早睡早起能预防抑郁症哦！

There are a fair few benefits of waking up early. Morning people often say they get to experience the best part of the day, and they can get exercise and other chores out of the way before night owls have even surfaced.

早睡早起具有诸多益处。早起鸟常说，早晨是一天中最惬意的时间段。在夜猫子睁眼前，他们已经做完家务、完成晨练了。

There is increasing evidence that suggests morning larks could be healthier overall, too. According to a new study, published in the Journal of Psychiatric Research, women in particular who wake up earlier could be less likely to develop depression.Researchers from the University of Colorado, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard, and the University of Vienna wanted to see if a woman's chronotype — whether they were an "early bird" or "night owl" — had any impact on their risk of depression.

越来越多证据显示，早起鸟整体而言更健康。最近，科罗拉多大学、麻省理工学院、哈佛大学、维也纳大学的研究人员联合探究睡眠类型(早起鸟或夜猫子)对女性抑郁症风险的影响。他们发现，早起的女性更不容易患抑郁症。

They used data from a large study that assessed the health of more than 32,000 female nurses in the US, with an average age of 55, for nearly three decades. In 2009 they were asked to define whether they were a morning or evening person, then they followed up after four years to see how many of them developed depression.

他们分析了一项大型追踪研究的数据——该研究在长达近三十年的时间里，追踪调查3.2万名美国女护士的健康状况，她们的平均年龄为55岁。2009年，他们要求研究对象自行判断属于早起鸟还是夜猫子。四年后，研究人员追踪探究她们的抑郁症状况。

During that time there were 2,581 new cases of depression, and those who were definite morning types were somewhere between 12 and 27% less likely to develop depression compared to the "intermediate types," who were neither early birds or night owls. There wasn't a clear pattern for the evening people.

此期间新增2,581例抑郁症。相较于中间类型(既非早起鸟、也非夜猫子)，早起鸟患抑郁症的概率下降12-27%;夜猫子没有表现出明显模式。

The results show that someone's chronotype — or body clock — could be a factor in developing depression, but the risk is small. The study was based on a very specific group of people, who are in a highly emotionally and energetically demanding job, and so there is no certainty that the risk of depression is influenced by their sleeping habits. The results are not necessarily applicable to other women of the same age, or men, or children, either.

研究结果表明，睡眠类型(生物钟)可能是抑郁症的一个影响因素，但影响程度不大。此外，该研究仅探究一个特定群体——护士。护士工作耗心耗神，因此我们无法判断是睡眠习惯还是其它因素影响了抑郁症发病率。研究结果未必适用于男性、儿童或其他同龄女性。

While the study had its limitations, it does raise some interesting points of discussion. For example, recent research found that disrupting our body clock can increase our risk of mood disorders like depression. Nurses work long hours, and often they work night shifts. It's not the best job for a regular sleep schedule, so if you know your internal rhythm doesn't adapt easily, that may have a psychological impact.

不过，尽管研究存在局限性，但它引发了一些有趣的讨论点。举例而言，近期研究发现，扰乱生物钟会增加情绪障碍(如抑郁症)的风险。护士工作时间长，而且常常需要值夜班，因此无法拥有规律的睡眠模式，这容易扰乱昼夜节律、影响心理健康。

Also, the lead author of the new research Céline Vetter told The Independent that how much light you are exposed to can influence your chronotype, which in turn can increase the risk of depression. The study didn't look into the impact of light exposure, but it could be an area of further investigation, particularly as nurses may not see daylight as much as people in some other jobs.

另外，主要作者Céline Vetter猜测，光照程度可能会影响生物钟，进而影响抑郁症的患病风险。要知道，护士工作相对比较“不见天日”。接下来，研究人员可以深入探究此因素。

Research has consistently found that a regular sleep pattern is key regardless of chronotype. Too much sleep and too little sleep are both likely to be bad for your health, and the best way to ensure you're getting the right amount is to stick to a schedule. That means that even if you have a late night, you should try and get up at the same time every day to avoid something called "social jetlag."

不断有研究发现，无论生物钟类型如何，规律的睡眠模式都很重要。睡眠过多和过少都不利于身心健康。确保适量睡眠的最佳方式就是按时睡觉、按时起床。也就是说，即便偶尔熬夜，第二天也应该在常规时间起床，以避免“社会时差”。

In April, another study appeared to show that night owls had a small increased risk of dying than morning types. But the researchers concluded that this wasn't due to late nights — rather it was probably because of the risk factors associated with staying up later, such as eating less healthily, taking more risks, and the impact of socially-imposed timetables, such as starting work early when their body clock is in tune with a different rhythm.

一项发表于今年四月的研究发现，夜猫子的死亡风险略高于早起鸟。但研究人员认为，这并非由晚睡造成，而更有可能是由其它相关因素引起，如饮食不健康、更常冒险、社会强加的日程影响(例：早起鸟和夜猫子的昼夜节律不同，但都需要早起工作)。

While the answer isn't as simple as early birds being healthier than night owls, as there are too many variables to come to a solid conclusion, what is clear is when it comes to how important sleep is for avoiding diseases like cancer, diabetes, and Alzheimer's. The prevailing advice remains unchanged — make sure you get enough of it.

在比较早起鸟和夜猫子的健康状况时，我们需要考虑诸多因素，因此难以简单地下判断。但不管怎样，睡眠充足对保持健康、避免患病(如癌症、糖尿病、阿兹海默症等)很重要。