【你知道睡眠中的奥秘吗？】

According to a recent study, sleep problems are not just tiring and frustrating, they can also cause health problems, raising the risk of heart disease and stroke.
最新研究显示，睡眠障碍不仅会使人感到困倦疲乏、心情沮丧，还能引起诸如心脏病和中风等健康问题。

Here, we examine some of the most common and explain how to tackle them.
这里，我们分析了几种最为常见的睡眠失调症状，并提出相关的解决之道。

Waking too early
早醒

Dr Stanley, a sleep expert says, “Waking too early is one of the classic signs of depression, though no one knows why.” Changes in your environment can also wake you too early, as we wake easily in the morning anyway as sleep becomes lighter.
睡眠专家斯坦利博士表示：醒得太早是患上抑郁症的一个典型特征，尽管其中原因还无人知晓。”环境的改变同样可以令你醒得过早，早上变得更易醒，我们的睡眠也会变得更浅。

‘You almost certainly won’t wake up for the first three hours of night as you are deeply asleep,’ says Dr Stanley. ‘But later sleep is much lighter and more prone to be disturbed by noises.’
斯坦利博士说：“在夜间睡眠的头三个小时里，由于身体正处于深度睡眠状态，你几乎不会醒来。但之后的睡眠就会变得越变越轻，也会更易受到噪音的干扰。”

What you can do:
解决之道：

‘The big caveat is that if you feel fine during the day then whatever’s happening isn’t a problem,’ says Dr Stanley. If you think the issue is insomnia, speak to your doctor.
斯坦利博士说：“特别提醒，如果一天下来你都感觉良好，那么不管发生什么事都不是问题。”但如果出现了失眠现象，就要跟医生说了。

Walking/talking in your sleep
梦游/梦呓

‘Everyone is capable of sleepwalking or talking,’ explains sleep expert Dr Stanley. ‘The conscious part of your brain can be deeply asleep while other bits, such as the area controlling movement and navigation, are still awake.’
睡眠专家斯坦利博士解释道：“每个人都可能梦游或梦呓。大脑中的意识层处于深度睡眠状态时，其他部分，如控制运动和导航的中枢可能仍在工作”。

The problem can run in families, but it can also be triggered in anyone when sleep is partially disturbed, meaning part of their brain is awake.
梦游/梦呓可能会遗传，但任何人都有可能因大脑的部分区域还未休息，导致睡眠部分受扰而患上这种病。

One trigger is alcohol, which lightens sleep. Parasomnia is also common in children as their nervous system is still developing. It can also be brought on by medications, such as some antidepressants, or by different drugs interacting.
酒精也是诱因之一，它会减轻睡眠程度。睡眠异常在儿童中也很普遍，因为他们的神经系统正在发育。抗抑郁药等药物或不同药品的相互作用也可能引起梦游/梦呓。

What you can do:
解决之道：

The advice is to try to work out the triggers which disturb full sleep (such as alcohol), check side-effects of medication with your GP and check if the problem runs in your family.
建议：找出影响充分睡眠的因素（例如酒精），同医生一起检查药品的副作用，检查是否有家族遗传史。

Teeth-grinding
磨牙

Likely cause: Known as bruxism, teeth-grinding varies from jaw clenching to ferocious grinding that wears teeth down to stumps. It is usually due to genetics or stress.
可能的诱发原因：虽说都叫磨牙症，但磨牙的情况各不相同，从牙关紧闭到疯狂磨牙直到牙齿只剩残根。磨牙通常是由遗传或压力造成的。

What you can do:
解决之道:

‘Treatment is important, as people who grind their teeth have dental problems but also tension headaches,’ says Dr Stanley.
斯坦利博士说：“治疗很重要，因为磨牙的人通常同时患有牙病和紧张性头痛。”

Usual treatment is a gum shield, though some people grind through these. If teeth-grinding is caused by stress, then the cause should be addressed.
通常的治疗是戴一个牙龈保护罩，虽然有一些人也会磨穿保护罩。如果磨牙是由于压力引起的，那就设法缓解压力。

Nightmares
噩梦

Likely cause: Stress may be a factor, but otherwise they are a random occurrence.
可能的诱发原因：压力有可能导致噩梦，但除此之外，做噩梦是一个随机事件。

‘Nightmares are luck of the draw,’ says Dr Stanley. ‘We all dream four or five times a night, but only remember them if we wake up during or just after them. So we are all probably having disturbing dreams and just not remembering them.’
斯坦利博士说：“是否做噩梦全凭运气。正常人一晚上要做四五次梦，但只有在做梦时醒来或刚做完梦时，我们才记得住梦到了什么。所以我们都有可能做噩梦，只是不记得罢了。”

What you can do:
解决之道：

People often associate nightmares with stress, which then makes them more anxious.
人们通常把噩梦与压力联系在一起，这让他们感到更加不安。

Although stress can cause you to wake up more, remember we all have bad dreams all the time. Try to improve your sleep so you wake up less often.
虽然压力会让你醒得更频繁，但是记住所有人都总会做恶梦。努力改善你的睡眠，醒来的次数就会减少。