把酒精作為放松的方式，在一天結(jié)束時感到困倦，但這真的不是正確的解決辦法。”相反，嘗試花草茶和其他有助于睡眠的飲料。

3. Don't eat before bed

睡覺前不要吃東西

Avoid snacking before bed to prevent spiking your metabolism and activating your brain.

睡覺前不要吃零食，以免加快新陳代謝，激活大腦。

Snacking can boost metabolism, which causes your brain to be more active and could lead to nightmares, according to the National Sleep Foundation.

根據(jù)美國國家睡眠基金會的數(shù)據(jù),零食可以促進(jìn)新陳代謝,使你的大腦更活躍,可能會導(dǎo)致噩夢。

4. Review your medications

檢查你的藥物

Some medications can prompt nightmares by interrupting REM sleep.

有些藥物會打斷快速眼動睡眠，從而引發(fā)噩夢。

Melatonin, while a popular sleep aid, influences our circadian rhythm that regulates REM sleep, and can lead to more or fewer nightmares. If you want to take melatonin for better sleep, work with a sleep specialist to ensure you're taking it at the right time and not compounding the problem, Martin said.

褪黑激素雖然是一種很受歡迎的助眠劑，但它會影響我們的晝夜節(jié)律，從而調(diào)節(jié)快速眼動睡眠，并可能導(dǎo)致噩夢增多或減少。馬丁說，如果你想通過服用褪黑激素來提高睡眠質(zhì)量，請咨詢睡眠專家，確保你是在正確的時間服用褪黑激素，而不會使問題惡化。

5. Practice stress-relieving activities

練習(xí)減壓活動

Progressive muscle relaxation — tensing muscle groups as you inhale and relaxing them as you exhale — has been effective for reducing nightmares.

漸進(jìn)式肌肉放松——吸氣時繃緊肌肉群，呼氣時放松肌肉群——對減少噩夢很有效。

6. Journal your worries

記下你的煩惱

Journaling can help you release your anxieties.

寫日記可以幫助你釋放焦慮。

Write down your worries to get them all out ahead of time, lest they rear their disquieting heads at night. Journaling can be helpful for alleviating nightmares and stress in general, Tal said.

寫下你擔(dān)心的事情，提前把它們都說出來，以免它們在晚上產(chǎn)生不安的情緒。總的說來，寫日記有助于減輕噩夢和壓力，塔爾說。

7. Don't watch or read scary content before bed

睡覺前不要看或讀恐怖的內(nèi)容

Images from any exciting or disturbing content you watched before bed can appear in your dreams.

睡覺前看的任何令人興奮或不安的內(nèi)容都會出現(xiàn)在你的夢中。

During the pandemic, our everyday lives are looking pretty scary, too. "Reading the news media and then hopping into bed is more likely to trigger disturbing and upsetting dreams than looking through pictures from your last vacation with your family," she added.

在大流行期間，我們的日常生活看起來也相當(dāng)可怕。她補(bǔ)充說:“瀏覽新聞媒體然后跳到床上比瀏覽上次和家人度假時的照片更容易引發(fā)令人不安的夢。”