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Napping for success 小睡片刻为成功之母

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Is napping the answer to better performance?  想让表现更好，打个盹就是标准答案

Napping isn’t just for your grandpa anymore. In fact, folks at fancy spas like to nap too. Sleep-deprived Americans are increasingly turning to the power nap and afternoon siesta to restore alertness and enhance performance, studies show. And some spa patrons are shelling out big bucks just to snooze.

打盹不再只适合老祖父了，因为事实上，就连光顾高档水疗中心的客人也喜欢打个盹喔！研究显示，睡眠不足的美国人愈来愈时兴让人恢复活力的小睡或午睡，不但能恢复灵敏度，还能提高表现。有些水疗中心的熟客为了打个盹儿，还得掏出大把钞票喔。

The Kohler Waters Spa in Illinois offers a 60-minute massage with a 15-minute restorative nap service for $150. Meanwhile, Yelo, a New York City spa, has air-conditioned sleep chambers.

伊利诺伊州「科勒水疗中心」推出一小时按摩搭配十五分钟恢后元气的小睡，整套疗程收费一百五十美元。此外，纽约市的「耶洛」芳疗中心还设置了空调卧房呢。

“We are seeing so many of our guests coming in that are having trouble sleeping at night,” said Jean Kolb, Kohler’s wellness business director. “This is a way for us to really extend an opportunity for them to have total relaxation.”

「我们发现，有好多上门的客人晚上都睡不好。」「科勒」养生业务主任珍．科柏表示，「这个方式让我们能真正提供客人一个全然放松的机会。」

Researchers say dozing can relax, rejuvenate and improve health. A study released last year by Harvard University and the University of Athens Medical School found midday napping at least three times per week for at least 30 minutes reduced heart disease deaths by about one-third.

研究人员表示，打盹可以让人放松、恢复青春活力，又能改善健康。「哈佛大学」和「雅典大学医学院」去年连手发布的研究结果显示，每周至少三次在中午小睡至少半小时，就能降低心脏疾病死亡率约三分之一。

Napping also takes the edge off sleepiness by adding to cumulative sleep time, said Gregory Belenky, a sleep researcher at Washington State University. “You can split your sleep up and still have the same aggregate effect,” Belenky said. “Nap early, nap often.”

此外，据「华盛顿州立大学」睡眠研究员葛哥利．贝兰基指出，小睡片刻也能使人累积的总睡眠时间增加，因而减少困意连连的不适（译注：take the edge off指降低某事的负面影响或不适感受）。「你可以把睡眠拆开成好几段，却还是能享有合计的效益，」贝兰基说，「可以趁早小睡片刻，次数也多一点。」

Bedtime bliss or blunder?  对晚上就寝而言，小睡究竟是好是坏？

Lisa Shives disagrees. Typically, people who nap often have a sleeping problem or a medical condition, she said. One drawback to napping is sleep inertia – the feeling of disorientation when awaking from a deep slumber.

莉莎．夏福斯却持反对意见。她指出，常常小睡的人会发生的典型问题就是，他们往往会有睡眠障碍或健康上的问题──也就是从沈睡中醒来后，会有脑子一片混乱、迷失方向感的感觉。

“If you try to take a nap and it’s too long, you wake up super groggy,” said Shives, a spokeswoman for the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. “That is not a good thing for anyone who needs to work immediately. They really haven’t made themselves feel better.”

「如果你原本只想小睡片刻，结果却睡得太久，导致醒来后发觉自己变得睡眼惺忪，极度头昏眼花，」「美国睡眠医学会」发言人夏福斯指出，「对所有醒来后必须立即工作的人来说，打盹并不是件好事，因为小睡并不会让他们感觉更棒。」

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fancy [ˋfænsɪ] adj.  (过于)奢华的，豪华的，昂贵的

turn to 向...寻求帮助(或指教等); 转向 direct one's interest or attention towards; go into

siesta [sɪˋɛstə] n.【西】（西班牙、意大利等地的）午睡 a rest or sleep taken after lunch, especially in hot climates

alertness [əˋlɝtnɪs] n. 灵活，敏捷

shell out 付款; 大笔支付 to hand over; pay; to pay or give money for something, usually unwillingly

snooze [snuz] n. 打盹；（白天）小睡

wellness [ˋwɛlnɪs] n.【美】健康 a healthcare approach that stresses preventing illness and prolonging life, rather than emphasizing treating disease

doze [doz] v. 打瞌睡，打盹；半睡

midday [ˋmɪd͵de] n. & adj. 正午(的)；中午(的)；日中(的)

take the edge off 减少(或减轻、软化)某物 to decrease the effect of something; to make something less blunt, critical, etc

sleepiness [ˋslipɪnɪs] n. 睡意，瞌睡

split something up 分开 to divide things up

bliss [blɪs] n. 天赐之福，福气

blunder [ˋblʌndɚ] n.（因无知、粗心等造成）的错误; 大错，失策

sleep inertia 睡后迟钝

inertia [ɪnˋɝʃə] n. 迟钝；懒惰

slumber [ˋslʌmbɚ] n.【书】睡眠；微睡

groggy [ˋgrɑgɪ] adj. 眩晕无力的; 昏昏沉沉的

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Napping in the workplace  在职场小睡

But if you’re a napper, rest assured: You’re in good company. Fifty-four percent of the 1,000 Americans polled in a 2007 survey by the National Sleep Foundation said they took at least one nap during the prior month. The respondents on average took 3.5 naps during the month, with an average naptime of about an hour.

不过，如果你是小睡族一员，那么大可放心去做：因为你有很多同好。美国「国家睡眠基金会」在二００七年针对一千名美国人进行调查的结果显示，有百分之五十四的受访者表示，他们前一个月至少都有一次小睡的经验。所有受访者前一个月平均小睡次数是三点五次，平均小睡时间则是一小时左右。

People are even dozing at work. One in 10 respondents to the National Sleep Foundation survey said they have napped at work. About one-third said their employer allows them to nap during breaks, while 16 percent of respondents said their employer provides a place for employees to nap.

大家甚至也会在办公室小睡片刻。「国家睡眠基金会」所做的调查中，每十位受访者中就有一位表示，曾在办公室小睡。有三分之一左右的受访者表示，雇主允许他们在休息时间打盹，而有百分之十六的受访者表示，雇主会提供场所让员工小睡一觉。

Employees of PerkSpot, an Illinois company, have the opportunity to catch up on their ZZZs on the office futon. A few of the firm’s employees take a nap there each week, founder Chris Hill said.

伊利诺伊州「珀克斯波特公司」的员工可以在办公室的折迭垫（译注：原为日文的「布团」，亦即「被子；被褥」之意，往往可折迭，如今日式折迭椅乃至折迭沙发床也可用此字表示）上补眠。据该公司创办人克里斯．希尔表示，有几位员工每周都会利用折迭垫来小睡片刻。

The luxury of sleep  奢华地进入梦乡

Still, other napsters prefer a fancier snooze. The Kohler spa has performed more than 50 customer massages with restorative naps. After their 60-minute massage, spa patrons stay on the massage table, and the massage therapist covers their eyes with a warm aromatherapy towel. Patrons are awakened 15 minutes later to the sound of a tuning fork and bowl.

然而，其他小睡一族（译注：napster为自创字，指喜欢小睡的人）却偏好用更花俏的方式打盹。「科勒」水疗中心推出五十多种按摩搭配恢复元气小睡的套装疗程。该中心的熟客在体验了六十分钟的按摩后，会继续待在按摩台上，然后按摩师会用温暖的芳疗毛巾覆盖他们的眼部。十五分钟之后，他们就会被音叉和磬的响声唤醒。

In New York City, the Yelo spa charges $15 for a 20-minute nap in a private space with a reclining chair, cashmere blankets and purified air. Customers choose the color and intensity of the light in the cabin and their hibernation sounds.

在纽约市「耶洛」芳疗中心，想在弥漫着净化空气的私人包厢里，盖着开士米羊毛毯在躺椅上小睡二十分钟，要价十五美元。顾客可以选择包厢的颜色和灯光强度，以及他们沈睡时室内播放的声响。

However, not everyone is a fan of naps. Ryan Wyse said he wouldn’t pay for a nap or take a quicksnooze for free. Wyse said he dislikes naps because they make him feel groggy – and his former roommate napped all the time. “It drove me crazy,” said Wyse, 31. “He was snoring on the couch. I’m like, ‘Go do something.’”

不过，也不是所有人都热衷小睡片刻。莱恩．韦斯就表示，他既不会花钱去让自己小睡，也不会去打个免费的盹儿。韦斯表示，他不喜欢小睡，因为这样只会让他醒来后感觉头昏眼花──而且他之前的室友几乎无时无刻都在打盹，「简直让我快发疯了，」三十一岁的韦斯表示，「他还在沙发上打鼾呢，我只觉得：「『赶快起来去做点正事吧！』」

−by Tracy Swartz

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napper [ˋnæpɚ] n. 爱睡午觉的人

assure [əˋʃʊr] v. 使确信，使放心

poll [pol] v. 对……进行民意测验

catch up on something 用额外时间做某事(以弥补所耽误的时间) to do whatever you have not had time to do

futon [fuˋtɑn] n. 蒲团，日式床垫 a mattress that is used on the floor or on a wooden frame that can often be folded to make a rest

perform [pɚˋfɔrm] v. 提供 present

aromatherapy [͵ærəməˋθɛrəpɪ] n. 芳香疗法（用天然物质萃取出的油脂、香料等治疗皮肤病的方法）the treatment of anxiety or minor medical conditions by rubbing pleasant-smelling natural oils into the skin or breathing in their smell

tuning fork 音叉 a metal object in the form of a small bar which is divided into two for about half of its length, and which, when hit gently against a round open container, produces a particular musical sound

reclining [rɪˈklaɪnɪŋ] adj.  (able to tilt) 可后仰的

snore [snor] v. 打鼾

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Vocabulary Focus

patron [ˋpetrən] n. 主顾（尤指老顾客）a customer who uses a particular shop, restaurant or hotel, especially regularly

restorative [rɪˋstorətɪv] adj. 恢复健康的; 促进康复的 making you feel better or more energetic if you are feeling tired or ill

rejuvenate [rɪˋdʒuvənet] v. 变年轻；恢复精神 to make someone look or feel young and energetic again

aggregate [ˋægrɪ͵get] adj. 总计的；合计的 amounting to the total

disorientation [dɪsˋɔrɪɛnteʃən] n. 方向知觉的丧失, 迷惑 mental confusion about where you are and how to proceed

respondent [rɪˋspɑndənt] n. 应答者 a person who answers a request for information

hibernation [͵haɪbɚˋneʃən] n. 休眠; 冬眠 an inactive or resting state

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