Ceaseless technology. A punishing workweek. That to-do list that keeps multiplying. It is no wonder at least 50 million Americans self-report an insufficient amount of sleep, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But will sleeping more on the weekend make up for hours of lost snoozing? One sleep expert, W. Christopher Winter, medical director of the Martha Jefferson Hospital Sleep Medicine Center in Charlottesville, Va., weighs in.
没完没了的技术，让人筋疲力尽的一周，不断增加的待办事项……难怪根据美国疾病控制与预防中心(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)的数据，至少有5,000万美国人自我报告说睡眠不足。但是周末多睡一阵就能弥补失去的睡眠时间吗？睡眠专家、弗吉尼亚州夏洛茨维尔市(Charlottesville, Va.)玛莎•杰斐逊医院睡眠医学中心(the Martha Jefferson Hospital Sleep Medicine Center)的医学主任W•克里斯托弗•温特(W. Christopher Winter)参与了辩论。
Sleep Binge
狂睡
Getting eight hours of shut-eye each night is generally recommended, but many people don't. As the week rolls from Monday to Friday, they accumulate a sleep debt. Spending a few extra hours in bed on a Saturday morning, people assume, will help them 'catch up' on lost sleep. They're likely right. 'Nobody knows how long the horizon is, probably a few nights, but studies show that recovery sleep in the short term does work,' says Dr. Winters, a member of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. 'But the all-nighters I pulled in my residency 15 years ago? That's gone.'
通常建议的是人每晚要有八个小时的睡眠，但是很多人都做不到。随着日历从周一翻到周五，他们欠缺的睡眠越累越多。人们认为，星期六在床上多睡几个小时会帮助他们“弥补”失去的睡眠。他们很可能是对的。“没人知道时间范围是多长，也许几个晚上，不过研究表明，短期的恢复性睡眠的确有用，”身为美国睡眠医学学会(the American Academy of Sleep Medicine)会员的温特博士说，“但是我15年前当住院医生时通宵达旦熬的那些夜呢？全都是过眼烟云了。”
Sleep Banking
睡眠银行
Recent data suggests that banking sleep in advance of a long night can actually offset upcoming sleep deprivation. 'If you knew you were going to give birth on a particular day, for example, you could sleep for 10 hours a day for multiple days before the event, and be fine,' he says. Just plan ahead.
最近的数据显示，事先预存长长一夜的睡眠真的可以抵消即将到来的睡眠不足。温特说，“比如，如果你知道自己在具体某一天临产，你可以在事前很多天里每天都睡上10个小时，保持状态良好”。你只需要提前做好计划。
'Social Jet Lag'
“社会时差”
Experts refer to the effects of changing sleep habits from weekdays to weekends as 'social jet lag.' When you've revved up until midnight for five nights and then recover sleep until noon on Saturday, the body is confused. 'It's like you've traveled six time zones, and you feel terrible,' says Dr. Winters. While many sleep extenders complain of grogginess and dull headaches, subjectively they are better at performing tasks: 'I would much rather be in the passenger seat with [a driver] who's made up the sleep than someone who's simply sleep deprived.' That just-woken-up daze? It passes in a few minutes, but the benefits of extra sleep last for hours, he says.
专家把在工作日和周末之间改变睡眠习惯的效应称为“社会时差”。当你五个晚上都连轴转到半夜，之后又在周六补觉到中午的时候，你的身体被搞懵了。“这就像你跨越了六个时区旅行，你会感觉很难受，”温特说。虽然很多补觉的人抱怨自己昏昏沉沉、头隐隐作痛，但是主观上他们觉得自己可以更好地完成工作。“相比纯粹睡眠不足的司机，我宁可坐补了觉的司机开的车。”那只不过是刚醒来时的迷迷糊糊吧？温特说，它几分钟就过去了，但是追加的睡眠所带来的好处可以持续好几个小时。
Routine Naps
习惯性小睡
A scheduled nap is healthier than catching up on or banking sleep. 'Because sleep extension can make you feel groggy, I always recommend a short nap, at the same time, every day,' if a person feels they need it, says Dr. Winters. He adds that 25 minutes is ideal. He tracks his alphawaves and sleep quality with a Zeo device, and sets his Sound Oasis machine to wake him after 25 minutes. 'When you schedule a short nap, your body anticipates it and slows down, without falling into a deep dream sleep,' he says. That refreshing, scheduled break is better than an occasional, disruptive weekend lie-in. 'The body likes routine,' he says. 'When it's prepared, it works more efficiently.'
定时的小睡比补觉和预存睡眠更健康。温特说：“由于补充睡眠会让你感觉头昏脑胀，我始终建议在每天的同一时间小睡一会儿，”如果有人觉得自己有此需要的话。他还说，25分钟是理想的时间。他用一台Zeo设备跟踪自己的阿尔法波和睡眠质量，把他的声音绿洲(Sound Oasis)助眠仪设定为25分钟后叫醒自己。“当你安排了定时小睡的时候，你的身体就会有所期待并且慢下来，不会进入深度的有梦睡眠，”他说。这种让人头脑清醒的定时休息比偶尔一次打乱节奏的周末懒觉要好。“身体喜欢规律性，”温特说，“当身体有所准备的时候，它工作起来更有效率。”
Sleep Types
睡眠类型
There is some evidence to suggest that young people are more likely than older people to bounce back from long nights through recovery sleep, as the ability to shrug off deprivation wanes with age, says Dr. Winter. The effects of recovery may also have a lot to do with chronotype, which is genetic, and refers to whether you're a day person (lark) or night person (owl). (Most people fall somewhere in between.) 'If you're a night owl, you may do better than a morning person with an unusual schedule, so sleep-extending can be a great tool,' he says. A sleep binge is a less effective option for true morning people, who may not be able to sleep much past dawn.
有一些证据表明，相比年龄较大的人，年轻人通过恢复性睡眠从漫长的熬夜中恢复元气的可能性更大。温特说，因为人摆脱睡眠不足的能力随着年龄的增长会逐渐降低。恢复的效果还可能与一个人遗传而来的时间类型有关系，它指的是你是一个白天精力充沛的人呢还是一个夜猫子。（大部分人介于这两种类型之间。）温特说，“如果你是个夜猫子，你应对非常规时间表的能力可能比一个早上精力充沛的人更强，因此补充睡眠会是很好的恢复精力的工具”。选择恶补睡眠对于一个早上精力充沛的人来说效果不那么好，他们在天亮以后可能就不能入眠了。