Why You Should Get the Kids to Bed on Time 為何要讓孩子按時睡覺

譯/王美懿 審訂/錢多秀

Why You Should Get the Kids to Bed on Time 為何要讓孩子按時睡覺

譯/王美懿 審訂/錢多秀

Going to bed at the same time every night could give your child’s brain a boost, a recent study found.

[2] Researchers at University College London found that when 3-year-olds have a regular bedtime they perform better on cognitive tests administered1administer執行，給予。at age 7 than children whose bedtimes weren’t consistent2consistent始終如一的，一致的。. The findings represent a new twist3twist彎曲，轉折點。on an expanding body of research showing that inadequate sleep in children and adolescents hurts academic performance and overall health.

[3] The latest study considered other factors that can influence bedtime and cognitive development, such as kids skipping breakfast or having a television in their bedroom. After accounting for these, the study found that going to bed very early or very late didn’t affect cognitive performance, so long as the bedtime was consistent.

近期有研究發現，每晚讓孩子在同一時間睡覺可以促進孩子的大腦發育。

[2]倫敦大學學院的研究人員發現，孩子如果在三歲時就有固定的就寢時間，那么等他們到七歲接受認知測試時，就會比那些就寢時間不規律的孩子表現得更好。在此之前，已經有越來越多的研究表明，兒童和青少年睡眠不足會對其學習成績和身體健康造成不良影響。而倫敦大學學院的這個發現，正是該研究領域的一個新轉折點。

[3]這項最新研究也將影響就寢時間及認知發展的其他因素考慮在內，如不吃早飯或臥室里有電視等。在考慮這些因素之后，該研究發現，只要就寢時間規律，無論太早睡還是太晚睡，均不會對孩子的認知水平造成影響。

[4] “The surprising thing was the later bedtimes weren’t significantly affecting children’s test scores once we took other factors into account4take ... into account 把……考慮進去。,” said Amanda Sacker, director of the International Center for Lifecourse Studies in Society and Health at University College London and a co-author of the study.“I think the message for parents is…maybe a regular bedtime even slightly later is advisable.”

[5] The researchers suggested that having inconsistent bedtimes may hurt a child’s cognitive development by disrupting circadian5circadian生理節奏的，以24小時為周期的。rhythms. It also might result in sleep deprivation and therefore affect brain plasticity—changes in the synapses6synapse神經元突觸。and neural pathways—at critical ages of brain development.

[6] Sleep experts often focus largely on how much sleep children get. While that is important, “we tend to not pay as much attention to this issue of circadian disruption,” said Judith Owens, director of sleep medicine at Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C.,who wasn’t involved with the study.

[4]阿曼達·薩克爾是倫敦大學學院社會與健康生命歷程研究國際中心的負責人，也是該研究報告的合作作者。她說：“最讓我們驚訝的地方在于，一旦我們將其他因素考慮進來，就會發現晚一點睡覺并未對考試成績造成很大影響。我認為，對于家長來說，只要孩子的就寢時間有規律，稍晚一點也是可以的。”

[5]研究者認為，就寢時間不規律，會打亂孩子的晝夜節律，從而對孩子的認知發展造成傷害。同時也有可能導致睡眠剝奪，從而在孩子大腦發育的關鍵階段對其大腦的可塑性造成影響——即神經元突觸與神經通路的變化。

[6]通常，睡眠專家主要關注孩子的睡眠時長。這一點固然重要，但是華盛頓國家兒童醫療中心睡眠醫療負責人朱迪絲·歐文斯表示：“我們往往不會過分關注晝夜節律紊亂的問題。”她并沒有參與此項研究。

[7]歐文斯博士認為，睡眠不足以及就寢時間不規律均可通過不同的機制影響孩子的認知發展。她說：“一個孩子如果同時有睡眠不足和就寢時間不規律（問題），那他（她）患上認知障礙的風險會更大。”

[7] Insufficient sleep and irregular bedtimes may each affect cognitive development through different mechanisms, Dr. Owens said. “The kid who has both [problems] may beat even higher risk for these cognitive impairments7impairment 損傷，損害。,” she said.

[8] The study, published online in July in the Journal of Epidemiology8epidemiology流行病學，傳染病學。& Community Health, examined data on bedtimes and cognitive scores for 11,178 children.

[9] The children were participants in the U.K.’s Millennium9millennium 千年期，千禧年。Cohort Study, a nationally representative longterm study of infants born between 2000 and 2002.

[10] Mothers were asked about their children’s bedtimes at 3, 5 and 7 years of age. Nearly 20 percent of the 3-yearolds didn’t have a regular bedtime. That figure dropped to 9.1 percent at age 5 and 8.2 percent at age 7. Mothers were also asked about family routines.

[8]這項研究7月份發表于《流行病與公共健康》的網絡版。該研究共分析了11 178名兒童的就寢時間以及認知測試的結果。

[9]這些兒童都參與了英國千禧世代研究。此項研究是全國代表性的長期研究，研究對象為2000年至2002年出生的孩子。

[10]該研究向母親調查孩子三歲、五歲及七歲時的就寢時間。研究表明，有近20%的三歲小孩沒有固定的睡覺時間。這一數據在五歲小孩中降至9.1%，在七歲小孩中又降至8.2%。該研究同時也向母親了解了家庭生活習慣等問題。

[11]這些孩子在七歲時接受了閱讀、數學以及空間的認知評估。薩克爾博士說，研究結果顯示，得分最低的是那些睡覺過早或過晚的孩子，以及那些就寢時間不規律的孩子。但是一旦將家庭中的其他因素考慮進來，就只有就寢時間不規律這一項與測試分數較低有關了。

[11] When the children were 7 years old, they received cognitive assessments in reading, math and spatial abilities.The poorest test scores were recorded by children who went to bed very early or very late, and by those who had inconsistent bedtimes, said Dr. Sacker.But once other factors in the home were taken into account only the inconsistent bedtime was associated with lower scores, she said.

[12] A consistent pattern of sleep behavior mattered. “Those who had irregular bedtimes at all three ages had significantly poorer scores than those who had regular bedtimes,” Dr. Sacker said. This was especially true for girls who didn’t establish consistent bedtimes between 3 and 7 years old.

[12]擁有規律的睡眠行為至關重要。薩克爾博士說：“在三個年齡段中，就寢時間不規律的孩子得到的分數均比就寢時間規律的孩子要低得多。”對于那些在三歲至七歲期間未形成規律就寢時間的女孩子來說，這種情況尤為明顯。

（譯者單位：北京航空航天大學外國語學院）

10 Fascinating Extinct Animals (III)

3. Irish Deer愛爾蘭大鹿

The Irish Elk or Giant Deer, was the largest deer that ever lived. It lived in Eurasia, from Ireland to east of Lake Baikal, during the Late Pleistocene and early Holocene. The latest known remains of the species have been carbon dated to about 5,700 BC, or about 7,700 years ago. The Giant Deer is famous for its formidable size (about 2.1 meters or 7 feet tall at the shoulders), and in particular for having the largest antlers of any known cervid (a maximum of 3.65 meters/12 feet from tip to tip and weighing up to 90 pounds).