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Are we designed to nap during the day?
我们生来就是想要午睡的吗？
Most people aim to get their recommended seven to nine hours of sleep in one long stretch at night.
大多数人立志于在一个漫长的夜晚达到推荐的七到九个小时的睡眠时间。
And the technical term for this is "monophasic sleep."
专业术语将它称为“单相睡眠”。
In other words, a single bout of sleep at night.
换句话说， 就是只有晚上的一次睡眠。
However, we may not have been programmed to sleep in this way.
然而，我们可能并不是生来就以这种方式睡觉的。
Now I'm sure you've had that experience of a drop in your alertness in the afternoon, where you start to feel a little sleepy.
你肯定有这样的经历，下午的时候，你的警觉性会下降，这时你开始感到有点困。
And you can also see it in other people as well, as their heads begin sort of bobbing up and down during afternoon meetings.
在他人身上你也能看到这一点，在午后会议中，他们的头开始上下摆动。
Now you may think this afternoon drop in your alertness is because of a big lunch, but in actual fact, it seems to be hardwired.
现在你可能觉得下午的警觉性降低是由于中午吃得太多，但事实上，这似乎是与生俱来的。
Because if I place electrodes on your head, there is a reliable, preprogrammed drop in your brain's alertness during the afternoon.
因为如果我把电极放在你头上，那有一个可靠的、 预先设定好的警惕性下降发生在每日午后。
And it happens to most of us somewhere between the one to four pm mark.
我们大多数人的大脑都会在下午1到4点感觉困顿。
What this suggests is that we may have been designed to sleep in a biphasic pattern, meaning one longer bout of sleep at night and then a short afternoon nap during the day, very much like the siesta cultures around the world.
这表明我们生来就被设定出了两个睡眠模式，也就是说晚上的睡眠时间要长一些，然后在白天小睡一会儿，就像世界各地的午睡文化一样。
But is napping always a good thing?
但午睡总是一件好事吗?
Well, not necessarily.
好吧，不一定。
Although we and other scientists have discovered that naps can have benefits for both the brain and for the body, naps can be a double-edged sword.
即便我们和其他科学家们发现了午睡对大脑和身体的好处，但午睡也是一把双刃剑。
Long naps in the afternoon or in the early evening can just take the edge off your sleepiness.
下午或傍晚的早些时候睡一会儿，能减少你的困倦。
It's a little bit like snacking before your main meal.
就像是晚饭前吃零食一样。
So if you are struggling with sleep at night, the best advice is not to nap during the day.
所以如果你晚上入睡困难，建议就是不要在白天午睡。
Instead, build up all of that healthy sleepiness so that you give yourself the best chance of falling asleep easily and then staying asleep soundly across the night.
而是要积攒所有正常的困意，这样你就有最好的机会轻易入睡，然后整晚都睡得很香。
But if you're not struggling with sleep and you can nap regularly during the day, the naps of around 20 minutes taken early in the day can be just fine.
但如果你没有失眠情况的话，有规律的小睡是可取的，每天在早些时候小睡 20 分钟左右就刚刚好。
