Are naps actually good for us? | Sleeping with Science

Transcriber:

Are we designed to nap during the day?

譯者: Lilian Chiu 審譯者: Yi-Ping Cho (Marssi)

我們先天的設計有包括 在白天小睡片刻嗎？

[Sleeping With Science]

〔從科學看睡眠〕

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

多數人會希望在晚上一口氣睡足

in one long stretch at night.

建議的七到九個小時。

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

專業術語叫做「單相睡眠」。

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

換句話說，就是只睡晚上一回合。

However,

然而

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

我們先天上不見得適合 這種睡眠方式。

Now I'm sure you've had that experience

我相信你有過這種經驗：

of a drop in your alertness in the afternoon,

在午後有點精神不濟，

where you start to feel a little sleepy.

開始有點愛睏。

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

你會看到別人也有這個狀況，

as their heads begin sort of bobbing up and down

因為在下午的會議中 他們會開始一直點頭。

during afternoon meetings.

Now you may think this afternoon drop in your alertness

你可能認為下午之所以精神不濟

is because of a big lunch,

是因為午餐吃太飽，

but in actual fact,

但事實上，

it seems to be hardwired.

這似乎是天生的。

Because if I place electrodes on your head,

因為如果我把電極連接在你的頭上，

there is a reliable, preprogrammed drop

下午時，大腦的注意力

in your brain’s alertness during the afternoon.

確實就會如原廠商設定般下降。

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

大部分人發生這個狀況的時間 大約是在下午一點到四點間。

What this suggests

這就意味著我們可能

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

在先天的設計上 就適合用雙相的模式來睡覺，

meaning one longer bout of sleep at night

意即，晚上睡比較長的一回合，

and then a short afternoon nap during the day,

接著，白天午後再打個小盹，

very much like the siesta cultures around the world.

非常像現在世界各地的午覺文化。

But is napping always a good thing?

但打盹一定是好的嗎？

Well, not necessarily.

不見得喔。

Although we and other scientists

雖然我們及其他科學家發現，

have discovered that naps can have benefits

打盹對於大腦和身體都有益處，

for both the brain and for the body,

naps can be a double-edged sword.

打盹也可能是雙面刃。

Long naps in the afternoon or in the early evening

下午或傍晚若打盹的時間太長，

can just take the edge off your sleepiness.

會削減你的睡意。

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

有點像是吃正餐之前來點零食。

So if you are struggling with sleep at night,

所以，如果你晚上很難入眠，

the best advice is not to nap during the day.

最好的建議是白天不要打盹。

Instead, build up all of that healthy sleepiness

反而要累積健康的睡意，

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

你才最有機會可以輕鬆入睡，

and then staying asleep soundly across the night.

且好眠到一覺到天亮。

But if you're not struggling with sleep

但如果你沒有睡眠問題，

and you can nap regularly during the day,

白天有固定時間可以打盹，

the naps of around 20 minutes taken early in the day

那麼白天早一點小睡大約二十分鐘

can be just fine.

沒什麼問題。