健康生活:打個小盹 好處多多(中英對照)

以下是您必須瞭解的有關打盹的好處，以及如何有效打盹，希望對您有所幫助：

1. Less stress.
減壓

Curling up in a sunny patch on the floor or even lying your head down on your desk for a quick snooze brings relaxation. Research found that stress hormone levels were lower in those who took stress-reducing actions such as napping. Take a break each day from the stresses and reduce your risks, find a quiet, comfortable spot and take a nap. Even a short power nap can leave you feeling refreshed, renewed, and more focused.

窩在地板上一縷陽光中或甚趴在辦公桌上小睡一會都能令人放鬆。研究發現，採取減壓措施（如午睡）的人壓力激素水平降低。找個安靜舒適的地方打個盹，每天消除一下壓力，減少健康風險。即使是很短暫有效的小睡也能令你神清氣爽、注意力更集中。

2. Increased alertness and productivity.
提高敏銳性和生產力

If you have the opportunity for a power nap, particularly after a poor night of sleep, by all means, take one. You will feel more alert and energetic afterwards, and once rested after your mid-afternoon nap, your mood, efficiency, and alertness level will improve greatly. Scientists have even proven that taking a 20-minute nap approximately eight hours after you have awaken will do more for your stamina than sleeping another 20 minutes in the morning. Of course when you first come out of your afternoon nap, you will feel a bit groggy for around ten minutes, but once your decline in motor dexterity dissipates, you will reap the rewards of being well rested and ready to go for the rest of the day.

如果您有打盹的機會，尤其前一晚睡眠不佳時，務必小睡一下。醒來後您的感覺​​更敏銳、精力更充沛，午睡後你的心情、工作效率和敏銳性都得到顯著提高。科學家們甚至證明，早上醒來後約8小時小睡20分鐘，比早上多睡20分鐘，更能使你精力十足。當然剛午睡醒來時，有大約10分鐘會覺得有點昏昏沉沉的，但一旦經過這個疲軟期，您獲得的回報將是休息充分及這天剩下的時間裏你能全力以赴。

3. Improved memory and learning.
改善記憶和學習

Naps aren’t just for the very young, old, and sluggish. Daytime dozing may enhance a person’s capacity to learn certain tasks. That, at least, is the eye-opening implication of a new study in which college students were challenged to detect subtle changes in an image during four different test sessions on the same day.

午睡並不是小孩子、老人或懶人的專屬。白天打瞌睡可提高人學習某項特定任務的能力。這一令人大開眼界的結論至少可被一項新的研究證明。研究過程中，大學生被要求在同一天進行的四項不同的測試中觀測一幅圖像的微妙變化。

Participants improved on the task throughout the first session. The students’ speed and accuracy then leveled off during the second session. The scores of the participants who didn’t nap declined throughout the final two sessions. In contrast, volunteers who took a 20-minute power nap after completing the second practice session showed no ensuing performance dips. What’s more, 1-hour power nappers responded progressively faster and more accurately in the third and fourth sessions. It looks like napping may protect brain circuits from overuse until those neurons can consolidate what’s been learned about a procedure.

參與者經過第一項測試就有進步。學生的速度和準確性在第二項測試中穩定下來。沒有午睡的參與者的得分在最後兩項測試中下降。相比之下，完成第二項測試後休息20分鐘者的表現並沒有下降。而且，午睡1小時者在第三、四項測試中反應迅捷、準確無誤。看起來好像午睡能防止過度使用大腦回路，直到那些神經元強化已學到的過程爲止。

4. Good for the heart.
對心臟有好處

Taking 40 winks in the middle of the day may reduce the risk of death from heart disease, particularly in young healthy men, say researchers. They studied 23,681 individuals living in Greece who had no history of coronary heart disease, stroke or cancer when they first volunteered, and found that those who took a 30-minute siesta at least three times a week had a 37% lower risk of heart-related death. The researchers took into account ill health, age, and whether people were physically active. So go ahead and nap — a short daily snooze might ward off a heart attack later in life. It is known that countries where siestas are common tend to have lower levels of heart disease.

研究人員說，中午打40分鐘瞌睡可能減少死於心臟病的風險，特別是對年輕健康的男性來說。他們調查了23，681個居住在希臘無冠心病、中風和癌症史的人，發現每週至少三次30分鐘午睡的人因心臟相關疾病死亡的風險降低37％。研究人員綜合考慮了健康狀況、年齡及是否從事體力活動等。所以，試試吧，午睡一會 — 一個短短的午睡可能避免今後生活中心臟病的發作。衆所周知，有午睡習慣的國家往往心臟病發病率較低。

5. Get motivated to exercise.
促進鍛鍊

Sufficient sleep and naps help motivate exercise. Some 28 percent of adolescents say they are too tired to exercise, due to sleep. As adults, let’s not let tiredness ruin our jogs. You’re guaranteed to run longer, faster, more efficiently and mindfully when your body has it’s required amount of zzzz’s. So, store-up, shore-up and build-up your energy reserve with a power nap. It’s easy (free!) and proven effective.

充足的睡眠和午睡有助於激發鍛鍊的積極性。約28％的青少年說，他們因爲睡眠不足，覺得太累不想鍛鍊。作爲成年人，我們不應讓疲勞毀掉慢跑習慣。人的身體有它必需的睡眠量，你得保證跑的更長更快、更有效率和更專注。因此，一個有效的午睡就能存儲、增加和積聚你的能量儲備。況且，這非常容易（還免費），並證明是行之有效的。