科學研究新發現::美夢少睡一點 延年益壽

Contrary to popular belief, people who sleep six to seven hours a night live longer, and those who sleep eight hours or more die younger, according to the latest study ever conducted on the subject. The study, which tracked the sleeping habits of 1.1 million Americans for six years, undermines the advice of many sleep doctors who have long recommended that people get eight or nine hours of sleep every night. 　　

與人們的普遍觀念恰恰相反，就睡眠所做的最新研究發現每晚睡6-7個小時的人要比睡8個小時或更長時間的人壽命長。這項對110萬美國人的睡眠習慣進行爲期6年跟蹤調查的研究削弱了很多睡眠醫生長期以來建議人們每晚要睡8-9個小時的說法。

"There's an old idea that people should sleep eight hours a night, which has no more scientific basis than the gold at the end of the rainbow," said Daniel Kripke, a professor of psychiatry at the University of California at San Diego who led the study, published in a recent issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry. "That's an old wives' tale." 　

"舊的觀念認爲人們每晚應睡足8小時，但其實這個觀點就如同彩虹末端的金色一樣毫無科學依據，"聖狄哥加州大學的精神病學教授Daniel Kripke說道，他領導進行的這項研究的結果發表在最近一期的《大衆精神病學檔案》上。"這一觀點不過是老婦人的老生常談而已。"

The study was not designed to answer why sleeping longer may be deleterious or whether people could extend their life span by sleeping less.

這項研究目的不是試圖解釋爲何睡得多可能是有害的，也不是解釋人們能否通過減少睡眠來延長壽命。

But Kripke said it was possible that people who slept longer tended to suffer from sleep apnea, a condition where impaired breathing puts stress on the heart and brain. He also speculated that the need for sleep was akin to food, where getting less than people want may be better for them.

但Kripke說這有可能是由於睡得多的人就容易遭受睡眠中的呼吸暫停，這是一種減弱呼吸給心臟和大腦帶來壓力的狀況。他還認爲人們對睡眠的需求就如同對食物需求一樣，實際攝入量比需求量少一點可能對健康有益。

The study quickly provoked cautions and criticism, with some sleep experts saying that the main problem in America's sleep habits was deprivation, not sleeping too much. 　
　
這項研究立刻引發了很多告誡和批評，一些睡眠專家說美國人睡眠習慣存在的主要問題是人們缺少睡眠，而不是已經睡得太多。

"The amount of sleep you get impacts how alert you are, your risk for accidents, how you perform at work and school," said James Walsh, president of the National Sleep Foundation, a non-profit that advocates for better sleep habits. "There's much more to life than how long you live." 　
　
"睡眠時間的長短會影響你的警覺程度、出事故的可能性和你工作表現以及學習成績，"James Walsh說，他是國家睡眠基金會主席，該基金會是一家致力於提倡改善睡眠習慣的非贏利性機構。"生命的意義遠不只是在於它的長短。"

The study used data from an extensive survey conducted by the American Cancer Society from 1982 to 1988. Women sleeping 8, 9 and 10 hours a night had 13 percent, 23 percent and 41 percent higher risk of dying, respectively, than those who slept 7 hours, the study found. Men sleeping 8, 9 and 10 hours a night had 12 percent, 17 percent and 34 percent greater risk of dying within the study period. 　

這項研究利用了美國癌症學會在1982-1988年期間開展的一次廣泛調查所獲得的數據，它發現每晚睡8、9和10個小時的女性與睡7小時的女性相比，死亡率分別上升了13%、23%和41%。在此研究期間，每晚睡8、9和10個小時的男性與睡7小時男性相比，死亡率則上升了12%、17%和34%。

By contrast, sleeping five hours a night increased the risk for women by only 5 percent, and for men, by 11 percent. Among people who slept just three hours a night, women had a 33 percent increase in death, and men had a 19 percent increase, compared with those who slept seven hours. 　

與此相比，每晚睡5個小時的女性的死亡率僅上升了5%，男性上升了11%。在每晚僅睡3個小時的人羣中，與睡7個小時的人相比，女性死亡率上升33%，男性上升19%。