Alcohol ’disrupts sleep cycles’ 酒精「打亂睡眠週期」

A tipple before bedtime may get you off to sleep faster but it can disrupt your night’s slumber.

睡前喝杯酒，或許能使你快點入睡，但它也可能打亂你夜晚的睡眠。

The London Sleep Centre team says studies show alcohol upsets our normal sleep cycles.

倫敦睡眠研究中心的團隊說，研究顯示，酒精破壞我們的正常睡眠週期。

While it cuts the time it takes to first nod off and sends us into a deep sleep, it also robs us of one of our most satisfying types of sleep, where dreams occur.

儘管酒精會縮短產生睡意所需時間，讓我們熟睡，但它也會使我們失去最令人滿足的睡眠形式，也就是夢境發生的那個階段。

Many advocate a nightcap, but Dr Irshaad Ebrahim and his team advise against it. Used too often, it can cause insomnia.

許多人提倡睡前喝一杯酒，但是伊爾夏德．易卜拉辛博士和他的研究團隊建議不要這麼做。若太常借助酒精，有可能造成失眠症。

Dr Ebrahim, medical director at the London Sleep Centre and co-author of the latest review, said： "One or two glasses might be nice in the short term, but if you continue to use a tipple before bedtime it can cause significant problems."

倫敦睡眠研究中心醫學部門主任以及這份最新評估研究共同作者易卜拉辛博士說，「睡前喝一、兩杯酒或許在短期內是好的，但是如果繼續下去，它就可能造成顯著的問題。」

"If you do have a drink, it’s best to leave an hour and a half to two hours before going to bed so the alcohol is already wearing off."

「如果你真的要喝，最好是睡前一個半到兩個小時喝，這樣上床睡覺時酒精已經慢慢消退。」

新聞辭典：

tipple：動詞，經常性喝酒，酗酒；名詞，烈酒。例句：We like to have a tipple or two on weekends.（我們喜歡在週末喝一、兩杯酒。）

slumber：動詞或名詞，睡眠。例句：Don’t slumber away your life.（不要虛度你的人生）

wear off：動詞片語，磨損，漸漸減少。例句：The narcotic should relieve your pain for several hours before it wears off.（麻藥藥效消退之前，應該可以舒緩你的疼痛數小時。）