美国国家公共电台 NPR--Tips and tricks for how to become an early riser

Tips and tricks for how to become an early riser

Transcript¹

A MARTINEZ, HOST:

Many of us are headed back to the office, which means we'll need to wake up earlier to get there on time. Sleep doctors tell us some of our natural wake-up preferences are hardwired into us, but there are ways to make waking up early more tolerable. With an encore from NPR's Life Kit², Alaska Public Media's morning news host Kavitha George spoke³ to experts to get some tips for aspiring⁴ early risers.

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KAVITHA GEORGE: There are a lot of reasons why all of us have to get up early. Maybe it's for work, maybe to get your kids ready for school or take care of a family member. But if you're not naturally a morning person, how much room do you have to change your wake-up schedule?

KATIE SHARKEY: I think that we have a fair amount of wiggle room, and it's - but it's behavioral.

GEORGE: Dr. Katie Sharkey is an associate professor of medicine and psychiatry⁶ and human behavior at the Brown University Alpert Medical School. And here's our first takeaway. Your biological clock is baked in to an extent, but certain habits can help make waking up earlier less of a chore. Sharkey says the most potent⁷ way to get your body feeling awake earlier is to expose yourself to light.

SHARKEY: Trying to make sure that there's some bright light exposure, either from outdoor light or from a light box - if that's not available, telling your brain, yes, it's really daytime.

GEORGE: Exercise or just getting your body moving in the morning is another way to tell your body clock it's time to be awake. And lastly, Sharkey says, it's really important to keep a relatively⁸ consistent schedule with your sleep times. That means if you're waking up early for work during the week, try to wake up at most a couple hours later on the weekends.

SHARKEY: You just don't want to have the shift that you're making between days off and days on so wide that it's basically like you're flying over six time zones every weekend because we know that that's probably not good for the body clock.

GEORGE: The next takeaway - naps and melatonin supplements can be useful to help game your internal clock to make waking up less of a chore, but be cautious with how you use them. Naps are a great way to squeeze in some extra shuteye, but try to keep them under an hour.

AFIFA SHAMIM-UZZAMAN: What you've got to be careful of with napping is if we nap too late, too close to bedtime, then it'll make it hard for us to go to sleep.

GEORGE: Dr. Afifa Shamim-Uzzaman is an associate professor at the University of Michigan and the director of the Ann Arbor⁹ VA Sleep Disorders¹⁰ Center. She also says melatonin in small doses can help make it easier to fall asleep early so you're well-rested for an early wake-up call.

SHAMIM-UZZAMAN: Usually, we produce melatonin naturally when it gets dark, but then also it starts to, you know, increase to the levels we want it to before sleep, about two to three hours before we actually fall asleep. So, you know, you want to take the melatonin two to three hours before the desired bedtime.

GEORGE: Finally, remember that training yourself to wake up early is a process. And that's our last takeaway. Be patient with yourself. Some mornings might be rough at the outset, but Sharkey says if you're doing a decent job keeping your habits in check most of the time, you'll be able to handle an occasional bad night of sleep here and there.

SHARKEY: It would be a terrible system if, like, every night had to be perfect for us to function - right? - 'cause every night isn't perfect to function, and we still function. So it's unrealistic for us to think that our sleep has to be perfect for it to be optimal¹¹.

GEORGE: A couple more pro⁵ tips - create an incentive¹² to get out of bed in the morning. Maybe that's a mindfulness exercise to remind yourself who or what you're waking up early for. Think about waking up early like a skill you're practicing, and start incrementally¹³. Try to go to bed 20 minutes earlier tonight or hold off from hitting snooze tomorrow morning. You'll get the hang of it soon enough.

For NPR News, I'm Kavitha George.

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1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 kit   

n.用具包，成套工具；随身携带物

参考例句：

• The kit consisted of about twenty cosmetic items.整套工具包括大约20种化妆用品。
• The captain wants to inspect your kit.船长想检查你的行装。

3 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

4 aspiring   

adj.有志气的；有抱负的；高耸的v.渴望；追求

参考例句：

• Aspiring musicians need hours of practice every day. 想当音乐家就要每天练许多小时。
• He came from an aspiring working-class background. 他出身于有抱负的工人阶级家庭。 来自辞典例句

5 pro   

n.赞成，赞成的意见，赞成者

参考例句：

• The two debating teams argued the question pro and con.辩论的两组从赞成与反对两方面辩这一问题。
• Are you pro or con nuclear disarmament?你是赞成还是反对核裁军？

6 psychiatry   

n.精神病学，精神病疗法

参考例句：

• The study appeared in the Amercian science Journal of Psychiatry.这个研究发表在美国精神病学的杂志上。
• A physician is someone who specializes in psychiatry.精神病专家是专门从事精神病治疗的人。

7 potent   

adj.强有力的，有权势的；有效力的

参考例句：

• The medicine had a potent effect on your disease.这药物对你的病疗效很大。
• We must account of his potent influence.我们必须考虑他的强有力的影响。

8 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

9 arbor   

n.凉亭；树木

参考例句：

• They sat in the arbor and chatted over tea.他们坐在凉亭里，边喝茶边聊天。
• You may have heard of Arbor Day at school.你可能在学校里听过植树节。

10 disorders   

n.混乱( disorder的名词复数 )；凌乱；骚乱；（身心、机能）失调

参考例句：

• Reports of anorexia and other eating disorders are on the increase. 据报告，厌食症和其他饮食方面的功能紊乱发生率正在不断增长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The announcement led to violent civil disorders. 这项宣布引起剧烈的骚乱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 optimal   

adj.最适宜的；最理想的；最令人满意的

参考例句：

• What is the optimal mix of private and public property rights in natural resources?私人和国家的自然资源产权的最适宜的组合是什么？
• Optimal path planning is a key link for the sailing contest.帆船最优行驶路径规划是帆船比赛取胜的关键环节。

12 incentive   

n.刺激；动力；鼓励；诱因；动机

参考例句：

• Money is still a major incentive in most occupations.在许多职业中，钱仍是主要的鼓励因素。
• He hasn't much incentive to work hard.他没有努力工作的动机。

13 incrementally   

adv.逐渐地

参考例句：

• Incrementally update the shared dimensions used in this cube. 增量更新此多维数据集中使用的共享维度。 来自互联网
• Grand goals are inspiring, but be sure to approach them incrementally. 辉煌的目标令人鼓舞，但一定要逐步实现。 来自互联网