Why You Should Get the Kids to Bed on Time 为何要让孩子按时睡觉

译/王美懿 审订/钱多秀

Why You Should Get the Kids to Bed on Time 为何要让孩子按时睡觉

译/王美懿 审订/钱多秀

Going to bed at the same time every night could give your child’s brain a boost, a recent study found.

[2] Researchers at University College London found that when 3-year-olds have a regular bedtime they perform better on cognitive tests administered1administer执行，给予。at age 7 than children whose bedtimes weren’t consistent2consistent始终如一的，一致的。. The findings represent a new twist3twist弯曲，转折点。on an expanding body of research showing that inadequate sleep in children and adolescents hurts academic performance and overall health.

[3] The latest study considered other factors that can influence bedtime and cognitive development, such as kids skipping breakfast or having a television in their bedroom. After accounting for these, the study found that going to bed very early or very late didn’t affect cognitive performance, so long as the bedtime was consistent.

近期有研究发现，每晚让孩子在同一时间睡觉可以促进孩子的大脑发育。

[2]伦敦大学学院的研究人员发现，孩子如果在三岁时就有固定的就寝时间，那么等他们到七岁接受认知测试时，就会比那些就寝时间不规律的孩子表现得更好。在此之前，已经有越来越多的研究表明，儿童和青少年睡眠不足会对其学习成绩和身体健康造成不良影响。而伦敦大学学院的这个发现，正是该研究领域的一个新转折点。

[3]这项最新研究也将影响就寝时间及认知发展的其他因素考虑在内，如不吃早饭或卧室里有电视等。在考虑这些因素之后，该研究发现，只要就寝时间规律，无论太早睡还是太晚睡，均不会对孩子的认知水平造成影响。

[4] “The surprising thing was the later bedtimes weren’t significantly affecting children’s test scores once we took other factors into account4take ... into account 把……考虑进去。,” said Amanda Sacker, director of the International Center for Lifecourse Studies in Society and Health at University College London and a co-author of the study.“I think the message for parents is…maybe a regular bedtime even slightly later is advisable.”

[5] The researchers suggested that having inconsistent bedtimes may hurt a child’s cognitive development by disrupting circadian5circadian生理节奏的，以24小时为周期的。rhythms. It also might result in sleep deprivation and therefore affect brain plasticity—changes in the synapses6synapse神经元突触。and neural pathways—at critical ages of brain development.

[6] Sleep experts often focus largely on how much sleep children get. While that is important, “we tend to not pay as much attention to this issue of circadian disruption,” said Judith Owens, director of sleep medicine at Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C.,who wasn’t involved with the study.

[4]阿曼达·萨克尔是伦敦大学学院社会与健康生命历程研究国际中心的负责人，也是该研究报告的合作作者。她说：“最让我们惊讶的地方在于，一旦我们将其他因素考虑进来，就会发现晚一点睡觉并未对考试成绩造成很大影响。我认为，对于家长来说，只要孩子的就寝时间有规律，稍晚一点也是可以的。”

[5]研究者认为，就寝时间不规律，会打乱孩子的昼夜节律，从而对孩子的认知发展造成伤害。同时也有可能导致睡眠剥夺，从而在孩子大脑发育的关键阶段对其大脑的可塑性造成影响——即神经元突触与神经通路的变化。

[6]通常，睡眠专家主要关注孩子的睡眠时长。这一点固然重要，但是华盛顿国家儿童医疗中心睡眠医疗负责人朱迪丝·欧文斯表示：“我们往往不会过分关注昼夜节律紊乱的问题。”她并没有参与此项研究。

[7]欧文斯博士认为，睡眠不足以及就寝时间不规律均可通过不同的机制影响孩子的认知发展。她说：“一个孩子如果同时有睡眠不足和就寝时间不规律（问题），那他（她）患上认知障碍的风险会更大。”

[7] Insufficient sleep and irregular bedtimes may each affect cognitive development through different mechanisms, Dr. Owens said. “The kid who has both [problems] may beat even higher risk for these cognitive impairments7impairment 损伤，损害。,” she said.

[8] The study, published online in July in the Journal of Epidemiology8epidemiology流行病学，传染病学。& Community Health, examined data on bedtimes and cognitive scores for 11,178 children.

[9] The children were participants in the U.K.’s Millennium9millennium 千年期，千禧年。Cohort Study, a nationally representative longterm study of infants born between 2000 and 2002.

[10] Mothers were asked about their children’s bedtimes at 3, 5 and 7 years of age. Nearly 20 percent of the 3-yearolds didn’t have a regular bedtime. That figure dropped to 9.1 percent at age 5 and 8.2 percent at age 7. Mothers were also asked about family routines.

[8]这项研究7月份发表于《流行病与公共健康》的网络版。该研究共分析了11 178名儿童的就寝时间以及认知测试的结果。

[9]这些儿童都参与了英国千禧世代研究。此项研究是全国代表性的长期研究，研究对象为2000年至2002年出生的孩子。

[10]该研究向母亲调查孩子三岁、五岁及七岁时的就寝时间。研究表明，有近20%的三岁小孩没有固定的睡觉时间。这一数据在五岁小孩中降至9.1%，在七岁小孩中又降至8.2%。该研究同时也向母亲了解了家庭生活习惯等问题。

[11]这些孩子在七岁时接受了阅读、数学以及空间的认知评估。萨克尔博士说，研究结果显示，得分最低的是那些睡觉过早或过晚的孩子，以及那些就寝时间不规律的孩子。但是一旦将家庭中的其他因素考虑进来，就只有就寝时间不规律这一项与测试分数较低有关了。

[11] When the children were 7 years old, they received cognitive assessments in reading, math and spatial abilities.The poorest test scores were recorded by children who went to bed very early or very late, and by those who had inconsistent bedtimes, said Dr. Sacker.But once other factors in the home were taken into account only the inconsistent bedtime was associated with lower scores, she said.

[12] A consistent pattern of sleep behavior mattered. “Those who had irregular bedtimes at all three ages had significantly poorer scores than those who had regular bedtimes,” Dr. Sacker said. This was especially true for girls who didn’t establish consistent bedtimes between 3 and 7 years old.

[12]拥有规律的睡眠行为至关重要。萨克尔博士说：“在三个年龄段中，就寝时间不规律的孩子得到的分数均比就寝时间规律的孩子要低得多。”对于那些在三岁至七岁期间未形成规律就寝时间的女孩子来说，这种情况尤为明显。

（译者单位：北京航空航天大学外国语学院）

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3. Irish Deer爱尔兰大鹿

The Irish Elk or Giant Deer, was the largest deer that ever lived. It lived in Eurasia, from Ireland to east of Lake Baikal, during the Late Pleistocene and early Holocene. The latest known remains of the species have been carbon dated to about 5,700 BC, or about 7,700 years ago. The Giant Deer is famous for its formidable size (about 2.1 meters or 7 feet tall at the shoulders), and in particular for having the largest antlers of any known cervid (a maximum of 3.65 meters/12 feet from tip to tip and weighing up to 90 pounds).