BBC随身英语｜我们真的需要8小时睡眠吗？

Do we really need 8 hours' sleep?

Charles Darwin once said "A man who dares to waste one hour of time has not discovered the value of life". If you live one hundred years, that only equates to twelve-hundred months – and when you break it down even further into days, hours and minutes, it gets more frightening.

Why is this relevant? Well, quite simply put: life is short. Spending eight hours every day in a slumber means you're losing a third of your life to bed. So, the question is: is eight hours the exact amount we need, or is it just a myth?

While most scientists agree that between seven and nine hours a night is the optimal amount, this is just a rough estimate. In truth, it's a little more complicated than that. It seems that the amount of sleep you need depends upon your age – with infants needing much more than adults. What does seem apparent is that around seven and a half hours' sleep is a good amount.

In a study conducted at the University of Surrey Sleep Research Centre, the effects of sleep were monitored. One group slept for six and a half and the other for seven and a half hours per night. While some findings were predictable – irritation and lower concentration in the group who slept less, there were some more surprising findings.

The genes of people who had less sleep were affected. Genes associated with inflammation, the immune system and stress response became more active. The team also observed increases in the activity of genes related to diabetes and risk of cancer.

One of the biggest issues is that myths regarding sleep are constantly perpetuated. For example, have you ever heard that you can train yourself to need less or no sleep? It's simply not true.

We will always need a certain amount of sleep – eight hours might not be the exact sweet spot, and there are factors like age to take into consideration, but one thing is true – there is a certain amount we do actually need.

词汇表
equate to [ɪˈkweɪt] 等同于，相当于
break it down into 将…分解为，细分为，拆分为
slumber [ˈslʌmbə] n. 睡眠，安睡，沉睡
myth [mɪθ] n. 迷思，误区，错误观念
optimal [ˈɒptɪməl] adj. 最佳的，最理想的
rough estimate [rʌf ˈestɪmət] 粗略估算，大致估计
monitor [ˈmɒnɪtə] vt. 监测，监控
predictable [prɪˈdɪktəbəl] adj. 可预料的，意料之中的
irritation [ˌɪrɪˈteɪʃən] n. 易怒，烦躁，恼怒
gene [dʒiːn] n. 基因
inflammation [ˌɪnfləˈmeɪʃən] n. 炎症，发炎
immune system [ɪˈmjuːn] 免疫系统
diabetes [ˌdaɪəˈbiːtiːz] n. 糖尿病
perpetuate [pəˈpetʃueɪt] vt. 使持续，使永久化，传播（不好的事物）
sweet spot 最佳点，最佳状态，理想状态

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