睡眠8小時VS6小時：睡不飽是美容的天敵！
With so many of us juggling work, children and social lives, it’s perhaps no wonder that the average amount of sleep we’re getting has declined in recent years.
許多人每天都忙於生計、教育子女、社交應酬，不難相信，近年來人們的平均睡眠時間有所減少。
I had no idea that cutting back on sleep by just an hour or two a night could have such a devastating effect on everything from my concentration, memory and patience to skin that’s what I discovered within days of starting a fascinating experiment with me as a guinea pig.
從前我並不知道每晚減少一到兩小時的睡眠時間會對人各方面的健康情況，如注意力，記憶力和耐心程度等造成這樣嚴重的損害，直到我用短短几天的時間，自己充當實驗室裏的小白鼠，進行了一場饒有趣味的實驗。
作者親測：左圖爲睡8小時，右圖爲睡6小時。
For the study, my sleep is to be six hours a night for a five-day stretch, with bedtimes at 11pm and my alarm at 5am. Surveys have found this is a common pattern for those who regularly have six hours.
在實驗過程中，我每晚的睡眠時間爲6小時，每週連續5天如此，就寢時間爲晚上11點，早晨鬧鐘設在5點。有研究表明，每晚睡眠6小時的人常以此爲作息規律。
And the effects are noticeable. After just two days, I’m tired, snappy, forgetful and tearful. I’m also constantly hungry and craving sweet snacks to pep me up.
實驗結果非常明顯。短短兩天之後，我就感到十分疲憊、睏倦、健忘、總是不自覺的有眼淚溼潤眼球。我常感到飢餓，爲了打起精神，就常常貪食甜點。
Most shocking, though, are the results of the scan of my face. My pores have more than doubled in size and the red areas have increased by 50 per cent. No wonder my husband declares: ‘You look lousy.’
不過，最令我驚訝的實驗結果是我做面部掃描後得到的結果。我皮膚上的毛孔增大了一倍，紅腫的區域增多了50%。難怪我的丈夫肯定地說，“你看起來很憔悴。”
I’m appalled and begin to mentally tot up the damage my early years of motherhood may have wrought.
我感到驚恐，我開始爲自己初爲人母的幾年裏由於缺乏睡眠對身體造成的損害進行清算。
To make matters worse, Dr Guy Meadows confirms my worst fears: ‘You can’t repair a sleep debt by having loads more sleep the next day. Your daytime activities are like a house party, and after every one of those you need a clean-up operation to remove the toxins amassed during the day.
更令人驚恐的是，蓋·梅德思醫生確證了我最大的隱憂：“想用第二天多睡一點的方法來補救前一天虧欠的睡眠時間是無濟於事的。我們日間的活動就像一場室內排隊，每場排隊之後，我們都必須要有一個清場的程序，來清楚這一天裏體內積存的毒素。”
From now on, I’m going to make sure I get the full eight hours —or I fear I will suffer the consequences.
從現在開始，我要確保自己有滿滿八小時的睡眠時間——否則我擔心我將會爲此付出代價。
