美国民众与你一样，对睡眠知识知之甚少

Nearly a quarter of Americans incorrectly think they can train their body to function on less sleep than needed, according to new research.

最新研究显示，近四分之一的美国人错误地认为，他们可以在睡眠不足的情况下训练身体机能。

Other sleeping myths Americans believe include: the older you get, the less sleep you need (29 percent) and the brain is inactive during sleep (21 percent).

美国人相信的其他睡眠神话还包括：年龄越大，你需要的睡眠越少(29%)，大脑在睡眠中处于不活动状态(21%)。

Even more shocking is the 20 percent who believed the myth that you swallow eight spiders per year while you sleep.

更令人震惊的是，有20%的人认为，在睡觉时每年吞下8只蜘蛛。

Conducted by OnePoll on behalf of Mattress Advisor, the survey tested the knowledge of 2,000 Americans to see just how much they know about the science of sleep and whether certain myths hold truth.

该调查由OnePoll公司代表床垫顾问公司开展，共对2000名美国人的睡眠知识进行了测试，以了解他们对睡眠科学的了解程度，以及某些传言是否属实。

Despite the fact that 70 percent said they were knowledgeable about the science of slumber, respondents did believe some potentially harmful statements regarding sleep.

尽管有70%的人说他们对睡眠的科学很了解，但受访者确实相信一些关于睡眠的潜在的有害说法。

Thirty-two percent of respondents believe in the benefits of a nightcap, in spite of the potential dangers of drinking alcohol and sleeping.

32%的受访者相信睡前小酌的好处，尽管喝酒和睡觉之间有潜在的危险。

A further three in 10 also believe that watching television or spending time on a smartphone or tablet will help you fall asleep. In actuality, the blue light emitted from screens affect the brain’s ability to produce melatonin, which tells the body when it’s time to sleep.

另有三分之一的人认为，看电视、玩智能手机或平板电脑有助于睡眠。事实上，屏幕发出的蓝光会影响大脑产生褪黑激素的能力，褪黑激素会告诉身体什么时候睡觉。

Nearly 40 percent of respondents did correctly say it’s true that having sex before sleeping helps you sleep.

近40%的受访者正确地认为睡前做爱有助于睡眠。

Respondents were also asked to properly identify certain sleep terms — and over half of respondents either did not know or chose an incorrect definition when asked to define circadian rhythm.

受访者还被要求正确识别某些睡眠术语——当被要求定义昼夜节律时，超过一半的受访者要么不知道，要么选择了错误的定义。

Rather than correctly defining this as the body’s natural clock that regulates when to sleep and wake, 15 percent actually believed circadian rhythm was the proper term for the body’s blood flow.

15%的人认为昼夜节律是人体血液流动的恰当术语，而不是正确地将其定义为调节何时睡觉和何时醒来的人体自然时钟。

Furthermore, only about 30 percent of respondents correctly identified REM sleep and sleep-wake homeostasis — the last stage in a full sleep cycle and the body’s way of keeping track of the need for sleep, respectively.

此外，只有大约30%的受访者分别正确地识别了快速眼动睡眠和睡眠-觉醒自我平衡——一个完整睡眠周期的最后阶段和身体跟踪睡眠需求的方式。

“As with anything related to your personal health, knowledge is power,” said Woolley.

伍利说：“和任何与你个人健康有关的事情一样，知识就是力量。”