睡得多不如睡得好

Do you often feel tired in the morning even though you’ve been in bed for seven or eight hours the night before? Like many people, you are not sleeping as much as you think you are. In other words, your sleep efficiency is not that good.

你是不是常常覺得即使晚上已經睡了七八個小時，白天依舊無精打采?你不是一個人，很多人都和你一樣，因為你的(有效)睡眠時間并沒有你想象的那么長。簡言之，你的睡眠質量不夠高。

Sleep experts define “sleep efficiency” as the percentage of time lying down that you are actually sleeping.

睡眠專家對“睡眠效率”的定義是真正睡眠時間占你躺在床上時間的比例。

According to explanatory journalism website vox.com, the science of sleep efficiency is still young. There is no specific number for efficiency that’s been proven as linked to poor health. However, according to a New York Times report about sleep quality, some experts estimate a rough ballpark of 85 percent or above as a decent place to be.

據解釋性新聞網站vox.com的報道，關于睡眠質量的研究起步較晚。目前，尚無具體比例說明(多低的)睡眠效率將會有害健康。但是，據《紐約時報》報道，一些專家認為如果想要保持良好狀態(tài)，這一比例約為85%或更高。

Besides avoiding caffeine intake after lunch and refraining from doing physical exercise before bed, here are more tips for improving sleep efficiency, curated from news website Vox and Quartz.

除了午餐后不攝入咖啡因、睡前避免體育運動之外，Vox與Quartz網站還為大家提供了一些提高睡眠質量的小建議，一起來看吧!

Avoid blue light at night

夜晚避免藍光

Short wavelength blue light, emitted by the sun and by the screens of computers, iPads and smartphones, stops production of the sleep-inducing hormone melatonin and makes you feel more alert. Blue light tells your brain it’s daytime. Experts suggest turning off your computers and smartphones one hour or at least 30 minutes before bed. You can also try installing apps that can filter blue light on your devices. Both F.lux for computer and Bluelight Filter for Android phones work fine.

來自太陽光、電腦屏幕、平板電腦或手機屏幕的短波長藍光都會抑制促進睡眠的褪黑色素的產生，讓你毫無睡意。藍光會讓你的大腦誤認為此時還是白天。專家們的建議是：至少在入睡前半小時、最好是一小時關掉你的電腦和手機。你也可以在電子設備里下載一些能過濾藍光的APP，比如可用于電腦的F.lux和用于安卓手機的Bluelight Filter。

Keep a consistent sleep schedule

保持相同的入睡與起床時間

Go to bed and wake up at the same time, or relatively the same time, every day. Avoid binge sleeping on the weekend. Consistency is key to a good night’s sleep, especially when it comes to waking up. When you have a consistent wake-up time, your brain acclimates to this and moves through the sleep cycle in preparation for you to feel rested and alert at your wake-up time. Roughly an hour before you wake, hormone levels increase gradually (along with your body temperature and blood pressure), causing you to become more alert.

每天最好在同一個時間入睡和起床，至少保持相對的一致性。不要在周末睡得太放縱，因為固定的睡眠時間，尤其是固定的清醒時間正是好睡眠的關鍵。當你擁有固定的睡眠時間時，你的大腦就會形成習慣，在入睡前為進入睡眠狀態(tài)做好準備，在醒來時恢復清醒。一般在你醒來之前的一小時左右，你的褪黑色素水平會逐漸增加(你的體溫與血壓也會隨之上升)，讓你在醒來后更加清醒。

Take naps

瞇一會

One of the biggest peaks in melatonin production happens during the 1 to 3 pm time frame, which explains why most people feel sleepy in the afternoon. If you aren’t getting enough sleep at night, you’re likely going to feel an overwhelming desire to sleep in the afternoon. When this happens, you’re better off taking a short nap (less than 30 minutes) than resorting to caffeine or strong tea to keep you awake. A short nap will give you the rest you need to get through the rest of the afternoon, and you’ll sleep much better in the evening than if you drink caffeine or take a long afternoon nap.

褪黑素產生的高峰是每天下午1點至3點，這也是為什么大部分人會在下午感到困倦。如果你前一天晚上睡眠不足，那么你很可能在第二天下午完全被周公打敗。這時，你最好的選擇就是小瞇一會(半個小時以內)。它比喝咖啡或是濃茶效果更好。與喝咖啡或是在下午睡很久相比，小瞇一會不僅讓你得到充分的休息，還能保證你當天晚上的睡眠。