Eight Ways to Good Sleep

1．Establish a regular bedtime and rising time, and stick to them. A regular bedtime and rising time can help you stabilize your internal clocks. Select a bedtime that's good and natural for you. A clue that you're getting to bed at a good hour is a lack of daytime sleepiness. Don't change your bedtime and rising time on weekends. Reprogramming1） your sleep rhythms for two days doesn't do much to help you erase sleep debt, and it throws off your sleep wake cycles just in time for a bad case of Sunday-night insomnia2）.

2． Avoid physical and mental stimulation just before sleep. Physical exertion too close to bedtime energizes your body's systems by stimulation the release of adrenaline3）. Mental stimulation includes any activity that taxes your mind or gets your thoughts racing, such as watching an action-packed TV show. Similarly, planning tomorrow's schedule, or reading a chapter from a convoluted4） murder mystery moments before turning out the light does not give you adequate time to disengage5） from mental activity before trying to sleep.

3．Keep the bedroom for sleeping only. If you use your bedroom as a place to eat, watch TV, read, talk on the phone, or discuss weighty matters with your partner, break that habit to get better sleep. Sleep therapists insist that if our minds associate any functions other than sleep with the bedroom, we're asking for sleep problems.

4． Develop sleep rituals. Sleep rituals run the gamut6）, from taking the garbage out to watching a certain news program, or reading a book（but not a murder mystery）.

5． Determine how many hours you should be sleeping. To determine your ideal length of sleep, factor in these considerations：（１）how many hours you slept on average as a child, （２）how many hours you slept each night on average before your insomnia began, （３）how many hours' sleep you require to awake naturally（when you have not been overtired）without an alarm set, and（４）how many hours you must sleep so as not to experience daytime sleepiness.

6. Don't go to bed too early. Since your body normally lets you sleep only the number of hours it needs, if you're going to bed too early, you will likely awake too early as well.

7. Avoid naps, unless. . . Four out of five people with insomnia sleep better at night without naps. If you're a committed napper, you can skip all naps for a week. If you feel better and sleep better, then drop them.

8.Take a warm bath within two hours of bedtime. A twenty-minute warm, soaking bath at a temperature of about 100～102F not only is a great relaxer at day's end, but also raises your core body temperature by several degrees. The ensuing drop in body temperature will naturally initiate drowsiness7） and sleep.

睡 好 觉 八 法

定一个规律的作息时间, 持之以恒。有规律的作息时间能帮助你平衡内部生物钟。选择一个适合于你的良好的睡眠时间。如果你白天不觉困倦就说明你睡觉的钟点比较合适。不要在周末改变你的作息时间。在这两天重新安排睡眠节奏对弥补缺觉无大好处, 而且它会使你的作息不规律, 造成周日晚上的失眠。

睡前避免身心刺激。临睡前的剧烈活动会刺激肾上腺素的释放, 从而使身体充满活力。大脑刺激包括任何耗费脑力或令你思绪万千的活动, 如看惊险电视片等。同样在熄灯前计划第二天的日程, 或阅读扑朔迷离的谋杀案小说的一章, 都不可能使你有足够的时间在入睡前摆脱大脑的活动。

卧室只用来睡觉。如果你把卧室作为进餐、看电视、读书、打电话或同爱人商讨重大事情的场所, 那就一定要打破这个习惯以使自己得到好的睡眠。睡眠治疗专家坚持认为如果我们的大脑把卧室与睡觉以外的功能联系起来, 那就是给自己的睡眠找麻烦。

培养一些睡觉前的习惯。睡觉前的习惯多种多样, 可以把垃圾扔掉, 可以看某个新闻节目, 或看书（但不是谋杀疑案小说）。

计算自己需睡多少小时。计算自己理想的睡眠时间, 应考虑到以下几个因素：（１）小时候平均睡多少小时, （２）患失眠症前平均每夜睡多少小时, （３）（在不过度疲倦的情况下）不用闹钟睡多少小时能自然醒来, （４）你需要睡多少小时白天才不会有困意。

不要过早上床睡觉。因为你的身体通常只让你睡够它所需要的时间, 如果你太早上床, 就会很早醒来。

尽量避免的午休, 除非......患失眠的５人中有４人都感到不午休晚上睡得更香。如果你是一个爱午休的人, 你可以试着一星期不午睡。如果你感觉不错而且晚上睡得更好, 就把午休的习惯改掉。

睡觉前两小时内洗个温水澡。在华氏100到102度的温水中泡20分钟不仅会消除一天的疲劳, 而且也会使体内温度上升几度。随之而来的是体内温度下降, 自然会导致困倦和睡眠。

NOTE 注释：

1. reprogram v. 改变，调整

2. insomnia n. 失眠, 失眠症

3.adrenaline n. [生化]肾上腺素

4. convoluted adj. 费解的，扑朔迷离

5. disengage v. 脱离

6. gamut n. 多种多样

7. drowsiness n. 睡意
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