Imagine this: Someone walks up to you and pitches you on a brand-new, magical pill.
想象一下：有个人走过来为向推销一款全新的神奇药片。
This pill can measurably improve your memory, overall cognitive performance, ability to learn new information, receptivity to facial cues, mood, ability to handle problems, metabolism, risk for heart disease and immune system.
这种药片可以显著改善你的记忆力、整体认知表现、学习新信息的能力、对面部表情的接受能力、情绪、处理问题的能力、新陈代谢、心脏病和免疫系统的风险。
Would you buy it?
你会买吗？
Yeah, yeah, you saw this coming: That pill exists, but not in pill form. You can have all of those benefits cost-free, and all it takes is going to bed a little bit earlier. That’s it.
是的是的，你猜到了：这种药片真实存在，但并不是以药片的形式。你可以免费享受所有这些好处，而且所需的一切只是早点睡觉而已。就是这样。
And yet! The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have called sleep deprivation a public health crisis, saying that one-third of adults don’t get enough sleep. Some 80 percent of people report sleep problems at least once per week, and according to a 2016 study, sleep deprivation “causes more than $400 billion in economic losses annually in the United States and results in 1.23 million lost days of work each year.”
但是！疾病控制和预防中心（Centers for Disease Control and Prevention）把睡眠剥夺称作是一场公共卫生危机，它表示三分之一的成年人睡眠不足。大约80％的人每周至少报告一次睡眠问题，并且，根据2016年的一项研究，睡眠剥夺“对美国经济造成的损失每年超过4000亿美元，并导致每年123万个工作日的损失”。
If that’s not enough, here is a non-comprehensive list of the ways your sleep deprivation is personally harming you:
如果这还不够，这里有一份关于睡眠剥夺如何损害你个人的不全面清单：
Your overall cognitive performance — particularly your visual attention and ability to form memories — deteriorates. （More colloquially, this is that “brain fog” we all experience after a late night.）
你的整体认知表现——特别是你的视觉注意力和形成记忆的能力——会衰退。（更通俗地说，这是我们在深夜后都会经历的“脑雾”。）
Your ability to learn new information is impaired, both by sleep deprivation beforeyou learn new information andafterward.
在你学习新信息的之前和之后，你学习新信息的能力都会因睡眠不足而受损。
You’re less likely to correctly read facial expressions, even interpreting some expressions — even neutral ones — as threatening.
你可能无法正确地解读面部表情，甚至会将一些表情——甚至是中性的那些——解读为威胁。
You’re likely to be more cranky and react worse when presented with obstacles.
当遇到阻碍时，你可能会更暴躁并且反应更糟。
Beyond your severely impaired mental abilities, your body is affected, too: A lack of adequate sleep can contribute to weight gain, puts you at a higher risk of diabetes and heart disease, and makes you far less resistant to the common cold.
除了严重受损的心智能力之外，你的身体也会受到影响：缺乏足够的睡眠会导致体重增加，使你患糖尿病和心脏病的风险更高，并使你对普通感冒的抵抗力大大降低。
That is insane! All of this from just not getting enough sleep!
这太疯狂了！所有这一切只因睡眠不足！
So what are we to do? We’ve got you covered with The Times’s guide to getting a better night’s sleep.
那么我们该怎么办呢？我们为你准备了时报的指南，以帮助你获得更好的睡眠。
First,learn how much sleep you need. Generally, if you’re waking up tired, you’re not getting enough.
首先，了解您需要多少睡眠。一般来说，如果你醒来觉得疲惫，那你就睡得不够。
However, the gold standard of eight hours per night might not be right for you. A study from 2015 brought into question whether we need that magical number, so following your body is the best way to figure out the right rhythm. The only real guideline is to get as much sleep as you need to feel refreshed and energized the next day, and then do that every single night. Keeping a sleep diary — like this one— can help you figure this out.
但是，每晚睡八小时的黄金标准可能并不适合你。2015年的一项研究质疑我们是否需要这个神奇的数字，所以遵从你的身体是找出正确节奏的最好方法。唯一真正的指导方针是获得尽可能多的睡眠，以让你在第二天感觉精神焕发、精力充沛，然后每一晚都这么做。坚持记录睡眠日记——就像这样——可以帮助你解决这个问题。
Next,figure out your body’s natural rhythm. Maybe after years of trying, you need to acknowledge that you’rejust not a morning person. And that’s perfectly fine! Take this quiz to find out what kind of sleeper you are, and don’t fight your body’s natural sleep tendencies.
接下来，弄清楚你身体的自然节奏。也许经过多年的尝试，你需要承认你不是早起的那类人。这非常好！做一下这个测试，找出你是什么类型的睡眠者，不要对抗你身体自然的睡眠倾向。
Last,keep a consistent sleep schedule. This can be the most important part of your overall sleep hygiene. We’re all equipped with a circadian clock, which is that internal 24-hour timer that naturally tells us when to sleep, and the best way to getting rest and feeling rested is to keep this consistent. Fall asleep and wake up at the same time every day （including weekends）, and try to build as much regularity into your schedule as possible, including meal times, exercise routines, screen time （and when to shut off the screens） and morning sunlight time. And don’t forget to keep your bedroom cool.
最后，保持一致的睡眠时间表。这可能是整体睡眠健康中最重要的部分。我们都有生物钟，这是身体内部的24小时计时器，它能自然地告诉我们什么时候睡觉，休息和感觉精力充沛的最佳方法是保持这种生物钟。每天（包括周末）在同一时间入睡和醒来，并尝试使你的日程安排变得尽可能规律，包括用餐时间、锻炼习惯、看屏幕的时间（以及何时关闭屏幕）和早晨晒到阳光的时间。别忘了保持卧室的凉爽。
