警惕！6大壞習慣毀掉你一整晚睡眠

If you equate getting older with needing—or getting—less sleep, here’s a wake-up call: It's not true! “The majority of us require between seven and nine hours of shut-eye a night," says Robert Oexman, D.C., director of the Sleep to Live Institute. “And there’s little reason—whether you’re 55 or 80—not to get it.” Barring disease, medication and pain (all legitimate sleep interrupters), if patients complain of bad sleep, Dr. Oexman looks at their nighttime habits, where the problem almost always resides.
如果你認爲人慢慢長大變老，需要或得到的睡眠更少，那我來提醒你吧，不是這樣的！睡眠與生命研究所所長，脊骨神經科醫師羅伯特·歐克斯曼說道：“大多數人每晚需要7-9小時的睡眠時間。無論你是55還是80歲，都應該做到這一點。”疾病、藥物和疼痛除外（這些都可能會干擾睡眠），如果病人抱怨睡不好覺，歐克斯曼醫師會查看其晚間生活習慣來發現問題所在。

So, how are you sabotaging your z-z-z-z-z’s?
所以，你是怎樣破壞自己的睡眠的呢？

Bad Habit #1: Watching TV until you fall asleep

壞習慣一：看電視看到睡着

Why It Disrupts Sleep: It has nothing to do with what you watch—Downton Abbey isn’t a better pre-sleep choice than Dog the Bounty Hunter. Rather it’s the exposure to TV’s bright light that’s the culprit. Artificial bright light after dusk not only enhances alertness, but also delays the production of melatonin, a sleep-inducing hormone. So even if you nod off (in front of the TV, for example), you probably won’t stay asleep for long.
爲什麼會影響睡眠：這和你看什麼節目沒有任何關係，因爲《唐頓莊園》並不是比《賞金獵人》更好的睡前節目。反而是暴露在電視強光下才是影響你睡眠的罪魁禍首。天黑後的人造強光不僅讓人增加警惕性，而且會延遲體內睡眠荷爾蒙——褪黑素的生成。所以即使你打盹了（比如在電視機前），你很可能也睡不了多久。

EZZZ Fix: An hour before bedtime, treat yourself like a baby: a warm bath, followed by a quiet activity in dim light—meditation, journal writing, reading. But no reading or writing on your computer before bed or in the middle of the night. (Almost half of the respondents in the AOL Email Addiction survey admitted to checking email during the night. If that’s you, keep technology out of the bedroom.)
解決方法：睡前一小時，讓自己像嬰兒一樣：洗個熱水澡，在暗淡的燈光下做些安靜的事情-冥想，寫日記，閱讀。但是睡前或者半夜絕對不能在電腦上閱讀或者寫東西。（幾乎一半參與美國在線電子郵件上癮調查的人們承認晚間會查看電子郵件。如果你也是這樣，那麼記得把高科技關在臥室外面吧。）

Bad Habit #2: Sleeping with Fido
壞習慣二：抱狗狗睡覺

Why It Disrupts Sleep: While animal-lovers argue the emotional benefits of sharing a pillow with their pets, research shows that pets can contribute to less than sound sleep. How? “Pets have different circadian rhythms than humans," says Oexman. “They sleep most of the day, and they shift a lot when sleeping—they get comfortable, then they move. This goes on all night, and whether you admit it or not, it interrupts your ability to get the level of sleep needed to feel rested." (As for pet dander and allergies—sneezing and wheezing are not great sleep enhancers.)
爲什麼會影響睡眠：動物愛好者認爲和寵物一起睡覺有情感上的益處，然而研究表明寵物實際上會影響睡眠。這是怎麼回事呢？“寵物和人有着不同的生理節律，”歐克斯曼說，“他們每天大多數時候都會睡，睡覺的時候經常動-他們覺得舒服，然後就會動。整晚都會這樣，而且無論你承認與否，你都會不知不覺被影響而達不到自己需要的睡眠程度。（至於寵物皮屑和各種過敏導致的打噴嚏和喘息都是會影響睡眠的因素。）

EZZZ Fix: For two weeks, put your pooch or cat in a crate outside your closed bedroom door. When your pet can sleep quietly in the crate, move the crate inside your room for another two weeks. When the crate training is complete, try letting the dog or cat sleep in his own bed near your bed. Discourage all attempts to jump on your bed and reward all successes for staying in his own bed. (Caveat: Plan on interrupted sleep for a few weeks.)
解決方法：堅持兩個星期，把家裏的狗狗或者貓咪裝在板條箱裏，把箱子放在臥室外面，然後關起門來。等你的寵物可以在板條箱裏安靜地睡覺時，再把板條箱搬進臥室裏面放兩個星期。等這個板條箱裏的訓練完成時，試着讓狗狗或者貓咪在離你牀近的地方趴在自己的窩裏睡。阻止它所有試圖跳上你的牀的嘗試，獎勵它乖乖在自己牀上睡覺。（告誡：計劃好有幾個星期會睡不好覺。）

Bad Habit #3: Exercising too close to bedtime

壞習慣三：臨睡前做運動

Why It Disrupts Sleep: Remember how poorly you sleep when you have a fever—drifting in and out, never really feeling rested? Well, heavy exercise too close to bedtime has the same effect—it raises your core body temperature so that your sleep is fragmented at best until your body temperature drops to normal, which may take several hours.
爲什麼會影響睡眠：記得你發燒的時候睡眠多麼糟糕麼——模模糊糊地睡着醒來，都沒怎麼休息好。其實睡前做運動是一樣的結果——這讓你身體的核心體溫升高，所以你的睡眠會斷斷續續直到你的體溫降到正常範圍，這可能會需要好幾個小時。

EZZZ Fix: No hardcore exercise at least three hours before bedtime, so when you lay your sleepy head on the pillow, your body temp is normal. Also, keep the bedroom temperature between 65-58 degrees for the ideal sleeping climate. Too cold for you? Pile on the blankets; just make sure your head (no stocking cap, please) is exposed to the cooler air to help regulate your body temperature.
解決方案：睡前至少三小時內不要劇烈運動，這樣當你疲倦的腦袋沾到枕頭時，你的體溫纔是正常的。同時，最理想的睡眠條件是保持臥室溫度在65-58華氏度（18.3-20攝氏度）之間。對你來說太冷？多蓋上幾層毯子；保證你的腦袋（請別戴絨線帽）置於冷空氣中，幫助調節體溫。Bad Habit #4: Drinking too much liquid before bedtime

壞習慣四：睡前大量喝水

Why It Disrupts Sleep: The short answer—you have to get up and pee frequently.
爲什麼會影響睡眠：答案很簡單-你需要頻繁起牀去衛生間。

EZZZ Fix: Need we also mention that coffee, tea, and colas, are not only diuretics, but also stimulants? Stop drinking caffeinated drinks after lunch and other liquids at least three hours before bedtime because peeing at night and aging do not automatically go hand in hand—unless you suffer from a prostate issue, sleep apnea, or weak pelvic muscles, in which case, see your doc for help with the related sleep issues.
解決方法：還需要跟你講咖啡、茶和可樂類飲料不僅利尿，而且有刺激作用麼？不要在午飯後喝咖啡因飲料，至少睡前三小時也不要喝其他東西。因爲晚上上廁所和衰老並沒有緊密聯繫，除非你有前列腺疾病，睡眠呼吸暫停或者盆腔肌肉脆弱，如果是這些情況，就去請醫生幫忙解決和睡眠相關的問題吧。

Bad Habit #5: Eating fatty, heavy foods too close to bedtime

壞習慣五：睡前吃油膩且難消化的食物

Why It Disrupts Sleep: Heartburn strikes anyone of any age, but it’s the most common GI disorder in older adults. If you’ve ever tried to go to sleep after eating a fatty meal, you’ve probably found the discomfort of stomach acids leaking into your esophagus less than conducive to falling asleep or staying asleep.
爲什麼影響睡眠：任何人任何年齡都可能會胃灼熱，但這是老年人最常見的胃腸失調毛病。如果你試過在吃了一頓很油膩的飯後去睡覺，你可能會感受到由於胃酸進入食道而引起的不舒服，這不利於入睡或進入睡眠狀態。

EZZZ Fix: Try to eat your last meal of the day at least 2-3 hours before bed time. Should you feel peckish before bed, consider a carbohydrate-rich snack. "Carbs stimulate melatonin production," says Dr. Oexman, "so have a (normal size) bowl of cereal, a half a bagel with a spread of hummus, or a small boiled potato." Or maybe have a serving of jasmine rice. According to the Journal of Clinical Nutrition, eating jasmine rice helped people in a study fall asleep faster than other types of rice. Who knew?
解決方案：嘗試至少在入睡前2-3小時吃每天的最後一頓飯。如果你睡前肚子餓，考慮下富含碳水化合物的小吃吧。“碳水化合物能刺激褪黑激素的生成，”歐克斯曼醫師說道，“所以來一碗（正常大小的碗）麥片，半個抹着鷹嘴豆沙的百吉餅，或者一個小點的煮土豆。”或者吃點香米。根據《臨牀營養學雜誌》的一項調查研究，吃了香米的人比吃了其他種類的大米的人入睡更快。誰知道呢？

Bad Habit #6: Accepting snoring as normal sleep behavior
壞習慣六：明明睡覺打呼，卻放棄治療

Why It Disrupts Sleep: Snoring may seem as common as breathing, but it's considered the biggest sleep disrupter, and it's linked to several causes: sleeping on your back, being overweight, having a cold or allergies, drinking, or taking certain medications. At its most serious, it's caused by apnea, a potentially life-threatening illness. For the snorer, it disrupts sleep by awakening him/her every so often in order to breathe normally. For the partner, the noise can be deafening.
爲什麼影響睡眠：打鼾也許看似和呼吸一樣正常，但它其實是擾亂睡眠的最重要因素，導致打呼嚕的原因有好幾種：仰着睡，超重，感冒/過敏，喝酒或者吃藥。最嚴重的情形是，打呼是由呼吸暫停引起的一種威脅生命的潛在疾病。因爲打呼嚕的人每隔一段時間會醒來以保證正常呼吸，所以睡眠不可避免會被影響。

EZZZ Fix: For minor problems, try the obvious; lose weight, sleep on your side, take decongestants if you have a cold. In addition, Dr. Oexman recommends using a mouthguard, which is a non-invasive way to open the breathing passages. To rule out or diagnose apnea, consult your doctor. And never dismiss snoring as just a nuisance until you’ve discovered the underlying cause. That means no separate bedrooms as the quick fix.
解決方案：對於小問題，試試顯而易見的方法：減肥，側臥，感冒了服用去充血劑。除此之外，歐克斯曼醫師推薦使用牙託，以一種非侵入式的方式打開呼吸道。去看醫生以排除或者診斷呼吸暫停。而且在你發現潛在原因之前，永遠不要認爲打呼沒什麼大不了，而將它輕易打發掉。也就是說，不要將分房睡作爲解決打呼問題的直接方案。