18 Do Not Disturb The Importance of Sleep

CHAPTER 1 Get Your Sleep WE SPEND ABOUT ONE THIRD OF OUR TIME SLEEPING—THAT'S ABOUT 122 DAYS A YEAR! Why do we need to sleep? And why do we need to sleep so much? Scientists think that maybe we need sleep to help our bodies repair themselves. Think about how you feel when you're tired. It is difficult to think, work, talk, or walk. Now, think about how your body feels when you're well rested. You feel better. In the daytime, your body uses a lot of energy. When you sleep, you get more energy. Your body needs sleep like a car needs gas. So, how much sleep do we need? Most adults need 7 to 9 hours of sleep a night. But some people need a lot more. New babies need 16 hours a day. Older babies need 12 to 14 hours. Teenagers need about 9 hours. Pregnant women in the first three months of pregnancy need more sleep than other women. Some people don't need much sleep. For example, the artist Pablo Picasso usually slept only 2 to 4 hours a night. Leonardo da Vinci slept only 1 to 2 hours a night! But he did take short 15-minute naps every 4 hours. One man wanted to see how long it was possible to stay awake. Toimi Soini, from Finland, stayed awake for 276 hours!

我们一生中大约有三分之一的时间在睡觉，也就是一年大约122天！我们为什么需要睡觉？ 为什么我们需要这么多的睡眠？ 科学家们认为，也许我们需要睡眠来帮助我们的身体自我修复。 想想你累的时候是什么感觉。 难以思考、工作、说话或行走。 现在，想想当你休息得很好时，你的身体是什么感觉。 你感觉好多了。在白天，你的身体会消耗大量的能量。 当你睡觉的时候，你会得到更多的能量。 你的身体需要睡眠，就像汽车需要汽油一样。 那么，我们需要多少睡眠呢？ 大多数成年人每晚需要7到9个小时的睡眠。 但有些人需要更多。 新生儿每天需要16个小时。 大一点的婴儿需要12到14个小时。 青少年大约需要9个小时。 怀孕头三个月的孕妇比其他女性需要更多的睡眠。 有些人不需要太多的睡眠。 例如，艺术家巴勃罗·毕加索通常每晚只睡2到4个小时。 列奥纳多·达·芬奇每晚只睡一到两个小时！但他确实每4小时小睡15分钟。 一个人想看看人能保持清醒多久。 来自芬兰的Toimi Soini连续276个小时保持清醒！

CHAPTER 2 Dreams and Nightmares OUR BODIES REST WHEN WE SLEEP. BUT WHAT HAPPENS IN OUR BRAINS? There are two different kinds of sleep REM sleep and non-REM sleep. In non-REM sleep, our bodies get the energy we need to live. In this kind of sleep, we don't usually dream. It is easy to wake up from non- REM sleep. But when you wake up from non-REM sleep, you feel sleepy; you don't feel awake and rested. REM sleep is different. REM is short for "rapid eye movement." In REM sleep your eyes move a lot, and they move very fast. This shows that your brain is working hard. It is in REM sleep that we have dreams— or nightmares. Everybody dreams. Do you remember your dreams? Maybe you don't, but you dream every night. Your first dreams of the night are very short, but then they get longer and longer. Your first dream is about 10 minutes long. Your last dream, before you wake up in the morning, is about 45 minutes long. Your dreams help you remember and learn things. When you study, one part of your brain works. When you dream, the same part of your brain works. So, when you want to learn something new, don't study too long. Take a nap. It can help you learn!

第二章梦与噩梦我们睡觉时身体得到休息。 但是我们的大脑发生了什么呢？ 睡眠分为快速眼动睡眠和非快速眼动睡眠两种。 在非快速眼动睡眠中，我们的身体获得生存所需的能量。 在这种睡眠中，我们通常不会做梦。 非快速眼动睡眠很容易被唤醒。 但当你从非快速眼动睡眠中醒来时，你会感到困倦；你感觉不到清醒和休息。 快速眼动睡眠是不同的。REM是“快速眼动”的缩写。 在快速眼动睡眠中，你的眼睛移动得很快。 这表明你的大脑正在努力工作。 在快速眼动睡眠中，我们会做梦或做噩梦。 每个人的梦想。你还记得你的梦吗？ 也许你不知道，但你每晚都会做梦。 你晚上的第一个梦很短，但它们变得越来越长。 你的第一个梦大约有10分钟长。 你早上醒来前的最后一个梦大约有45分钟。 你的梦帮助你记忆和学习东西。 当你学习时，你大脑的一部分在工作。 当你做梦时，大脑的同一部分也在工作。 所以，当你想学习新东西时，不要学习太长时间。 打个盹。它可以帮助你学习！

Dreaming can also help you with problems. Dreams can help you see a problem in a new way and find an answer. For example, one day in February 1869, Russian scientist Dmitri Mendeleev fell asleep. In his dream he saw how to write the Periodic Table! Singer Paul McCartney woke up one morning with the music of the famous Beatles song "Yesterday" in his head. Painter Salvador Dalf often used his dreams for ideas. He always went to sleep with a spoon in his hand. After he fell asleep, the spoon hit the floor and made a noise. He woke up and painted the things from his dreams. Do dreams mean anything? Some people say that the things in your dream are symbols of what you think and feel in your life. For example: a house = your mind. The different rooms in the house are different parts of your mind. a road = where your life is going. a mountain = a problem in your life. hair = your opinion. When you change your hair in your dream, you are changing how you think about something in your life. How can you remember your dreams? Put a pencil and paper next to your bed. When you wake up, write down your dream. What do you think it means?

做梦也可以帮助你解决问题。 梦可以帮助你以一种新的方式看待问题并找到答案。 例如，1869年2月的一天，俄罗斯科学家德米特里·门捷列夫睡着了。 在梦里，他看到了如何写元素周期表！歌手保罗·麦卡特尼（Paul McCartney）一天早上醒来时，脑海中浮现着披头士（Beatles）著名歌曲《昨天》（Yesterday）的音乐。 画家萨尔瓦多·多尔夫（Salvador Dalf）经常用他的梦来寻找灵感。 他总是手里拿着勺子睡觉。 他睡着后，勺子掉在地上发出声音。 他醒来后画出了梦中的东西。 梦有什么意义吗？有人说梦中的东西是你生活中所思所感的象征。 例如：房子=你的头脑。 房子里不同的房间代表着你思想的不同部分。 一条路=你人生的方向。 一座山=你生活中的一个问题。 头发=你的意见。当你在梦中换头发时，你正在改变你对生活中某些事情的看法。 你怎么能记住你的梦？ 在你的床边放一支铅笔和一张纸。 当你醒来时，写下你的梦想。 你觉得这是什么意思？

CHAPTER 3 Can't Sleep? IF WE NEED SLEEP SO MUCH, WHY IS IT SOMETIMES DIFFICULT TO SLEEP? Sometimes you want to sleep, but you can't. Why? There are many reasons why you don't get enough sleep. Sometimes you have to stay up late to study or to work. Or maybe someone in your house snores very loudly. Or you live in a noisy place where there are many cars and people outside your window at night. All these things can stop you from getting your rest. When there's no reason, but you still can't sleep, that's insomnia. Most of us have insomnia at some time in our lives. Everything is quiet, you are tired, but you can't sleep. It's okay if you can't sleep for a night or two, but it's not good if you don't sleep enough for many nights. Too little sleep can be bad for your health: It can make you fat. Often, when people sleep less, they eat more. And they eat bad things, like cake and potato chips. It can make you sad and depressed. It can give you headaches. It can make you sick and make your life shorter! Getting too little sleep can be dangerous, too. For example, it is very dangerous to drive a car when you are sleepy.

第三章睡不着？如果我们如此需要睡眠，为什么有时很难入睡呢？ 有时候你想睡觉，却睡不着。 为什么?睡眠不足的原因有很多。 有时你不得不熬夜学习或工作。 或者你家里有人打鼾很响。 或者你住在一个嘈杂的地方，晚上窗外有很多车和人。 所有这些都会让你无法休息。 当你没有理由，但还是睡不着的时候，那就是失眠。 我们大多数人在生活中的某个时候都会失眠。 一切都很安静，你很累，但你睡不着。 如果你一两个晚上睡不着也没关系，但如果你连续几个晚上都睡不够就不好了。 睡眠太少会对你的健康有害：它会让你变胖。 通常，当人们睡得少时，他们会吃得多。 他们吃不好的东西，比如蛋糕和薯片。 它会让你感到悲伤和沮丧。 它会让你头疼。 它会让你生病，缩短你的寿命！睡眠过少也很危险。 例如，在你困倦的时候开车是非常危险的。

So how can you get enough sleep? First, it is important to go to sleep and wake up at the same time every day. Don't watch TV or look at your computer before you go to sleep. They stimulate your mind. You can't sleep if you're thinking too much and your mind is not relaxed. Try changing the light bulbs in your bedroom. Looking at bright lights before bedtime can stop you from sleeping. Also, a bedroom must not be too warm or too cold. Most people sleep well in a bedroom between 18 and 22 Celsius. Here are more tips for getting a good night's sleep: 1 Don't eat too much before bedtime. If you're hungry before you go to sleep, have something small to eat. 2 Before you go to bed, listen to quiet music or read a book to relax your mind. 3 When you are in bed, close your eyes and breathe very slowly. Don't think about problems or worries. Think about a favorite place, like the beach or a beautiful park. 4 Don't eat or drink anything with caffeine, like coffee or chocolate. 5 Don't take long naps in the day. You can't sleep at night if you sleep too much in the daytime.

那么，怎样才能获得充足的睡眠呢？ 首先，每天在同一时间睡觉和起床是很重要的。 睡觉前不要看电视或看电脑。 它们刺激你的思维。如果你想得太多，头脑不放松，你就睡不着。 试着换卧室里的灯泡。 睡前看明亮的灯光会让你无法入睡。 此外，卧室不能太热或太冷。 大多数人在18到22摄氏度的卧室里睡得很好。 这里有更多睡个好觉的建议：1睡前不要吃太多。 如果你在睡觉前饿了，吃点小的东西。 在你上床睡觉之前，听一些安静的音乐或读一本书来放松你的大脑。 当你躺在床上时，闭上眼睛，慢慢地呼吸。 不要去想问题或烦恼。 想一个你最喜欢的地方，比如海滩或美丽的公园。 不要吃或喝任何含有咖啡因的东西，比如咖啡或巧克力。 白天不要小睡太久。 如果你白天睡得太多，晚上就睡不着。

CHAPTER 4 Can't Get Up? SOME PEOPLE CAN'T SLEEP ENOUGH, BUT OTHER PEOPLE SLEEP TOO MUCH. Teenagers need more sleep than adults. The brains and bodies of teenagers are growing a lot, so they need more rest. Most high school students need 9 or 10 hours of sleep a day. Also, teenagers' bodies don't start to get sleepy until 11:00 p.m. or later. And some don't go to bed until 1:00 or 2:00 a.m.! This can be a problem for parents. It's not easy to wake their teenagers up in the morning for school. And when these teenagers get to school, they sometimes fall asleep in class. To help with this problem, some schools in the United States start later in the morning. It's normal for teenagers to have problems waking up in the morning. But some people can't stay awake at all! Narcolepsy is a sickness that makes people very sleepy. People with narcolepsy can fall asleep at any time in any place: in a restaurant, at a store, or walking down the street! Narcolepsy can be very dangerous, especially if a narcoleptic person is driving a car. Another problem is called sleep paralysis. Your mind wakes up, but your body is still asleep. It feels like something heavy is on top of you. You can't move or talk for up to 10 minutes. It's like a nightmare!

第四章起不来？有的人睡不够，有的人睡得太多。 青少年比成年人需要更多的睡眠。 青少年的大脑和身体正在发育，所以他们需要更多的休息。 大多数高中生每天需要9到10个小时的睡眠。 此外，青少年的身体直到晚上11点才开始困倦。 或更高版本。有些人直到凌晨1点或2点才睡觉！这对父母来说可能是个问题。 早上叫醒十几岁的孩子去上学不是件容易的事。 当这些青少年到达学校时，他们有时会在课堂上睡着。 为了解决这个问题，美国的一些学校早上晚一点上课。 青少年早上起床有困难是很正常的。 但是有些人根本就不能保持清醒！嗜睡症是一种让人非常困倦的疾病。 嗜睡症患者可以在任何时间任何地点入睡：在餐馆，在商店，或者走在街上！嗜睡症是非常危险的，尤其是当一个嗜睡症患者正在开车的时候。 另一个问题叫做睡眠麻痹。 你的大脑醒了，但你的身体还在睡觉。 感觉有很重的东西压在你身上。 在长达10分钟的时间里，你不能移动或说话。 就像一场噩梦！