近日，紐約大學醫學院的博士後研究員瑞貝卡·羅賓斯（Rebecca Robbins）與其他研究人員瀏覽了超過8000個網站，以期了解人們對於睡眠的看法。之後，一組睡眠醫學專家對這些看法一一進行了闢謠或證實。以下就是他們在其中發現的一些最常見的誤解。
1. Adults need five hours or less of sleep
成年人只需要五個小時或更少的睡眠時間
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Extensive evidence shows that consistently getting five hours of sleep or less greatly increases risk of adverse health consequence, like that of cardiovascular disease and early mortality. They say this myth poses the most serious risk to health from long-term sleep deficits.
大量證據表明，睡眠時間長期小於等於5小時會大大增加健康損傷的風險，比如心血管疾病和早死機率。他們還表示：由於這個流言會導致人們長期睡眠不足，因此所造成的健康風險最為嚴重。
adverse[ædˈvɚs]: adj. 不利的；相反的；敵對的
2. Drinking alcohol before bed will help you sleep
睡前喝酒會幫助你入睡
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Many people think a drink before bed will help them have a good night's sleep. Robbins says, nope – it's a myth. A drink before bed may help someone fall asleep, but it dramatically affects quality of sleep. It pulls a sleeper out of REM and deeper sleep. You may still spend time sleeping, but you won’t be fully restored.
很多人認為睡前喝一杯可以幫助自己睡個好覺。但羅賓斯對此表示：這是謠言。睡前喝一杯或許可以幫助某些人入睡，但卻會顯著影響其睡眠質量。這會導致你無法進入快速眼動睡眠與深度睡眠。你可能確實花了時間睡覺，但你不會徹底恢復精神。
REM: （睡眠）快速眼部運動的; rapid eye movement的縮寫
3. Watching television in bed helps you relax before sleep
在床上看電視可以幫助你在睡前放鬆
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A lot of people fall asleep in front of a TV in the bedroom, but watching television is not an optimal way to relax. Nightly news and other programming can lead to stress when we're trying to power down and can lead to insomnia, says Robbins. These devices also emit bright blue light, which tells our brain to perk up, not sleep. Avoid blue light from TV and phones and instead do things that relax you.
很多人都會在臥室裡看著電視睡著，但看電視並不是放鬆的最佳方式。羅賓斯表示，在我們打算休息時，夜間新聞及其他節目可能會讓我們感到壓力，並且會導致失眠。此外，這些設備也會發出明亮的藍光，告訴我們的大腦應該振作起來，而不是開始睡覺。我們應該避免電視和手機所發出的藍光，而去做其他令自己放鬆的事情。
insomnia[ɪn'sɑmnɪə]: n. 失眠症，失眠
4. It’s best to stay in bed and try to sleep
睡不著的時候也要躺在床上
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Many people think that if they’re having trouble falling asleep, it’s best to stay in bed and try. Unfortunately, if we stay in bed and keep trying unsuccessfully, we eventually associate our bed with insomnia. It should take about 15 minutes to fall asleep. If you’re waiting longer than that, get out of bed and change the environment. Instead, get up, do something mindless, like folding socks, and keep the lights low. Only return to bed when you feel tired.
許多人認為，睡不著的時候最好留在床上繼續嘗試。不幸的是，如果我們待在床上繼續嘗試後，還是會睡不著，最終便會將自己的床與失眠聯繫起來。你應該在15分鐘內入睡，如果你入睡的時間太長，那就下床並改變一下環境。你可以去做一些不需要動腦的事情，比如疊襪子，並保持燈光昏暗，感到疲倦時再回到床上睡覺。
5. Snoring is harmless
打鼾是無害的
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Snoring can be harmless, but it can also be a sign of sleep apnea, a potentially serious sleep disorder. The researchers encourage patients not to ignore loud snoring. Instead, see a doctor to rule out sleep apnea since it may lead to heart stoppages or other illnesses.
打鼾可能是無害的，但也可能是睡眠呼吸暫停的徵兆，這是一種潛在的嚴重睡眠障礙。研究人員鼓勵患者不要忽視自己的響亮鼾聲，而是應該去看醫生，排除睡眠呼吸暫停的可能，因為該障礙可能導致心臟停搏或其他疾病。
apnea[æp'niə]: n. [醫] 窒息，[臨床] 呼吸暫停
6. Hitting the snooze button is better than getting up right away
賴一會兒床比立即起床要好
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Most of us will be groggy from inertia when the alarm goes off, says Robbins, but forego the snooze button. Your body may go back to sleep, but it will be very light, low-quality sleep. Robbins suggests getting up and getting outside into the blue light of the day as quickly as possible.
羅賓斯表示，當鬧鐘響起時，我們大多數人都會因惰性而昏昏欲睡，但請不要按下貪睡按鈕。我們的身體可能會重新入睡，但卻睡得很輕，睡眠質量也很低。羅賓斯建議起床後儘快到室外接觸自然光。
groggy['grɒgɪ]: adj. 酒醉的，無力的；東歪西倒的
inertia[ɪ'nɝʃə]: n. 惰性，遲鈍；不活動
7. Your brain and body can learn to function just as well with less sleep
睡眠少的情況下，大腦和身體也會跟著調整，正常運轉
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The experts say that when sleep is decreased, self-reported levels of sleepiness increase for the first several days before starting to plateau; but reduced sleep leads to sustained drops in performance.
專家們表示，當人們的睡眠減少時，自我報告的嗜睡程度在開始前幾天會有所增加，之後便會趨於平穩，但睡眠減少會導致身體機能持續下降。
The study notes, "Further, nightshift workers, who habitually sleep fewer hours than day workers, face higher morbidity due to breast cancer and all-cause mortality than day workers." So while people may be able to 「adjust」 to less sleep and/or "circadian misalignment," they do so at the risk of serious health consequences.
該研究指出：「夜班工人通常比白班工人的睡眠時間更少，他們的乳腺癌發病率和全因死亡率均高於白班工人」。因此，雖然人們能夠「調整」自己以適應較少的睡眠時間和/或「晝夜節律失調」，但他們這樣做可能會導致嚴重的健康後果。
plateau[plæ'to]: vi. 達到平衡；達到穩定時期
morbidity[mɔr'bɪdəti]: n. 發病率
8. Sleeping in on weekends is a bad idea
周末睡懶覺是不好的
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For this one, the jury is out – the researchers admit that some myths still cause disagreement among sleep experts, and this is one of them. "Although sleeping in on weekends does disrupt the natural circadian rhythm, for people in certain professions, such as shift workers, it may be better for them to sleep in than to get fewer hours of sleep overall."
關於這一點尚無定論。研究人員承認，一些流言也會在睡眠專家之間引發分歧，這就是其中之一。「儘管在周末睡懶覺確實會擾亂自然的晝夜節律，但對於某些職業的人來說，例如輪班工作者，他們在周末睡懶覺可能會彌補一些整體睡眠時間」 。
sleep in: 睡過頭；遲起床