章节正文
Looking for Sleep in All the Wrong Places
Desperately seeking a good night's sleep, insomniacs spend more money on alcohol than medical help and sleep aids combined, according to a study published today in the journal Sleep. But experts say turning to the bottle is the last thing you should do if you can't fall asleep at night.
The study, led by Meagan Daley, a professor of psychology and Business at Laval University in Quebec, found that insomniacs in that Canadian province spend an annual $275 million ($340 million Canadian) on alcohol to lull them to sleep at night compared with $14.7 million on over-the-counter and prescription sleep meds and $69.4 million on insomnia-related health care consultations. Simply put, the sleepless in Quebec spend over three times more on alcoholic "sleeping aids" than on medical interventions specifically designed to promote z's-even though alcohol is more expensive.
"Generic versions of sleep medications are a few cents a pill," Daley says. "Even the regular main brand sleep medications are cheaper than taking a drink or two."
What's more, alcohol doesn't help you snooze. Quite the contrary. It actually exacerbates symptoms of insomnia, says Maher Karam-Hage, an addiction psychiatrist at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. For most people, drinking a glass of wine with dinner will not compromise a good night's sleep, but three to four drinks before bed can cause you to wake up in the middle of the night, he says.
"Drinking on a long-term basis can lead to suppression of deep sleep," says Karam-Hage, noting that type of sleep is responsible for the "refreshing effect" that a good night's rest has on the mind and body. "The net effect is that you feel tired all the time." In contrast, most of the newer Rx sleeping pills on the market, such as Ambien and Sonata, do not appear to cause late-night sleep interruptions, according to Karam-Hage. These meds induce sleep and may help a person get seven to eight hours of shut-eye, but generally should not be taken longer than seven to 10 days and may have side effects. Karam-Hage says that people who have mild sleep issues and shun meds might try getting up at the same time daily. He says they might also try to hit the hay at the same time nightly but that doing so is not as critical as waking at a consistent hour.
Do you like to power naps? Keep them under 10 minutes, Karam-Hage suggests, noting that longer naps can keep you up at night. About 10 percent of people in the developing world suffer from chronic insomnia, a condition in which a person's life is negatively impacted because he or she sleeps less than six hours for at least three nights a week for a minimum of one month, Daley says. This could result from difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep or waking prematurely. "A third of the population [has] sleeping problems," she says. "Sleep problems are huge."
Daley's study was designed to examine the economic toll of insomnia. The researchers estimated that the total cost of this condition in Quebec is a whopping $5.4 billion ($6.6 billion Canadian)-about 1 percent of the country's gross domestic product. The largest proportion - 76 percent -- of costs ($4 billion) stemmed from lost productivity hours.
根据睡眠杂志上的一篇研究报道，失眠患者为求得一夜好眠，到了病急乱投医的地步，他们花在酒精上的钱，比花在睡眠辅助药物和器械的钱总和还要多。而专家指出，为了缓解失眠而酗酒，是最无济于事的办法。
生理学教授梅根达雷领导魁北克拉斐尔大学的团队，共同完成的这篇研究，发现这一加拿大地州的失眠患者每年花费27.5亿美元（35亿加币）购买酒精以助眠，相形之下，只花费了1.47亿元从药房及诊所购买催眠药物，6.94亿元去失眠症治疗机构问诊。简单而言，魁北克的失眠者在"入睡法宝"酒精上的投入比助眠的医学药物上的投入要多三倍，近观酒精要贵的多。
"普通的安眠药一片只需几十美分"，达雷说，即使常规的大品牌安眠药也比喝一两杯酒要便宜得多。"
更有甚至，酒精并不能帮助睡眠。恰恰相反，实际上酒精导致失眠症状更加恶化。来自田纳西的安德森大学癌症中心的沉瘾精神病专家马克卡拉黑格指出， 对大多数人而言，晚饭时喝一杯酒并不会影响夜间的安眠，然而3-4杯酒则会使人夜间惊醒。
卡玛黑格说，长期酗酒会抑制人的深层睡眠行为。他注意到，人的身心能在深层睡眠中得到有效的休息，从而接下来的一天里精神振奋。"缺乏深层睡眠的直接后果是，人老是会感觉疲惫。"相与酒精的作用对比，市场上所售的大多数助眠药，比如安眠及索娜塔，都不会影响下半夜的深层睡眠。人吃了这些药后昏昏欲睡，闭上眼即可睡上7、8个小时，但一般来说，连吃7-10天这种药也会有副作用，故不可长期服用。卡玛黑格说，有轻微睡眠障碍的人，以及厌恶药物治疗的人，可以试试每天按时起床的做法。据他说，治疗失眠也可以强制自己每夜按时睡觉，但作用不如按时起床立竿见影。
你喜欢打盹吗？卡玛黑格说，请把打盹的时间控制在10分钟以下。10分钟以上的白日觉都会使你起夜。达雷说，10%的发展中国家人民，由于生活不规律，连续一个月每周至少有三个晚上睡不到6小时，都患上了慢性失眠症。症状的表现是，难以入睡，难以起床，或过早起床。"1/3的人都有睡眠障碍，"她说，"睡眠是一个很大的问题。"
达雷研究的目的是查明失眠症的经济后果。研究人员估计，魁北克的患病人群因失眠造成的经济损失达54亿美元（6.6加币），大约占国民生产总值的1%。这些损失大部分是由于工作时间的缩减而造成的。
关键字:市民英语
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Desperately seeking a good night's sleep, insomniacs spend more money on alcohol than medical help and sleep aids combined, according to a study published today in the journal Sleep. But experts say turning to the bottle is the last thing you should do if you can't fall asleep at night.
The study, led by Meagan Daley, a professor of psychology and Business at Laval University in Quebec, found that insomniacs in that Canadian province spend an annual $275 million ($340 million Canadian) on alcohol to lull them to sleep at night compared with $14.7 million on over-the-counter and prescription sleep meds and $69.4 million on insomnia-related health care consultations. Simply put, the sleepless in Quebec spend over three times more on alcoholic "sleeping aids" than on medical interventions specifically designed to promote z's-even though alcohol is more expensive.
"Generic versions of sleep medications are a few cents a pill," Daley says. "Even the regular main brand sleep medications are cheaper than taking a drink or two."
What's more, alcohol doesn't help you snooze. Quite the contrary. It actually exacerbates symptoms of insomnia, says Maher Karam-Hage, an addiction psychiatrist at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. For most people, drinking a glass of wine with dinner will not compromise a good night's sleep, but three to four drinks before bed can cause you to wake up in the middle of the night, he says.
"Drinking on a long-term basis can lead to suppression of deep sleep," says Karam-Hage, noting that type of sleep is responsible for the "refreshing effect" that a good night's rest has on the mind and body. "The net effect is that you feel tired all the time." In contrast, most of the newer Rx sleeping pills on the market, such as Ambien and Sonata, do not appear to cause late-night sleep interruptions, according to Karam-Hage. These meds induce sleep and may help a person get seven to eight hours of shut-eye, but generally should not be taken longer than seven to 10 days and may have side effects. Karam-Hage says that people who have mild sleep issues and shun meds might try getting up at the same time daily. He says they might also try to hit the hay at the same time nightly but that doing so is not as critical as waking at a consistent hour.
Do you like to power naps? Keep them under 10 minutes, Karam-Hage suggests, noting that longer naps can keep you up at night. About 10 percent of people in the developing world suffer from chronic insomnia, a condition in which a person's life is negatively impacted because he or she sleeps less than six hours for at least three nights a week for a minimum of one month, Daley says. This could result from difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep or waking prematurely. "A third of the population [has] sleeping problems," she says. "Sleep problems are huge."
Daley's study was designed to examine the economic toll of insomnia. The researchers estimated that the total cost of this condition in Quebec is a whopping $5.4 billion ($6.6 billion Canadian)-about 1 percent of the country's gross domestic product. The largest proportion - 76 percent -- of costs ($4 billion) stemmed from lost productivity hours.
根据睡眠杂志上的一篇研究报道，失眠患者为求得一夜好眠，到了病急乱投医的地步，他们花在酒精上的钱，比花在睡眠辅助药物和器械的钱总和还要多。而专家指出，为了缓解失眠而酗酒，是最无济于事的办法。
生理学教授梅根达雷领导魁北克拉斐尔大学的团队，共同完成的这篇研究，发现这一加拿大地州的失眠患者每年花费27.5亿美元（35亿加币）购买酒精以助眠，相形之下，只花费了1.47亿元从药房及诊所购买催眠药物，6.94亿元去失眠症治疗机构问诊。简单而言，魁北克的失眠者在"入睡法宝"酒精上的投入比助眠的医学药物上的投入要多三倍，近观酒精要贵的多。
"普通的安眠药一片只需几十美分"，达雷说，即使常规的大品牌安眠药也比喝一两杯酒要便宜得多。"
更有甚至，酒精并不能帮助睡眠。恰恰相反，实际上酒精导致失眠症状更加恶化。来自田纳西的安德森大学癌症中心的沉瘾精神病专家马克卡拉黑格指出， 对大多数人而言，晚饭时喝一杯酒并不会影响夜间的安眠，然而3-4杯酒则会使人夜间惊醒。
卡玛黑格说，长期酗酒会抑制人的深层睡眠行为。他注意到，人的身心能在深层睡眠中得到有效的休息，从而接下来的一天里精神振奋。"缺乏深层睡眠的直接后果是，人老是会感觉疲惫。"相与酒精的作用对比，市场上所售的大多数助眠药，比如安眠及索娜塔，都不会影响下半夜的深层睡眠。人吃了这些药后昏昏欲睡，闭上眼即可睡上7、8个小时，但一般来说，连吃7-10天这种药也会有副作用，故不可长期服用。卡玛黑格说，有轻微睡眠障碍的人，以及厌恶药物治疗的人，可以试试每天按时起床的做法。据他说，治疗失眠也可以强制自己每夜按时睡觉，但作用不如按时起床立竿见影。
你喜欢打盹吗？卡玛黑格说，请把打盹的时间控制在10分钟以下。10分钟以上的白日觉都会使你起夜。达雷说，10%的发展中国家人民，由于生活不规律，连续一个月每周至少有三个晚上睡不到6小时，都患上了慢性失眠症。症状的表现是，难以入睡，难以起床，或过早起床。"1/3的人都有睡眠障碍，"她说，"睡眠是一个很大的问题。"
达雷研究的目的是查明失眠症的经济后果。研究人员估计，魁北克的患病人群因失眠造成的经济损失达54亿美元（6.6加币），大约占国民生产总值的1%。这些损失大部分是由于工作时间的缩减而造成的。
关键字:市民英语
生词表:
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