Going to bed at the same time every night could give your child's brain a boost, a recent study found.[qh]
新近的一項(xiàng)研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，每天晚上讓孩子在同一鐘點(diǎn)上床睡覺有助于大腦發(fā)育。 [qh]
Researchers at University College London found that when 3-year-olds have a regular bedtime they perform better on cognitive tests administered at age 7 than children whose bedtimes weren't consistent. The findings represent a new twist on an expanding body of research showing that inadequate sleep in children and adolescents hurts academic performance and overall health. [qh]
倫敦大學(xué)學(xué)院(University College London)的研究人員發(fā)現(xiàn)，三歲的兒童如果保持規(guī)律的就寢時(shí)間，等他們到了七歲接受認(rèn)知能力測(cè)試時(shí)，就會(huì)比那些就寢時(shí)間不規(guī)律的孩子表現(xiàn)更佳。先前已有越來越多的研究表明，兒童和成年人睡眠不足會(huì)影響他們的學(xué)習(xí)成績(jī)、損害其整體健康狀況，這一發(fā)現(xiàn)是這方面研究的一個(gè)新轉(zhuǎn)折點(diǎn)。 [qh]
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. [qh]
最新的這項(xiàng)研究將其他一些可能影響就寢時(shí)間和認(rèn)知發(fā)展的因素也考慮進(jìn)來了，比如孩子不吃早飯或是臥室里有電視機(jī)。在將這些因素統(tǒng)統(tǒng)考慮進(jìn)來后，該研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，只要在同一個(gè)時(shí)間點(diǎn)上床睡覺，不論是早睡還是晚睡，都不會(huì)影響孩子的認(rèn)知表現(xiàn)。 [qh]
'The surprising thing was the later bedtimes weren't significantly affecting children's test scores once we took other factors into account,' 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.' [qh]
倫敦大學(xué)學(xué)院社會(huì)與健康生命過程研究國(guó)際中心(International Center for Lifecourse Studies in Society and Health)負(fù)責(zé)人、該研究的合著者阿曼達(dá)•賽克(Amanda Sacker)說：“令人驚訝的是，一旦我們將其他的因素都考慮進(jìn)來后，就會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)，晚一點(diǎn)睡覺不會(huì)對(duì)孩子們的考試成績(jī)產(chǎn)生大的影響。我覺得，對(duì)家長(zhǎng)們來說……固定的就寢時(shí)間即便是稍微晚一點(diǎn)也是可取的。” [qh]
The researchers suggested that having inconsistent bedtimes may hurt a child's cognitive development by disrupting circadian rhythms. It also might result in sleep deprivation and therefore affect brain plasticity -- changes in the synapses and neural pathways -- at critical ages of brain development. [qh]
研究人員表示，就寢時(shí)間不規(guī)律可能會(huì)擾亂生物周期節(jié)律進(jìn)而有損孩子的認(rèn)知發(fā)展。它可能還會(huì)導(dǎo)致睡眠不足、從而在大腦發(fā)育的關(guān)鍵時(shí)期影響大腦的可塑性──即神經(jīng)元突觸和神經(jīng)通路的變化。 [qh]
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. [qh]
睡眠領(lǐng)域的專家重點(diǎn)關(guān)注的常常是兒童能獲得多少睡眠。雖然這個(gè)問題也很重要，但華盛頓美國(guó)國(guó)家兒童醫(yī)療中心(Children's National Medical Center)睡眠醫(yī)學(xué)部的負(fù)責(zé)人朱迪思•歐文斯(Judith Owens)說：“我們更傾向于關(guān)注晝夜節(jié)律被打亂這個(gè)問題。”歐文斯并未參與前述那項(xiàng)研究。 [qh]
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 impairments,' she said. [qh]
歐文斯博士說，睡眠不足和就寢時(shí)間不規(guī)律可能會(huì)通過不同的機(jī)制影響認(rèn)知發(fā)展。她說：“一個(gè)孩子如果睡得時(shí)間少又睡得不規(guī)律，那他（她）患上認(rèn)知障礙的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)就會(huì)更高。” [qh]
The study, published online in July in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health, examined data on bedtimes and cognitive scores for 11,178 children. [qh]
《流行病學(xué)與公共衛(wèi)生雜志》(Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health)網(wǎng)絡(luò)版在7月份刊發(fā)了這一研究，該研究共分析了11,178名兒童的就寢時(shí)間及認(rèn)知得分的數(shù)據(jù)。 [qh]
The children were participants in the U.K.'s Millennium Cohort Study, a nationally representative longterm study of infants born between 2000 and 2002. [qh]
這些兒童都是英國(guó)千禧世代研究(Millennium Cohort Study)的參與者。這是一項(xiàng)具有全國(guó)代表性的長(zhǎng)期研究，研究對(duì)象是那些在2000年至2002年間出生的兒童。 [qh]
Mothers were asked about their children's bedtimes at 3, 5 and 7 years of age. Nearly 20% of the 3-year-olds didn't have a regular bedtime. That figure dropped to 9.1% at age 5 and 8.2% at age 7. Mothers were also asked about socioeconomic and demographic characteristics and family routines. [qh]
母親們被問及孩子們?cè)谌龤q、五歲以及七歲時(shí)的就寢時(shí)間。在三歲幼童中，幾乎有20%的人就寢時(shí)間不規(guī)律。這一數(shù)據(jù)在五歲的兒童中降至9.1%，在七歲孩子中減少至8.2%。母親們還被問到了社會(huì)經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)和人口學(xué)特征以及家庭日常生活習(xí)慣方面的問題。 [qh]
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. [qh]
當(dāng)孩子們到了七歲的時(shí)候，他們便接受了閱讀、數(shù)學(xué)和空間能力方面的認(rèn)知評(píng)估。賽克爾博士說，記錄中得分最低的全是那些睡得特別早或特別晚的孩子，還有那些就寢時(shí)間不規(guī)律的孩子。她說，但將家里其他的因素考慮進(jìn)來之后，則只剩睡覺時(shí)間不規(guī)律這一項(xiàng)與較低的分?jǐn)?shù)相關(guān)聯(lián)了。 [qh]
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. [qh]
擁有一個(gè)長(zhǎng)期規(guī)律的睡眠行為是至關(guān)重要的。塞克爾博士說：“不論孩子在哪個(gè)年齡段就寢時(shí)間不規(guī)律，他們的得分都比按時(shí)睡覺的孩子要低得多。”對(duì)于就寢時(shí)間不規(guī)律的三到七歲的女孩兒而言，情況更是如此。 [qh]
Yvonne Kelly, a co-author of the study and a professor in the department of epidemiology and public health at University College London, said the researchers aren't sure why girls seemed to be more affected. She noted that the difference in scores between these groups of girls and boys wasn't statistically significant for the reading and spatial tests, but it was for the math test. [qh]
該研究的合著者、倫敦大學(xué)學(xué)院流行病學(xué)及公共衛(wèi)生系教授伊馮娜•凱莉(Yvonne Kelly)說，研究人員不太清楚為什么女孩似乎更易受到就寢時(shí)間不規(guī)律的影響。她指出，這幾組男孩女孩在閱讀和空間能力測(cè)試中的統(tǒng)計(jì)得分差異并不十分顯著，但數(shù)學(xué)考試的分差卻比較明顯。 [qh]
'I don't think for one moment that boys are immune to these things and girls are more affected,' Dr. Kelly said. [qh]
凱莉博士說：“我不認(rèn)為女孩更易受到影響，而男孩卻絲毫不受其影響。” [qh]
The researchers didn't have data on the total number of hours children slept overnight because mothers weren't asked about what time the children woke up. [qh]
研究人員手頭沒有孩子們一整夜總共睡了幾個(gè)小時(shí)的數(shù)據(jù)，因?yàn)槟赣H們并未被問及孩子起床的時(shí)間。 [qh]
In general school-age kids -- kindergarten through eighth-grade -- should be getting about 10 hours of sleep, while 3- and 4-year-olds might need 11 to 13 hours, including day-time naps, said Shalini Paruthi, director of the pediatric sleep and research center at SSM Cardinal Glennon Children's Medical Center at Saint Louis University. [qh]
圣路易斯大學(xué)(Saint Louis University)SSM卡迪那•格倫農(nóng)兒童醫(yī)學(xué)中心(SSM Cardinal Glennon Children's Medical Center)兒童睡眠與研究中心的負(fù)責(zé)人莎琳尼•派魯錫(Shalini Paruthi)說，一般的學(xué)齡期兒童──從幼兒園到八年級(jí)──應(yīng)該需要大約10個(gè)小時(shí)的睡眠，但三到四歲的孩子可能需要11到13個(gè)小時(shí)的睡眠，其中包括白天的小睡。 [qh]
Dr. Paruthi said the good news from the study is that the majority of the children went to bed at a consistent time, reinforcing advice from sleep specialists. 'The younger the child is, the better it is to get into the habit of a regular bedtime,' said Dr. Paruthi, who wasn't affiliated with the study. She recommends a 15-minute, pre-bedtime routine to help the brain transition from a more alert to a quiet state. [qh]
派魯錫博士說，這一研究帶給我們的好消息是：大多數(shù)孩子都遵循了睡眠專家的建議，就寢時(shí)間都很規(guī)律。派魯錫博士說：“孩子越小，讓其養(yǎng)成按時(shí)睡覺的習(xí)慣越好。”派魯錫并未參與前述那項(xiàng)研究。她建議每天安排一個(gè)15分鐘的睡前活動(dòng)時(shí)間，以此幫大腦從一個(gè)更警醒的狀態(tài)過渡到安靜的狀態(tài)。 [qh]
And in order to keep the body's internal clock in sync with the brain, bedtimes on weekends and in the summer should only stray from the normal time by an hour or less, Dr. Paruthi said. 'The internal clock in the brain and the body like to have consistency every day,' she said. [qh]
為了使你身體的生物鐘與大腦保持同步，即便在周末或夏天，你也只能比平時(shí)正常的就寢時(shí)間早睡或晚睡最多一個(gè)小時(shí)。派魯錫博士說：“你體內(nèi)的生物鐘和大腦希望你每一天都能保持步調(diào)一致。” [qh]