婚姻幸福美滿的祕訣是什麼? 睡覺!

No need for any more expensive gifts, romantic breaks or big bouquets of flowers. It seems the secret to a happy marriage is completely free – a good night's sleep.

無需任何貴重的禮物，浪漫的假期或者是一大束鮮花。看起來，婚姻幸福美滿的祕訣完全是免費的--那就是晚上美美地睡上一覺。

Psychologists have found that having seven or eight hours' sleep a night means partners are less likely to focus on the negative aspects of their relationship and more inclined to think about the bigger picture.

心理學家們發現，晚上睡上七至八個小時，就意味着夫妻雙方會更少地關注於彼此關係的消極方面，轉而更多地憧憬幸福畫面。

Researchers at Florida State University say sleep also helps to restore function in the prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain that manages self control.

佛羅里達州立大學的研究人員們表示，睡眠有助於恢復前額皮質--大腦中管理自控能力的部分--的功能。

Although divorce rates in the UK are at their lowest levels of 40 years, the numbers separating every year are still significant. About 260,000 couples in the UK get married each year but at the same time nearly 120,000 part.

雖然英國的離婚率正處於近40年內最低水平，但是每年離婚的人數依舊居高不下。英國每年約有26萬人結婚，但與此同時有近12萬人離婚。

Experts regard honesty, warmth and respect as the bedrock of any relationship. But the latest study, in the Journal of Family Psychology, shows a good snooze is equally important.

專家們把誠實，暖心和尊重視爲一切關係的基礎。但是發表在《家庭心理學雜誌》的最新研究表明，良好的睡眠也同樣重要。

Scientists asked 68 newlywed couples to record their sleep patterns for a week. They also kept a diary on how they felt about their marriage and how rows affected their view of the relationship.

科學家們要求68對新婚夫婦記錄他們一週的睡眠狀況。他們每天還記錄了自己對婚姻的感受以及矛盾是如何影響了他們對於彼此關係的看法。

Finally, researchers used something called the Kansas Marital Satisfaction Scale to assess volunteers' levels of satisfaction with their sex lives, levels of affection, time spent together, partners' mood and how they resolved rows.

最後，研究人員們使用了一種叫Kansas婚姻滿意感量表，來評估志願者們對他們的性生活，感情狀況，共度的時光，夫妻情緒以及如何化解矛盾的滿意程度。

Husbands benefited most from a proper night's sleep, the study found. Even on days where they fell out with their wives, they felt upbeat about their marital status – providing they had a good rest the night before.

研究發現，丈夫從良好睡眠當中獲益最多。即使當他們與妻子發生爭吵，他們也會對自己的婚姻狀況感到信心滿滿——前提是他們在前一個晚上休息得不錯。

The researchers said: 'Sleep is an important factor that affects marital satisfaction. Up to a third of married or cohabiting adults report that sleeps problems burden their relationship.'

研究人員們對此表示：“睡眠是影響婚姻滿意度的一個重要因素。高達三分之一的已婚或未婚同居成人聲稱，睡眠問題會給彼此關係帶來負擔。”