Sleep isn't just a chunk of time carved out to recharge for the following day. Increasingly, scientific evidence shows life and sleep are woven together like 800-thread-count sheets. How people fare during their waking hours has a lot to do with how they sleep -- and vice versa. 

 睡眠不仅仅是留出大量的时间来为第二天做事情而充电。越来越多的科学证据显示：生活和睡眠是交织在一起的，就象800针的床单一般。人们在清醒的时候表现如何跟睡觉睡得怎样有着密切的相互关系。

 Income, employment status, relationship satisfaction and hobbies all affect sleep, according to research presented last week in Seattle at the annual meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies. And sleep affects health, relationships and decision-making. "Sleep is related to everything," said Michael Grandner, a fellow at the Center for Sleep and Respiratory Neurobiology at the University of Pennsylvania.

 上周，联合专业睡眠协会年会在西雅图举行。会上提交的研究成果表明：收入、职业状况、对交往关系的满意度、兴趣爱好等都会影响到睡眠，而睡眠反过来又会影响到健康状况、人际关系和决策的制定。“睡眠跟一切都是相关的，”宾夕法尼亚大学睡眠与呼吸神经生物学中心的研究员迈克尔·格兰德纳说。

 Some news from the meeting:

 下面是来自这次年会的一些消息：

 Who can't sleep?

 哪些人存在睡眠问题？

 In one presentation, Grandner reviewed responses from 159,856 people who participated in a government survey -- one of the largest to gather data on sleep difficulties. Overall, one in five people reported problems with sleep on seven of the 14 nights before the survey. Grandner found little difference among racial and ethnic groups, except for people of Asian ethnicity, who had far fewer problems.

 在发言时，格兰德纳回顾了来自159,856人的反映情况，这些人参与了规模最大的一次政府调查，通过这次调查搜集了有关睡眠问题的资料。总之，在调查之前五分之一的人报告说，14个晚上中有7个晚上会出现睡眠问题。格兰德纳发现，亚洲人睡眠问题要少得多，除此之外，睡眠问题在种族和民族团体之间没有什么差别。

 But people in lower socioeconomic levels, especially women, reported more problems. So did divorced and separated people, especially divorced and separated men.

 但是，社会经济水平较低的人们，特别是妇女，反映的睡眠问题较多；离婚的和独居的人们，特别其中的男人，反映的睡眠问题也较多。

 And men who described themselves as homemakers reported sleep problems on par with people who were unemployed (who had high rates of problems).

 把自己描述成犹如家庭主妇一般的男人，反映存在睡眠问题的人数跟失业的人们中具有睡眠问题的人数相当，失业者是存在睡眠问题较多的人群。

 Perhaps most surprising, the worst sleep seems to occur in men and women ages 18 to 24. "The story with age is fascinating," Grandner said. "Usually, the common knowledge is that as you get older you have more sleep problems. We found pretty much the opposite."

 也许最令人吃惊的是，最糟的睡眠情况好象发生在18至24岁之间男女青年中。“睡眠跟年龄的关系是很耐人寻味的，”格兰德纳说，“通常，大家知道一个人年龄越大睡眠问题就会越严重。然而，我们所发现的情况从很大程度上恰恰相反。”

 It could be that older people are accustomed to sleep disturbances and don't complain about them, he said. But it still remains to be seen why so many young, ostensibly healthy people are missing out on their sweet dreams.

 他指出，这有可能是由于年龄较大的人习惯于睡眠干扰，因而并不对此抱怨。然而，为何这么多表面上健康的年轻人却无法进入甜美的梦乡，这一点还有待于进一步去了解。

 Cooling the brain

 为大脑降温

 Treatments for insomnia include medications and lifestyle changes, neither of which appeal to some people. But research on a nondrug treatment is underway.

 治疗失眠的方法包括药物治疗和生活方式的转变，但两种方法对一些人来说都没有吸引力。因此，研究人员正在开发一种非药物的治疗方法。

 Insomnia seems to be caused by excessive metabolic activity in the brain's frontal cortex. For deep, refreshing sleep to occur, the frontal cortex has to rest, said Dr. Eric Nofzinger, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh.

 失眠好象是由大脑额叶皮层代谢活动过度引起的。匹兹堡大学精神病学教授埃里克·诺夫辛格博士指出：要想得到令人精神焕发的深睡眠，大脑的额叶皮层必须休息。

 Research on brain injuries has shown that cooling the brain reduces metabolic activity. Nofzinger and his colleagues decided to try the same concept on insomnia by designing a device that gently cools the frontal cortex during sleep.

 对大脑损伤的研究表明，给大脑降温可以减少代谢活动。诺夫辛格及同事决定把同一理念用于治疗失眠，他们设计了一个在睡觉时可以为额叶皮层小幅度降温的装置。

 In a pilot study of eight patients, five showed activity reductions in that brain area. Six of the eight reported they slept better. "They had increased slow-wave sleep, which is the deepest sleep," Nofzinger said.

 在对8个病人的初步研究中，5个病人的额叶皮层部位显示出活动减少的迹象，8个病人中有6个报告说睡得更好了。“他们的慢波睡眠增加了，这是一种最深层次的睡眠，”诺夫辛格说。

 The device is a cap worn over the forehead containing tubes that circulate cool water. Nofzinger has started a company to advance the research beyond these preliminary stages. (The study was small, and reports of better sleep could be a placebo effect.)

 这种装置是一顶帽子，对应前额部位处有循环凉水的管子通过。诺夫辛格让一家公司预付了这些初步试验阶段之后的研究费用。该研究规模很小，改善睡眠的报告可能是类似安慰剂的作用所致。

 "Insomnia is widely prevalent," Nofzinger said. "And when you look at patient preferences, the majority would prefer a nonpharmaceutical therapy."

 “失眠现象是相当普遍的，”诺夫辛格说，“如果注意一下病人的优先选择，你会发现大多数病人更喜欢非药物治疗。”

 Bedtime and depression

 睡觉时间与抑郁症

 When parents mandate early bedtimes for teenagers, they may help reduce the teens' risk for depression and suicidal thoughts, researchers from Columbia University found. The study of 15,000 teenagers included 1,143 who had depression and 2,038 who had experienced suicidal thoughts. Those with parental-mandated bedtimes of midnight or later were 25% more likely to suffer from depression and 20% more likely to have suicidal thoughts. The study supports the idea that inadequate sleep could lead to depression, said the lead author, James Gangwisch.

 哥伦比亚大学的研究人员发现，如果家长准许十几岁的孩子早点睡觉，可以帮助孩子减少罹患抑郁症的危险，还可以帮助他们减少自杀的念头。该研究涉及15,000个十几岁的青少年，其中包括1,143人患有抑郁症，2,038人有过自杀的念头。那些家长批准的睡觉时间在半夜或更晚的孩子，患上抑郁症的可能性增加了25%，怀有自杀念头的可能性增加了20%。该研究的发起人詹姆斯·甘威奇说：该研究支持失眠不足会导致抑郁症的观点。

 Happy, rested couples

 夫妇幸福靠休息

 The quality of a couple's sleep and relationship tend to follow the same trajectory, researchers said. On a day-to-day basis, a couple's relationship affects how well they sleep. And how well they sleep affects how the relationship functions the following day.

 研究人员表示，一对夫妇的睡眠质量与夫妇关系之间也往往存在同样的关联。就以每天为单位来讲，夫妇之间的关系会影响他们晚上的睡眠质量，而晚上的睡眠质量又会影响第二天相互关系的发展。

 Researchers at the University of Arizona studied 29 heterosexual, co-sleeping couples who did not have children. Each person completed sleep diaries for seven days and was also asked to record, six times a day, the quality of interactions with his or her partner.

 亚利桑那大学的研究人员研究了29对同床共眠的、尚未生养小孩的夫妇。每人都要完成有关睡眠质量的日记，为期七天。此外，还要求他们记录下跟自己的伴侣所处的关系如何，每天记录六次。

 The study found that, for men, better sleep was linked to more positive ratings of relationship quality the next day. For women, negative interactions with a partner during the day led to poorer-quality sleep that night for both woman and man. The study's take-home message, lead investigator Brant Hasler said, is to settle conflicts before going to bed and avoid confrontational discussions on a day when one partner, or both, has had a bad night's sleep.

 该研究发现：对于男人来说，较好的睡眠可以使他们在第二天为夫妻关系做出更加积极的评级；对于女人来说，白天期间跟丈夫的交往不如意，会导致夫妻双方在那一夜的睡觉质量都更差。这次研究的主持人布兰特·汉斯勒称：该研究带给我们的深层次信息表明，在上床睡觉之前夫妻之间应该解决好所有的争端，在晚上夫妻双方有一方或双方都没有睡好的情况下，第二天应该避免进行互相冲突的讨论。

 Sleep and school

 睡眠与学习成绩

 The importance of sleep to academic performance is one of the most robust findings in sleep research in recent years. One study, from the University of Pittsburgh, found that math, history and English scores all correlated with sleep quality. Different types of sleep problems, however, affected different types of function. Higher math scores were related to greater sleep quality and fewer nighttime awakenings, whereas good English and history scores were linked to less difficulty awakening.

 近年来在睡眠研究方面，睡眠对于学习成绩的重要性是最具说服力的发现之一。匹兹堡大学的一项研究发现，数学、历史和英语的考试分数都跟睡眠质量互相关联。然而，不同类型的睡眠问题影响不同类型的功能。较高的数学分数跟较好的睡眠质量以及夜间醒来的次数较少相关，而英语和历史高分跟比较容易唤醒相关。

 Overall, teens in the study who had regular and predictable sleep schedules coped better with short-term sleep deficits than those with a more varying and chaotic sleep schedule.

 总的说来，该研究表明，睡眠时间固定而且可以预知睡眠时间的孩子比起睡眠时间不定而且混乱的孩子，在对付短期睡眠缺失方面做得更好。

 Another study, from, Hendrix College in Conway, Ark., found that poor sleep patterns were linked to poorer academic performance and a decline in grade-point average during the transition from high school to college. Students who were "evening types" had an average GPA of 2.84 in the first year of college, whereas "morning or intermediate types" had an average GPA of 3.18.

 另外一项研究来自阿肯色州康威市的亨德里克斯学院。该研究发现：不健康的睡眠模式跟较差的学习成绩相关，并且会导致从高中到大学过度期间的平均分数下降。“夜晚型”的学生在大学一年级时的平均得分为2.84，而那些“清晨型或中间型”的学生平均得分为3.18。