如何知道你是否失眠

如何知道你是否失眠

Nearly everyone has a restless night now and again. Maybe you're worried about a project at work or had too much caffeine so you just can't sleep.

幾乎每個人都有一個不眠之夜。也許你在擔心工作上的一個項目，或者喝了太多的咖啡因?qū)е履銦o法入睡。

But about one in four Americans experiences acute insomnia each year. According to a University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine study, that means difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep for three nights a week for at least two consecutive weeks.

但大約四分之一的美國人每年都會經(jīng)歷嚴重失眠。根據(jù)賓夕法尼亞大學醫(yī)學院的一項研究，這意味著每周有三晚難以入睡或連續(xù)兩周無法入睡。

Sometimes with insomnia, you feel like you can't turn off your brain. (Photo: TheVisualsYouNeed/Shutterstock)

People with insomnia sometimes dread going to bed because they know there's a good chance they won't get much rest. There are many symptoms, several causes and a few suggested solutions that might help people with insomnia get some sleep.

患有失眠癥的人有時害怕上床睡覺，因為他們知道他們很可能得不到足夠的休息。有很多癥狀，一些原因和一些建議的解決方案可能幫助失眠的人得到一些睡眠。

What is insomnia?

什么是失眠?

Insomnia is a sleep disorder characterized by either difficulty falling asleep or difficulty staying asleep. Some people with insomnia might be able to fall asleep right away, but then wake up wide-eyed in the middle of the night and can't get back to sleep. Others might struggle forever to even fall asleep.

失眠是一種睡眠障礙，其特征是難以入睡或難以保持睡眠。有些失眠癥患者可能可以馬上入睡，但在半夜醒來時卻睜大了眼睛，再也無法入睡。其他人甚至可能永遠掙扎著入睡。

Acute insomnia is short-term while chronic insomnia can last for a month or more. According to the University of Pennsylvania study, insomnia becomes chronic when it occurs at least three nights a week for more than three months.

急性失眠是短期的，而慢性失眠可以持續(xù)一個月或更長時間。根據(jù)賓夕法尼亞大學的研究，當失眠持續(xù)三個月以上，每周至少有三個晚上發(fā)生時，它就會變成慢性失眠。

Causes of insomnia

失眠的原因

Anxiety can keep you up at night. (Photo: Marcos Mesa Sam Wordle/Shutterstock)

There are so many reasons you can be wide awake when your head hits the pillow at night. Insomnia can be caused by stress, medical conditions or environmental factors. Sometimes when these things go away, you're able to sleep again.

當你的頭在晚上撞到枕頭上時，有很多原因會讓你完全清醒。失眠可由壓力、醫(yī)療條件或環(huán)境因素引起。有時候當這些事情都過去了，你又能睡著了。

Aging also plays a role in sleep. It's often more difficult to get a good night's sleep as you get older. You're more easily disturbed by noise and changes in your environment, says the Mayo Clinic. In addition, you may not be as active and you may have more health concerns — both of which can affect quality of sleep. Women who are going through menopause can also be at risk of insomnia due to hormonal changes.

衰老也在睡眠中起作用。隨著年齡的增長，想要睡個好覺往往會變得更加困難。梅奧診所說，你更容易受到噪音和環(huán)境變化的干擾。此外，你可能沒有那么活躍，你可能有更多的健康問題——這兩種情況都會影響睡眠質(zhì)量。更年期的女性也有因荷爾蒙變化而失眠的風險。

Preventing and curing insomnia

預防和治療失眠

Regular exercise can help ward off sleep troubles. (Photo: Monkey Business Images/Shutterstock)

If only the brain had an on/off switch. That would be one way to help some insomniacs get to sleep.

要是大腦有開關就好了。這將是幫助一些失眠癥患者入睡的一種方法。

Some of the best steps you can take are to practice good "sleep hygiene," which means having a comfortable bedroom, a regular sleep schedule and no electronics before bedtime.

你可以采取的一些最好的措施是養(yǎng)成良好的“睡眠衛(wèi)生習慣”，這意味著有一個舒適的臥室，有規(guī)律的睡眠計劃，睡前不要使用電子產(chǎn)品。

It's also smart to take advantage of natural insomnia remedies like exercise and meditation, cognitive behavioral therapy and journaling. Instead of taking medication to try to sleep, you may want to try natural alternatives like melatonin.

利用自然的失眠療法也很明智，比如運動和冥想、認知行為療法和寫日記。你可以嘗試天然的替代品，比如褪黑激素，而不是通過藥物來入睡。

The problem with not sleeping is that it's hard to stop thinking about it and just do it. When you wake up in the middle of the night, it's hard to shush your mind when all you want to do is sleep.

不睡覺的問題在于，你很難不去想它，而是去做。當你半夜醒來的時候，當你只想睡覺的時候，很難讓你的大腦安靜下來。