[TED中英文稿]你真的需要八小时的睡眠吗

Sleep is so important. We need it to live. And when we can’t sleep, we’re desperate for help.But lately, our fascination with sleep feels as if it’s taken on an urgency. Do a quick internet search for sleep and you’ll find a slew of articles about how to make your sleep perfect. New gadgets, fancy alarm clocks, stay away from blue light. There are lots of services, products and advice columns that tell us we’re sleeping wrong. Not enough, not quality sleep, wrong position. Even worse, you might find scary messaging claiming that if you’re not sleeping right your life is going to be shorter, you’re going to get all kinds of diseases.
睡眠对我们来说非常重要。我们需要睡眠来维持生命。当我们无法入睡时,我们迫切需要帮助。然而,最近,我们对睡眠的兴趣似乎变得迫切起来。在网上搜索一下睡眠,你会发现很多关于如何让睡眠完美的文章。新的设备,花哨的闹钟,远离蓝光。有许多服务、产品和专栏告诉我们,我们的睡眠方式是错误的。睡眠不足,睡眠质量不好,睡姿不正确。更糟糕的是,你可能会看到一些令人害怕的信息,声称如果你睡不好,你的寿命会缩短,你会患上各种疾病。
生词释义:
“Even worse, you might find scary messaging claiming that if you’re not sleeping right your life is going to be shorter, you’re going to get all kinds of diseases.” – 这是一个复合句,包含一个主句和一个从句。主句是”you might find scary messaging claiming”,而”that if you’re not sleeping right your life is going to be shorter, you’re going to get all kinds of diseases”是一个宾语从句,用来说明这些信息的内容。
Slew – 大量,许多。
Urgency – 紧急,迫切。
Gadgets – 小工具,小玩意。
Alarm clocks – 闹钟。
Blue light – 蓝光,通常指电子产品发出的蓝光,对睡眠有影响。
Scary messaging – 令人害怕的信息。
Diseases – 疾病。
语法分析:
“Sleep is so important. We need it to live.” – 这是一个主系表结构的简单句,表达睡眠的重要性。
“And when we can’t sleep, we’re desperate for help.” – 这是一个并列句,通过”and”连接两个分句,描述无法入睡时的感受。
“But lately, our fascination with sleep feels as if it’s taken on an urgency.” – 这是一个复合句,包含一个主句和一个从句。主句中使用了”our fascination with sleep”作为主语,”feels”作为谓语,而”as if it’s taken on an urgency”是一个宾语从句,用来说明我们对睡眠的兴趣感觉变得迫切。
“Do a quick internet search for sleep and you’ll find a slew of articles about how to make your sleep perfect.” – 这是一个祈使句,后面跟着一个并列句。第一个分句是命令性的,要求进行一个快速的网络搜索。第二个分句是一个条件句,用来说明搜索结果。
“New gadgets, fancy alarm clocks, stay away from blue light.” – 这是一个由逗号分隔的并列句,列举了几个与睡眠相关的产品和建议。
“There are lots of services, products and advice columns that tell us we’re sleeping wrong.” – 这是一个复合句,主句是”There are lots of services, products and advice columns”,而”that tell us we’re sleeping wrong”是一个定语从句,修饰前面的名词。
“Not enough, not quality sleep, wrong position.” – 这是一个由逗号分隔的并列句,列举了几个与睡眠相关的错误。

One of the biggest worries we have about our sleep is that we’re not getting enough and that anything less than seven hours a night means that we’re doomed to bad health, everything from high blood pressure to Alzheimer’s disease. But there are two flaws with this kind of messaging. The first flaw is that it’s not completely accurate. Seven to eight hours of sleep, while recommended for adults, is just an average. And while messages have to be simplified for health communication to the public, sometimes important nuances get lost. So yes, it’s true that not getting enough sleep in the long term is associated with health problems like cardiovascular disease, diabetes and depression. But fixating solely on seven to eight hours ignores the fact that there’s a range of sleep that people need. The duration of a good night’s sleep can be different for different people. Some adults need eight, but some are just fine on six.
我们关于睡眠的最大担忧之一是我们没有得到足够的睡眠,而且任何少于每晚七个小时的睡眠都意味着我们注定会遭受健康问题,从高血压到阿尔茨海默病都有可能。但是,这种信息有两个问题。第一个问题是它并不完全准确。虽然成人每晚七到八小时的睡眠是推荐的平均值,但这只是一个平均数。而且,为了让公众理解健康信息,信息必须简化,但有时重要的细微差别会被遗漏。所以,是的,长期睡眠不足确实与心血管疾病、糖尿病和抑郁症等健康问题有关。但仅仅专注于每晚七到八小时睡眠会忽略一个事实,即人们需要的睡眠时间范围是不同的。一个良好夜晚的睡眠时间对不同的人可能是不同的。有些成年人需要八小时,但有些人六小时就足够了。
生词释义:
“The duration of a good night’s sleep can be different for different people.” – 这是一个简单句,用来说明不同人需要的良好睡眠时间可能不同。
Worries – 担忧,忧虑。
Doomed – 注定,命定。
Alzheimer’s disease – 阿尔茨海默病。
Flaws – 缺点,错误。
Nuances – 细微差别,细微之处。
Fixating – 专注于,过分关注。
Duration – 持续时间,期间。
语法分析:
“One of the biggest worries we have about our sleep is that we’re not getting enough and that anything less than seven hours a night means that we’re doomed to bad health.” – 这是一个复合句,包含一个主句和一个宾语从句。主句是”One of the biggest worries we have about our sleep is that we’re not getting enough”,而”and that anything less than seven hours a night means that we’re doomed to bad health”是另一个宾语从句,用来进一步说明我们的担忧。
“But there are two flaws with this kind of messaging.” – 这是一个简单句,用来说明前面提到的信息有两个问题。
“The first flaw is that it’s not completely accurate.” – 这是一个复合句,主句是”The first flaw is”,而”that it’s not completely accurate”是一个表语从句,用来解释第一个问题。
“Seven to eight hours of sleep, while recommended for adults, is just an average.” – 这是一个复合句,主句是”Seven to eight hours of sleep is just an average”,而”while recommended for adults”是一个让步状语从句,用来说明虽然这个时间是推荐给成人的,但它只是一个平均值。
“And while messages have to be simplified for health communication to the public, sometimes important nuances get lost.” – 这是一个复合句,包含一个主句和一个让步状语从句。主句是”Sometimes important nuances get lost”,而”And while messages have to be simplified for health communication to the public”是一个让步状语从句,说明信息简化过程中可能会丢失一些重要的细节。
“So yes, it’s true that not getting enough sleep in the long term is associated with health problems like cardiovascular disease, diabetes and depression.” – 这是一个复合句,包含一个主句和一个宾语从句。主句是”So yes, it’s true”,而”that not getting enough sleep in the long term is associated with health problems like cardiovascular disease, diabetes and depression”是一个宾语从句,用来支持前面的陈述。
“But fixating solely on seven to eight hours ignores the fact that there’s a range of sleep that people need.” – 这是一个复合句,包含一个主句和一个宾语从句。主句是”But fixating solely on seven to eight hours ignores the fact”,而”that there’s a range of sleep that people need”是一个宾语从句,用来说明过分关注睡眠时间可能会忽略的事实。

The second flaw with this kind of doomsday messaging is that it can be counterproductive, especially for people who do have trouble sleeping. For instance, in 2019, it was estimated that 21 percent of adults in the US were wearing sleep tracking devices. And that number is probably growing. And I get it. It’s fascinating to see how much sleep you’ve gotten each night and to know what part of your night was spent in deep sleep or dreaming. But having all of that sleep data is causing some people to become obsessed with it, so much so that it’s leading to a condition some call orthosomnia: a preoccupation with the constant need to achieve perfect sleep. And this condition, ironically, is causing more sleep problems.
这种末日般的信息的第二个问题是它可能产生反效果,尤其是对于那些确实有睡眠困难的人来说。例如,在2019年,估计美国有21%的成年人佩戴睡眠追踪设备。这个数字可能还在增长。我理解这一点。看到每晚你睡了多久,知道你在哪个阶段进入了深度睡眠或梦境是很有趣的。但是,拥有所有这些睡眠数据让一些人变得痴迷,以至于它导致了有些人称之为直立睡眠症的情况:一种对不断追求完美睡眠的痴迷。而讽刺的是,这种状况正在导致更多的睡眠问题。
生词释义:
- Counterproductive – 产生相反效果的,适得其反的。
- Tracking devices – 追踪设备。
- Fascinating – 迷人的,吸引人的。
- Obsessed – 着迷的,痴迷的。
- Orthosomnia – 直立睡眠症,对完美睡眠的痴迷。
- Preoccupation – 痴迷,全神贯注。
- Ironically – 讽刺地,具有讽刺意味地。
语法分析:
“And this condition, ironically, is causing more sleep problems.” – 这是一个复合句,主句是”And this condition is causing more sleep problems”,而”ironically”是一个副词,用来表达一种讽刺的意味。
“The second flaw with this kind of doomsday messaging is that it can be counterproductive, especially for people who do have trouble sleeping.” – 这是一个复合句,主句是”The second flaw with this kind of doomsday messaging is that it can be counterproductive”,而”especially for people who do have trouble sleeping”是一个定语从句,用来修饰”people”。
“For instance, in 2019, it was estimated that 21 percent of adults in the US were wearing sleep tracking devices.” – 这是一个复合句,主句是”It was estimated that 21 percent of adults in the US were wearing sleep tracking devices”,而”For instance, in 2019″是一个状语,用来举例说明。
“And that number is probably growing.” – 这是一个简单句,用来继续说明之前提到的数据。
“And I get it.” – 这是一个简单句,用来表达理解。
“It’s fascinating to see how much sleep you’ve gotten each night and to know what part of your night was spent in deep sleep or dreaming.” – 这是一个复合句,包含两个并列的主句”It’s fascinating to see how much sleep you’ve gotten each night”和”to know what part of your night was spent in deep sleep or dreaming”。
“But having all of that sleep data is causing some people to become obsessed with it, so much so that it’s leading to a condition some call orthosomnia.” – 这是一个复合句,主句是”Having all of that sleep data is causing some people to become obsessed with it”,而”so much so that it’s leading to a condition some call orthosomnia”是一个结果状语从句,用来说明痴迷到什么程度。

Now orthosomnia might be an extreme example, but the anxiety of not getting enough sleep is keeping some of us up at night. So here’s what some experts are saying. Stop fixating on the number because that can lead to unrealistic expectations of sleep. According to Dr. Colleen Carney, a psychologist and the head of the Ryerson University Sleep Lab, the basic questions you should ask yourself are: Do I feel reasonably well-rested during the day? Do I generally sleep through the night without disturbances? Or, if I wake, do I fall back asleep easily? Can I stay awake through the day without involuntarily falling asleep? If your answers are yes to all three, you probably don’t need to worry about your sleep. And if you’re struggling with your sleep, instead of buying expensive blue light filters or fancy sleep trackers, try talking with your doctor to make sure there aren’t any medical conditions that need to be explored first. Then try evidence-based recommendations laid out by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. What’s really cool is that there’s a highly effective therapy called cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia, or CBT-I, It doesn’t have any medications involved. And it has a really low failure rate.
现在直立睡眠症可能是一个极端的例子,但是对睡眠不足的焦虑让一些人晚上难以入睡。所以,一些专家怎么说呢?停止关注睡眠时间,因为这可能导致对睡眠的不切实际的期望。根据Colleen Carney博士的说法,她是一名心理学家,也是瑞尔森大学睡眠实验室的负责人,你应该问自己的基本问题是:白天我是否感觉相对清醒?我是否通常整晚都能睡,没有干扰?或者,如果我醒来,我是否能够容易地再次入睡?我是否能保持一整天清醒,而不会不自觉地睡着?如果你的答案都是肯定的,你可能不需要担心你的睡眠。如果你在睡眠上有困难,与其购买昂贵的蓝光过滤器或高级睡眠追踪器,不如尝试与医生交谈,确保没有需要首先探索的医疗条件。然后尝试美国睡眠医学院提出的基于证据的建议。真正酷的是,有一种非常有效的治疗失眠的认知行为疗法,或者CBT-I,它不涉及任何药物。并且它的失败率非常低。
生词释义:
- Orthosomnia – 直立睡眠症,对完美睡眠的痴迷。
- Fixating – 过分关注,痴迷。
- Unrealistic – 不切实际的。
- Disturbances – 干扰,打扰。
- Involuntarily – 不自觉地,不由自主地。
- Evidence-based – 基于证据的。
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) – 用于治疗失眠的认知行为疗法。
- Failure rate – 失败率。
语法分析:
“What’s really cool is that there’s a highly effective therapy called cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia, or CBT-I, It doesn’t have any medications involved. And it has a really low failure rate.” – 这是一个复合句,主句是”What’s really cool is that there’s a highly effective therapy called cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia, or CBT-I”,而”It doesn’t have any medications involved. And it has a really low failure rate”是两个并列的结果状语从句,用来说明这种疗法的特点。
“Now orthosomnia might be an extreme example, but the anxiety of not getting enough sleep is keeping some of us up at night.” – 这是一个复合句,主句是”The anxiety of not getting enough sleep is keeping some of us up at night”,而”Now orthosomnia might be an extreme example”是一个状语,用来引入话题。
“So here’s what some experts are saying.” – 这是一个简单句,用来引出专家的观点。
“Stop fixating on the number because that can lead to unrealistic expectations of sleep.” – 这是一个复合句,主句是”Stop fixating on the number”,而”because that can lead to unrealistic expectations of sleep”是一个原因状语从句。
“According to Dr. Colleen Carney, a psychologist and the head of the Ryerson University Sleep Lab, the basic questions you should ask yourself are…” – 这是一个复合句,主句是”The basic questions you should ask yourself are”,而”According to Dr. Colleen Carney, a psychologist and the head of the Ryerson University Sleep Lab”是一个状语,用来引出说话者的身份。
“If your answers are yes to all three, you probably don’t need to worry about your sleep.” – 这是一个简单句,用来表达一种假设情况。
“And if you’re struggling with your sleep, instead of buying expensive blue light filters or fancy sleep trackers, try talking with your doctor to make sure there aren’t any medical conditions that need to be explored first.” – 这是一个复合句,主句是”Try talking with your doctor to make sure there aren’t any medical conditions that need to be explored first”,而”And if you’re struggling with your sleep, instead of buying expensive blue light filters or fancy sleep trackers”是一个状语,用来说明应该采取的行动。
“Then try evidence-based recommendations laid out by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.” – 这是一个简单句,用来继续说明应该采取的行动。