睡覺也要講效率：如何進入深度睡眠
翻來覆去睡不著，好不容易睡著又噩夢不斷？早晨比鬧鐘醒的還早，結果一整天無精打采？你需要深度睡眠！深度睡眠對人體的健康起決定作用，6小時的深睡眠遠比12小時的淺睡眠質量高很多，簡單的說，深度睡眠就是一種高效又省時的睡眠，來看看怎么做吧：
In Chinese Medicine, nighttime is yin time—or, simply, when the body takes care of itself instead of your desires. Proper sleep is required for your body to repair itself and regenerate. To reach deep, restful sleep, your spirit and heart must be calm. Excessive worry, anxiety, and depression can all disturb the spirit and activate the mind—making it near impossible to fall asleep and stay asleep. Rituals to sooth your spirit and induce a sleep response before bed include soaking your feet in Epson salts for 15 minutes, writing all of your thoughts in a journal to get them out of your head, and practicing relaxation before bed, like the Stress Release meditation below.
中醫(yī)認為，夜間屬于陰時間---即清心寡欲并讓你的身心得到徹底放松的時間段。你的身體需要恰當?shù)乃哌M行自我修復和調節(jié)。你的身心需徹底放松才能進入安然的深度睡眠中去。過度擔心、焦慮和憂慮會干擾你的精神狀態(tài)并讓你思緒愁悶得無法入睡。放松調節(jié)可以緩解你勞累疲倦了一天的心靈，具體的做法有：在愛普生鹽水里泡腳15分鐘，將你頭腦中的所有想法寫在紙上釋放出來，睡前做會兒釋放壓力的冥想。
When you eat late, you wake up tired. Your body will be busy digesting your dinner while you are trying to sleep, so you won't feel rested in the morning. Do not eat anything for at least three hours before bedtime. Also, cut back on eating bacon, cheese, chocolate, ham, potatoes, tomatoes, and sausage, especially before bed. These foods contain tyramine, which inhibits neurochemicals like norepinephrine and can cause insomnia. And, of course if you have sleep problems, caffeine should be cut out.
Eat for sleep! Try eating more grains at dinner; carbohydrates tend to make people sleepy. Another snooze snack is a warm cup of milk; because milk is rich in the amino acid tryptophan, it can sometimes aid in deep sleep. Mix in natural vanilla flavoring for a soothing snack. Or if you prefer, eat 1 cup of natural yogurt an hour before bedtime.
假如你很晚才吃晚飯的話，你醒來時會感覺到很累。在你試圖想要快點入睡的同時，你的身體正在忙于消化你的晚餐，所以當你在早晨起來時你感覺就像沒有睡過一樣。在睡覺前三小時內不要吃任何食物。此外，切記少吃熏肉、奶酪、巧克力、火腿、土豆、西紅柿和香腸，尤其是在睡覺前更要注意這點。這些食物包含酪胺，它會抑制諸如甲腎上腺素之類的神經(jīng)化學物質并會導致你失眠。而且，假如你有睡眠問題的話，你就更不應該繼續(xù)飲用咖啡因飲料。
為了睡覺而吃！試著在晚餐時多吃點谷物；碳水化合物往往會讓人犯困。另一個會讓你犯困的飲料就是一杯溫牛奶；因為牛奶富含色氨酸，在一些情況下它有助于你進入深度睡眠。此外，你還可以在點心中加入點天然的香草調味料。如果你喜歡的話，可以在睡覺前一個小是喝杯原味的酸奶。
Your sleeping environment makes a huge difference to the quality of your sleep. Do everything you can to create a quiet and cozy atmosphere. Ideally, your bedroom should be located in the quietest area of your home. Keep the décor minimal. Lighting should be dim and any music that is played should be soothing. Research has found that lavender, vanilla, and green apple are among the best scents to help lower anxiety and induce sleep, making these smells a good choice for a scented candle or heated essential oil. Try to limit your pets to outside of the bedroom because their movements will keep with your body from fully relaxing into deep R. E. M. sleep. As much as possible, your bedroom should be only for sleep.
睡眠環(huán)境對你的睡眠質量有很大的影響。盡一切所能，為自己營造一個安靜和舒適的環(huán)境。最理想的情況就是，你的臥室應該坐落在你家中最安靜的地方。家居飾品越簡單越好。燈光要柔和，你所播放的音樂要舒緩。研究表明，薰衣草、香草和青蘋果的氣味有助于緩解焦慮并能激發(fā)你的睡意，所以使用此類的香氛蠟燭和精油是個不錯的選擇。不要讓寵物呆在你的臥室內，因為它們的小動靜會干擾你從身心放松的狀態(tài)過度到深度R. E. M.睡眠。盡可能地讓你的臥室成為只供你睡覺的地方。
People with regular exercise routines often sleep better and have fewer incidents of insomnia than those don't get regular physical activity. Exercise promotes sleep and improves sleep quality by altering brain chemistry. Exercising moderately for 20 to 30 minutes three times a day, combined with meditation or tai chi in the evening, will not only help you fall and stay asleep, but will also increase the amount of time you spend in R.E.M. sleep. In fact, for some people, exercise alone is enough to overcome sleep problems. Exercise in the morning or afternoon, but do not exercise for at least two hours before bed.
那些有日常鍛煉習慣的人通常會有較好的睡眠，而且和那些沒有定期鍛煉習慣的人來說，他們很少有失眠的狀況。鍛煉有助于睡眠，它讓大腦產(chǎn)生有益的化學物質改善睡眠。每天花20到30分鐘的時間適度地鍛煉三次，同時在晚上做會兒冥想或太極，不僅會讓你快速入睡，而且還會增加你處在 R.E.M.睡眠中的時間。事實上，對許多人來說，僅僅依靠鍛煉就可以解決所以的睡眠問題。早晨下午都可以去做鍛煉，但不要在睡覺前兩個小時內去做運動。
