:深度睡眠的六个小贴士

撰文：Dr. Maoshing Ni    

四月 07, 2009

发布于2009年四月7日

Would you like to sleep like a baby without taking drugs? Americans spend upwards of 3 billion dollars a year on sleep medications, but to avoid the side effects, there are a number of natural remedies you can try first. Read on to learn some of the ways to get a good quality night's sleep.

你想要不依靠任何药物而像婴儿那样酣睡吗？美国人每年投入三十多亿美元用于睡眠药物上。不过，为了避免产生不必要的副作用，你可以先去试试几种自然无副作用的方法。通过阅读下文你就可以学到获得高质量睡眠的几种方法。

1. Relaxing Rituals to Rest Easy 

1.放松调节助你轻松入睡

In Chinese Medicine, nighttime is yin time—or, simply, when the body takes care of itself instead of your desires. Proper sleep is required for your body to repair itself and regenerate. To reach deep, restful sleep, your spirit and heart must be calm. Excessive worry, anxiety, and depression can all disturb the spirit and activate the mind—making it near impossible to fall asleep and stay asleep. Rituals to sooth your spirit and induce a sleep response before bed include soaking your feet in Epson salts for 15 minutes, writing all of your thoughts in a journal to get them out of your head, and practicing relaxation before bed, like the Stress Release meditation below.

中医认为，夜间属于阴时间---即清心寡欲并让你的身心得到彻底放松的时间段。你的身体需要恰当的睡眠进行自我修复和调节。你的身心需彻底放松才能进入安然的深度睡眠中去。过度担心、焦虑和忧虑会干扰你的精神状态并让你思绪愁闷得无法入睡。放松调节可以缓解你劳累疲倦了一天的心灵，具体的做法有：在爱普生盐水里泡脚15分钟，将你头脑中的所有想法写在纸上释放出来，睡前做会儿释放压力的冥想。

2. When Food Disturbs Sleep

2.食物也会影响你的睡眠

When you eat late, you wake up tired. Your body will be busy digesting your dinner while you are trying to sleep, so you won't feel rested in the morning. Do not eat anything for at least three hours before bedtime. Also, cut back on eating bacon, cheese, chocolate, ham, potatoes, tomatoes, and sausage, especially before bed. These foods contain tyramine, which inhibits neurochemicals like norepinephrine and can cause insomnia. And, of course if you have sleep problems, caffeine should be cut out.

假如你很晚才吃晚饭的话，你醒来时会感觉到很累。在你试图想要快点入睡的同时，你的身体正在忙于消化你的晚餐，所以当你在早晨起来时你感觉就像没有睡过一样。在睡觉前三小时内不要吃任何食物。此外，切记少吃熏肉、奶酪、巧克力、火腿、土豆、西红柿和香肠，尤其是在睡觉前更要注意这点。这些食物包含酪胺，它会抑制诸如甲肾上腺素之类的神经化学物质并会导致你失眠。而且，假如你有睡眠问题的话，你就更不应该继续饮用咖啡因饮料。

Eat for sleep! Try eating more grains at dinner; carbohydrates tend to make people sleepy. Another snooze snack is a warm cup of milk; because milk is rich in the amino acid tryptophan, it can sometimes aid in deep sleep. Mix in natural vanilla flavoring for a soothing snack. Or if you prefer, eat 1 cup of natural yogurt an hour before bedtime.

为了睡觉而吃！试着在晚餐时多吃点谷物；碳水化合物往往会让人犯困。另一个会让你犯困的饮料就是一杯温牛奶；因为牛奶富含色氨酸，在一些情况下它有助于你进入深度睡眠。此外，你还可以在点心中加入点天然的香草调味料。如果你喜欢的话，可以在睡觉前一个小是喝杯原味的酸奶。

3. A Peaceful Place for Sleep

3.适宜睡眠的宁静氛围

Your sleeping environment makes a huge difference to the quality of your sleep. Do everything you can to create a quiet and cozy atmosphere. Ideally, your bedroom should be located in the quietest area of your home. Keep the décor minimal. Lighting should be dim and any music that is played should be soothing. Research has found that lavender, vanilla, and green apple are among the best scents to help lower anxiety and induce sleep, making these smells a good choice for a scented candle or heated essential oil. Try to limit your pets to outside of the bedroom because their movements will keep with your body from fully relaxing into deep R. E. M. sleep. As much as possible, your bedroom should be only for sleep.

睡眠环境对你的睡眠质量有很大的影响。尽一切所能，为自己营造一个安静和舒适的环境。最理想的情况就是，你的卧室应该坐落在你家中最安静的地方。家居饰品越简单越好。灯光要柔和，你所播放的音乐要舒缓。研究表明，薰衣草、香草和青苹果的气味有助于缓解焦虑并能激发你的睡意，所以使用此类的香氛蜡烛和精油是个不错的选择。不要让宠物呆在你的卧室内，因为它们的小动静会干扰你从身心放松的状态过度到深度R. E. M.睡眠。尽可能地让你的卧室成为只供你睡觉的地方。

4. Exercise Enables Sleep

4.锻炼有助于睡眠

People with regular exercise routines often sleep better and have fewer incidents of insomnia than those don't get regular physical activity. Exercise promotes sleep and improves sleep quality by altering brain chemistry. Exercising moderately for 20 to 30 minutes three times a day, combined with meditation or tai chi in the evening, will not only help you fall and stay asleep, but will also increase the amount of time you spend in R.E.M. sleep. In fact, for some people, exercise alone is enough to overcome sleep problems. Exercise in the morning or afternoon, but do not exercise for at least two hours before bed.

那些有日常锻炼习惯的人通常会有较好的睡眠，而且和那些没有定期锻炼习惯的人来说，他们很少有失眠的状况。锻炼有助于睡眠，它让大脑产生有益的化学物质改善睡眠。每天花20到30分钟的时间适度地锻炼三次，同时在晚上做会儿冥想或太极，不仅会让你快速入睡，而且还会增加你处在 R.E.M.睡眠中的时间。事实上，对许多人来说，仅仅依靠锻炼就可以解决所以的睡眠问题。早晨下午都可以去做锻炼，但不要在睡觉前两个小时内去做运动。

5. Herbs to Sleep Tight 

5.中草药帮你睡个好觉

A calming tea before bedtime can ensure a good night's sleep. Drink valerian or passionflower (or passiflora) tea before bedtime every night for one month. Simply steep 1 to 2 tablespoons of the dried herbs in one cup of hot water and drink just before bed. Or look for one with the traditional Chinese herbs zizyphus or jujube seed, bamboo shavings, and oyster shell, which soothe the mind and spirit. 

睡觉前喝被冰镇凉茶会让你有个好觉。坚持一个月在每晚临睡前饮用颉草茶或西番莲茶。在一杯热水中放一两勺干草药，然后在睡觉前喝了它。你也可以用传统的中药枣属植物或者是枣种子、竹屑和牡蛎壳，它们有助于放松你的心灵。

You might also try Calm-Fort/Sleep formula with useful herbs like lily bulbs, polygala and turmeric that help manage stress and calm the spirit while relieving restlessness and insomnia.

当然，你也可以尝试使用这些很有用的诸如百合鳞茎、远志和姜黄之类的草药，它们能够在缓解不安和失眠症状的同时也有助于你去减压舒神。

6. A Sleep-Friendly Meditation

6.有助于睡眠的冥想

I had one patient with insomnia who also felt anxious and even a little depressed. In addition to acupuncture and herbal therapies, I decided to teach her a stress release meditation that she could do before bedtime to help with her anxiety. I am happy to report that she is now sleeping like a baby.

我有一位病人，她患有失眠症，同时还有焦虑压抑的倾向。除了针灸和草药疗法，我还教她如何在睡觉前做能够释放压力的冥想。现在她能像婴儿那样睡个好觉，我对此感到很高兴。

Try this Stress Release meditation, which works for the majority of my patients who have sleeping problems: 

试试这个减压冥想方法，它对于我的大部分病人来说都很管用：

Sit comfortably or lie down on your back. Slow your respiration to deep, abdominal breathing. Utter the word "calm" in your mind with every exhalation. Focus on relaxing each area of your body in sequence, from the top of your head to your toes. Starting with the top of your head, inhale and then exhale while visualizing your scalp muscles relaxing. Say "calm" in your mind. Repeat this with each body part as you move down through all body parts, front, back, and sides, in succession: your face, throat, chest, arms, stomach, abdomen, thighs, knees, legs, ankles, until finally you reach your feet.  When you've relaxed your feet, visualize all the tension in your body leaving through your toes as dark smoke. Practice this for at least 15 minutes before bedtime. 

让自己舒适地坐着或躺着。用腹式呼吸法，慢慢地放缓呼吸的频率，深呼吸。在你的内心浮想“平静”这个词。专注于放松你身体的每个部位，从头到脚让它们放松起来。从你的头部开始，吸气、呼气，同时放松你的肌肉。在你的内心呼喊“平静”这个词。当你向前、向后、向左、向右移动你身体的其它部分时，重复先前的步骤。它们依次是你的脸、喉咙、胸部、手臂、胃、腹部、大腿、膝盖、腿、脚踝，最终直到你的脚。当你的脚感到放松时，想象一下你正将身上的所有紧张情绪如黑烟般从你脚趾排放出来。在睡觉前按照这种方式训练15分钟以上。

It will have you sleeping in no time. If you do better with meditative visualizations that are narrated, try my Stress Release CD.

这样你就可以在任何时候就可以入睡了。假如你还未对这种冥想有个清晰化的了解的话，请去看看我做的减压CD。

I hope you find the ways to resting easy and waking up refreshed! 

我希望你能够找到用于你的解决办法！

May you stay healthy, live long, and live happy!

祝你健康长寿、幸福快乐！

-Dr. Mao

---Dr. Mao