Can you change your sleep schedule?

Translator: Spencer Tse Reviewer: Aubrey Cheng

Here we see an early bird and a night owl in their natural habitats.

有隻早鳥和一隻貓頭鷹喺樹上面

The early bird rises with the sun, springing out of bed abuzz with energy.

早鳥隨住太陽升起就起身， 精力充沛噉飛出去

As the day goes on, they slowly get more and more exhausted

一日慢慢過去，早鳥就越嚟越攰

until finally crashing around sunset.

日落而息

Meanwhile, the night owl rises long after the sun,

同時，貓頭鷹喺日落後先醒

stumbling groggily from their bed.

仲吽吓吽吓噉

After about 30 minutes— or a cup of coffee—

約半個鐘之後-- 或者一杯咖啡之後--

they begin to come to life.

貓頭鷹先醒醒哋

But they don’t really hit their stride until later in the day,

直到再晏少少

at which point they comfortably coast past sunset,

黃昏後先完全進入狀態

only heading to bed in the early hours of the morning.

聽朝先會再瞓覺

For many, this is a familiar story, and one that’s easy to cast yourself in.

好多人都聽過、好易代入呢個故事

But how many people are truly night owls or early birds?

實際上有幾多人係早鳥或者貓頭鷹？

And are our natural sleep schedules predetermined at birth,

我哋嘅瞓覺時間係一早規定咗

or can we change them?

抑或改變得到嘅呢？

The truth is there’s a lot of space between these extremes,

其實喺呢兩者之間都仲有好多位

and most people fall somewhere in the middle.

而多數人就係處於中間

These behaviors are determined by our circadian system—

我哋嘅晝夜節律系統決定咗呢啲行為

which is anchored by a pair of nerve cell clusters

而呢個節律係位於我哋嘅

located in the anterior hypothalamus.

下丘腦前核

These nerve cells respond to light exposure coming in through your eyes

由眼睛接收嘅光會刺激到呢啲神經細胞

to track the day-night cycle that dictates your body’s internal clock,

從而決定你身體嘅生理時鐘

or circadian rhythm.

即係你嘅晝夜節律

That steady rhythm helps determine the body’s flow of hormones,

呢個穩定嘅節律推斷我哋 幾時釋放某啲荷爾蒙

with the broader circadian system acting like a conductor

憑住廣闊嘅晝夜節律扮演指揮家嘅角色

that keeps your organs functioning in time with one another.

協調我哋嘅器官

And a major part of that performance is managing the body’s transitions

呢個節律都會管理

between being awake and being asleep.

起身同瞓覺之間的身體調整

Now, your circadian system can't just decide its bedtime and knock you out.

單憑你嘅晝夜節律係決定唔到 你嘅瞓覺時間

However, by tracking how much light you typically get

不過佢可以根據你吸收陽光嘅數量

and when in your waking hours you usually get it,

同你喺日間吸收陽光嘅時間

the system can make predictions about when you’re likely to need sleep

去預測你大約要瞓覺嘅時間

and prepare your body accordingly.

從而準備身體去休息

For example, if you consistently go to sleep around 10 pm,

比如，如果你經常喺十點鐘瞓覺，

your circadian system will start producing sleep-inducing melatonin

你嘅晝夜節律會喺瞓覺前兩個鐘

around two hours before then to tell your body it’s time for bed.

開始製作誘發睡眠嘅褪黑素， 話畀你身體知要瞓覺

So if this rhythm is molded by our sleep habits,

如果呢個節律係受睡眠習慣而影響

can we change it just by sticking to a strict schedule?

我哋係咪可以遵守嚴格嘅瞓覺時間表 去改變呢個節律？

To a degree.

某程度上

Everyone’s bodies are unique,

大家嘅身體都係獨一無二嘅

so even two people with the same sleep schedule might have different experiences

所以就算兩個人嘅睡眠時間表係一樣

based on their circadian system’s hormonal quirks.

佢哋嘅晝夜節律釋出嘅荷爾蒙 會令到佢哋有唔同嘅體驗

For example, where early birds generally flood with cortisol just before waking up,

例如，早鳥會喺起身後立即釋放皮質醇

night owls often have their cortisol peak roughly 30 minutes after getting up.

但貓頭鷹通常會喺瞓醒覺半個鐘後 先釋放皮質醇

Hormonal differences like these determine how you experience your circadian rhythm.

荷爾蒙釋放嘅差別 會決定你點樣體驗你嘅晝夜節律

And while these factors can shift with age,

雖然呢啲因素可以隨年紀而變化

you’re unlikely to grow out of your body’s preferred sleep schedule.

但你唔太可能擺脫你身體嘅睡眠時間表

That said, you can cultivate habits to help or hinder your circadian rhythm.

不過，你可以培養某啲習慣嚟幫助 或妨礙你嘅晝夜節律

Keeping consistent sleeping hours helps your body accurately predict

保持一貫嘅瞓覺時間會幫到你嘅身體

when to send out hormones,

預測到幾時要釋放荷爾蒙

making it easier to stick to your schedule.

令到維持你嘅睡眠時間表更加容易

Conversely, research in sleep deprived college students

相反，研究顯示睡眠不足

has found their unpredictable sleeping habits

同睡眠時間表唔穩定嘅學生

weaken their entire circadian system.

佢哋嘅晝夜節律會衰弱咗

Compromised circadian rhythms are less effective

衰弱嘅晝夜節律喺協調器官

at coordinating organ functioning and can incur health risks

會冇咁有效同埋會導致身體受損

like metabolic disorders and vulnerable immune systems.

例如代謝失調同疲弱嘅免疫系統

But perhaps just as important as sleep hygiene is light hygiene.

但同「睡眠衛生」一樣咁重要嘅就係「光衛生」

Getting sufficient contrast between bright daylight and dimmer nighttime light

日夜之間有充足嘅光線對比度

is essential for synchronizing your circadian rhythm,

係對協調晝夜節律非常重要

and nothing establishes this contrast better than sunlight.

而吸收陽光係建立呢種對比最好嘅方法

Even on overcast days, sunlight is much brighter than standard indoor lighting.

就算係陰天嗰陣， 陽光比室內燈光仲要光好多

So if you're typically awake during the day,

所以，日光日白嗰陣

try getting outside as soon as possible to teach your body

儘量試吓出去外面

when to be active and alert.

去教你嘅身體幾時要保持清醒

It’s difficult to maintain a sleep schedule

一個向身體作對嘅睡眠時間表

that pushes against your body’s preferences.

是非常難維持

And even if you succeed for months,

儘管你成功幾個月

it only takes one bad night to send your circadian system back to baseline.

只要喺一個晚上偏離呢個時間表 就要重新開始過

But whether you’re an early bird, night owl, or somewhere in between,

但無論你係貓頭鷹定係早鳥

it’s important to remember that as long as you’re consistent,

保持一個既定嘅時間表

there’s no wrong time to wake up or go to sleep.

實際上冇一個正確嘅瞓覺時間

What matters most is getting enough rest for the day ahead.

最重要嘅係有充足嘅休息去迎接新嘅一日