不少人会通过午睡来为自己提神或提高注意力。但如果睡得太久或者太晚的话，小睡反而会让人感到更加昏昏沉沉，甚至影响在夜间的正常睡眠。对小睡的依赖还可能代表我们的身体有其它的睡眠或健康问题。本文浅谈小睡对我们身体健康的影响。

词汇：sleep 睡眠

1 Surely, they're called power naps for a reason? Aren't naps the key to feeling alert, improving your memory and just generally having a great life? Well, they can be, but things aren't quite that simple.

2 It is true that a short nap can help people be more alert, improve their memory and concentration, and reduce risks around tasks with heavy machinery. Our circadian rhythms are responsible for the notorious lull that many of us feel in the early afternoon. This is the best time for a nap. Some companies have installed sleep pods for their employees, hoping to benefit from increased productivity and cognitive performance. But it is also true that naps can cause problems.

3 Let's start by thinking about the length. A true power nap should be less than half an hour. Any longer, and it becomes hard to rouse yourself from. Any benefits in terms of alertness are likely to disappear with the grogginess that results from a longer period of slumber.

4 This isn't the only issue. Naps have been linked to conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure and cardiac problems. However, it's not clear whether these are direct results, or stem from the impact of napping on our sleep habits. If you take a nap after about two or three in the afternoon, it's likely to have a negative effect on your ability to get to sleep at night. Breaking your sleep cycle can lead to bad sleeping habits, which themselves become ingrained.

5 Of course, in the same way that naps can lead to bad sleep, it's also true that bad sleep can lead to wanting to take more naps. So, if you find yourself frequently needing to sleep during the day, experts suggest that you consider why that's the case. Are there any potential health issues that could be causing insomnia? Or are work pressures stopping you from getting enough sleep?

测验与练习

一、将标题和段落配对。

Paragraph 1 ________
Paragraph 2 ________
Paragraph 3 ________
Paragraph 4 ________
Paragraph 5 ________

a. Disrupting our nights
b. Why we are sleeping less
c. Are naps as good as we thought?
d. Hard to recover from
e. Find the cause
f. Benefits of a power nap

二、根据文章内容选出正确的选项。

1. Naps can make you work better.
a. True
b. False
c. Not given

2. Look at paragraph 3. What does 'it' refer to in the following sentence? Any longer, and it becomes hard to rouse yourself from.
a. an hour
b. the length
c. a nap

3. Naps have been proven to directly cause diabetes.
a. True
b. False
c. Not given

4. What can make it harder to sleep at night?
a. high blood pressure
b. a five o'clock nap
c. a sleep pod

5. Napping can be a sign of underlying issues.
a. True
b. False
c. Not given

三、用下列单词完成对本文的总结。

The effect of our 1) _______ causes us to feel a 2) _______ in the early afternoon. A short nap can help us feel more 3) _______. However, sleeping for too long can make us difficult to 4) _______ and lead to 5) _______ and other problems.

stem from
lull
grogginess
alert
circadian rhythms
productivity
rouse

（答案见词汇表后）

词汇表

power nap “能量盹”，白天时间的短暂小睡
alert 清醒，警觉
circadian rhythm 体内生物钟
lull 昏昏欲睡的感觉
sleep pod 睡眠舱
productivity 生产力，工作效率
cognitive performance 认知表现
rouse 唤醒，使…醒来
grogginess 昏昏沉沉的感觉
slumber 沉睡，睡眠
cardiac 心脏的
stem from 源自，由…引起
sleep habit 睡眠习惯
sleep cycle 睡眠周期
ingrained 已成习惯的
insomnia 失眠

答案

一、将标题和段落配对。

Paragraph 1 c) Are naps as good as we thought?
Paragraph 2 f) Benefits of a power nap
Paragraph 3 d) Hard to recover from
Paragraph 4 a) Disrupting our nights
Paragraph 5 e) Find the cause

二、根据文章内容选出正确的选项。

1. a. True. It is true that a short nap can help people be more alert, improve their memory and concentration, and reduce risks around tasks with heavy machinery.

2. c. a nap. The pronoun 'it' refers to 'nap' in this sentence: 'A true power nap should be less than half an hour'.

3. b. False. However, it's not clear whether these are direct results, or stem from the impact of napping on our sleep habits.

4. b. A five o'clock nap. If you take a nap after two or three in the afternoon, it is likely to have an impact in your ability to get to sleep at night.

5. a. True. So, if you find yourself frequently needing to sleep during the day, experts suggest that you consider why that's the case. Are there any potential health issues that could be causing insomnia? Are work pressures, or working hours stopping you from getting enough sleep?

三、用下列单词完成对本文的总结。

The effect of our circadian rhythms causes us to feel a lull in the early afternoon. A short nap can help us feel more alert. However, sleeping for too long can make us difficult to rouse and lead to grogginess and other problems.