Are naps actually good for us? | Sleeping with Science

Transcriber:

Are we designed to nap during the day?

翻译人员: Grace Zhuang 校对人员: Yanyan Hong

我们生来就是会想要午睡的吗？

[Sleeping With Science]

【科学睡眠】

Most people aim to get their recommended seven to nine hours of sleep

大多数人立志于在一个漫长的夜晚

in one long stretch at night.

达到推荐的 七到九个小时的睡眠时间

And the technical term for this is “monophasic sleep.”

专业术语将它称为“单相睡眠 （monophasic sleep）”，

In other words, a single bout of sleep at night.

换句话说， 就是只有晚上的一次睡眠。

However,

然而，

we may not have been programmed to sleep in this way.

我们可能并不是生来 就以这种方式睡觉的。

Now I'm sure you've had that experience

我确定你有经历像是

of a drop in your alertness in the afternoon,

下午的时候，你的警觉性会下降，

where you start to feel a little sleepy.

这时你开始感到有点困。

And you can also see it in other people as well,

在他人身上你也能看到这一点，

as their heads begin sort of bobbing up and down

在午后会议中，他们的头

during afternoon meetings.

开始上下摆动。

Now you may think this afternoon drop in your alertness

现在你可能觉得下午的警觉性降低

is because of a big lunch,

是由于中午吃得太多。

but in actual fact,

但事实上，

it seems to be hardwired.

这似乎是与生俱来的。

Because if I place electrodes on your head,

因为如果我把电极放在你头上，

there is a reliable, preprogrammed drop

那有一个可靠的、 预先设定好的警惕性下降

in your brain’s alertness during the afternoon.

发生在每日午后。

And it happens to most of us somewhere between the one to four pm mark.

我们大多数人的大脑 都会在下午 1 到 4 点感觉困顿。

What this suggests

这表明

is that we may have been designed to sleep in a biphasic pattern,

我们生来就被设定出了两个睡眠模式，

meaning one longer bout of sleep at night

也就是说晚上的睡眠时间要长一些，

and then a short afternoon nap during the day,

然后在白天小睡一会儿，

very much like the siesta cultures around the world.

就像世界各地的午睡文化一样。

But is napping always a good thing?

但小睡总是一件好事吗?

Well, not necessarily.

好吧，不一定。

Although we and other scientists

即便我们和其他科学家们

have discovered that naps can have benefits

发现了午睡

for both the brain and for the body,

对大脑和身体的好处。

naps can be a double-edged sword.

但午睡也是一把双刃剑，

Long naps in the afternoon or in the early evening

在下午或傍晚的早些时候 长时间小睡，

can just take the edge off your sleepiness.

能减少你的困倦，

It's a little bit like snacking before your main meal.

就像是晚饭前吃零食一样，

So if you are struggling with sleep at night,

所以如果你晚上入睡困难，

the best advice is not to nap during the day.

建议就是不要在白天午睡，

Instead, build up all of that healthy sleepiness

而是积攒所有健康的困意。

so that you give yourself the best chance of falling asleep easily

这样你就有最好的机会轻易入睡，

and then staying asleep soundly across the night.

然后整晚都睡得很香。

But if you're not struggling with sleep

但如果你没有失眠的话，

and you can nap regularly during the day,

有规律的小睡是可取的，

the naps of around 20 minutes taken early in the day

每天在早些时候小睡 20 分钟左右

can be just fine.

就刚刚好。