Five Tips to Get Rid of Insomnia赶走失眠的五个小妙招

现代人失眠现象非常普遍，你知道睡眠有多重要吗？你想睡个好觉吗？学会这5个小技巧，从今天起，告别失眠。

Not getting enough sleep will take a toll on your health and job performance. Robert Oexman， director of the Sleep to Live Institute， says that a “lack of sleep can manifest itself in erratic behavior， short tempers， and bad decision-making”.

不充足的睡眠对你的健康和工作表现都会起到负面影响。睡眠与健康研究机构的董事罗伯特·欧克斯曼提到，“缺乏睡眠体现在神情飘忽，脾气暴躁，以及决策不当上”。

Workers who are sleep-deprived are more likely to have difficulty remembering details and have a harder time dealing with high-stress situations. And those who regularly skimp on sleep—getting just one to two hours less than the hours you need—increase their risk of infection， weight gain， diabetes， and heart， said Oexman.

睡眠不足的工作者在对细节的记忆上更费劲，并且应对高压环境也较困难。而那些习惯性少眠的人——比正常睡眠时间要少1—2小时——更有受感染、增重、患糖尿病和心脏病的风险，欧克斯曼说道。

To help you get the rest you need， weve listed five easy tricks to fall asleep faster：

为了帮助大家获得足够的睡眠，我们列出了5个简单的快速入睡方法：

1. Stick to a bedroom routine.

坚持规律作息。

You should participate in the same relaxing activities before heading to bed each night， says Oexman. Some helpful exercises include taking a hot bath or reading a book in low light. Oexman also recommends keeping your room cool （65 to 68 degrees ℉） and dark.

你應该每晚在睡觉前都做一些相同的放松活动，欧克斯曼说。那些简单的活动包括洗热水澡或在柔光中阅读。欧克斯曼同样建议要保持卧室的凉爽（65—68华氏度，相当于18—20摄氏度）和暗度。

2. Dont use your phone as an alarm clock.

别拿手机当闹钟使用。

We know that we should set limits on technology usage before bedtime. You may not know that even having your phone nearby isnt helping you sleep， since you may feel inclined to check it if you cant fall asleep.

我们应该知道睡前要限制科技产品的使用。你也许不会知道甚至手机放在近距离位置也会影响睡眠，因为当你失眠时就会不自觉地去查看手机。

“Your bedroom should be reserved for sleep， and nothing else，” says Oxeman. “Theres no excuse—if your cellphone is your alarm clock， then buy a $5 alarm clock and solve the problem.”

“你卧室的功能就是睡觉，没有其他用处。”欧克斯曼说。“不要找借口——如果你用手机来设闹钟，那么就买个5美元的闹钟来解决这个问题。”

3. Practice deep breathing.

练习深呼吸。

Once youre in bed， if your body is still wired from the day， you will have a difficult time falling asleep. According to an article on WebMD， when you practice deep breathing， your brain recognizes that youre trying to relax and sends a message to your body to do so. “Those things that happen when you are stressed， such as increased heart rate， fast breathing， and high blood pressure， all decrease as you breathe deeply to relax.”

一旦上床后，如果你还被白天的事情干扰着，那你要入睡就困难了。MD网站上的一篇文章写道，当你在做深呼吸的时候，大脑便意识到你在试图放松，然后就会给身体发出放松的信号。“那些高压情况下会出现的情况，例如心率加快、呼吸急促、血压升高，在深呼吸放松时都会缓解。”

Vikki Stark advises in Psychology Today how to effectively breathe deeply， “On the inhale， visualize the clean， fresh air coming into your lungs， traveling around your body and cleansing all your cells. On the exhale， imagine all the toxins and negativity being safely expelled into the atmosphere， leaving your body restored. Focus on this steady， calm inhale-exhale， and I guarantee that you will start to feel more peaceful and relaxed. But its not going to happen the first time you try it. Its an exercise so you need to practice it to get the best effect. Keep going till you feel your body let go.”

《今日心理》的威奇·斯塔克给出了怎样才能有效深呼吸的建议：“吸气时，想象干净、新鲜的空气流入肺部，传遍全身，洗净了所有的细胞。呼气时，想象所有的毒素和废物都被安全地排放到体外，而你的身体也恢复如初。全身心投入到稳定平和的呼吸过程中，我保证你将开始觉得身体更加的平静、放松。但第一次尝试的时候效果不会很明显。这个过程需要你不断练习直到取得最佳效果。坚持到身体感觉轻松的那一刻。”

4. Relax the muscles in your toes.

舒展足趾肌肉。

Progressive muscle relaxation is a method that helps relieve anxiety and stress， which often keeps people up at night. This technique requires you to focus on tensing and relaxing a specific muscle group. Catherine Darley， director of the Institute of Naturopathic Sleep Medicine in Seattle， advises focusing this progressive relaxation technique on your toes.

漸进式肌肉放松法是缓解焦虑和疲劳的有效方法，该方法通常需要练习者在晚间站立。这项技巧要求你集中注意力去紧绷和放松一个特定的肌肉组织。西雅图自然睡眠疗法医学研究所主任凯瑟琳·达利建议，要专注地在脚趾上使用这种渐进式放松法。

“Curl your toes tightly for a count of seven， and then relax，” she says. “Repeat through each muscle group， working up from your toes to your neck.”

“将脚趾用力弯曲7秒，然后再放松。”她说道，“在每个肌肉组织中反复练习，从脚趾到颈部自下而上进行。”

5. Participate in a mindless activity.

做一个不费脑力的游戏。

Sleep expert Dr Vicky Seelall recommends playing a mindless game， such as counting backwards from 100 in multiples of three. This rhythm of counting can put you in a sleepy state and is exactly the reason why people “count sheep” to fall asleep. Counting in multiples of three is more difficult than merely counting backwards and will force your brain to focus just on the counting so that your mind wont wander into other thoughts.

睡眠专家维奇·希罗建议玩一种不费脑力的游戏，比如在100以内，倒数出3的倍数。这种节奏计数能将你带入睡眠状态，这也正是为什么人们一“数羊”就能入睡的原因。数3的倍数比一般的倒数要难，并且这个过程会致使你的大脑完全投入到数数中，而不会游离到其他思绪中去。

Word Study

manifest /'m?n?fest/ v. 显现;使人注意到

skimp /sk?mp/ v. 节省，吝惜（时间、钱等）

visualize /'v??u?la?z/ v. 使形象化;想象;构思;设想

She couldnt visualize climbing the mountain.

tense /tens/ v.（使肌肉）拉紧，绷紧

His muscles tensed as he got ready to run.