《英语流行话题阅读:语境识词3500》Unit82:怎样应对失眠?

　　Unit 82
Get Some Sleep?
It's 2 a.m., and you've counted enough sheep to fill a paddock, but you still can't get the shut-eye you need. Do you 1) start counting goats; 2) get out of bed and read; or 3) take a sleeping pill? If you picked reading, your restless nights may soon be over. According to a report in a recent journal of the American Medical Association, adopting a few basic habits -- like limiting the amount of time you spend in bed -- works better than pills goats in controlling chronic¹ insomnia².
Almost everyone experiences a sleepless³ night or two at some point in their lives. The subjects in a study -- all of whom were over age 55 -- had been fluffing up their pillows in vain for 15 to 20 years. Most of them had no trouble falling asleep.  The hard part was staying asleep through the night.
After excluding patients whose insomnia may have resulted from some other conditions, such as depression, researchers divided the remaining 78 subjects into four groups. One group took sleeping pills. The second group underwent cognitive-behavior therapy designed, among other things, to promote better sleep habits.
Not surprisingly, the sleeping pills helped test subjects sleep longer right away. But the results were not really different, at least in the short term, from those provided by behavior therapy and the combined treatment. And when the researchers contacted their subjects two years later, only the behavior therapy group has maintained its initial recovery. As soon as participants stopped taking sleeping pills, the sleepless nights returned.
How can you improve your chances of getting a good night's sleep? here are some tips: If you don't fall asleep within 20 minutes, get up and read quietly in another room so that your brain associates your bed with sleep, not anxiety. Meanwhile, work with your body instead of against it. Don't nap after 3 p.m. Cut back on caffeine, especially in the afternoon or evening. Don't drink alcohol at night; it may allow you to fall asleep more easily but you're likely to suffer a rebound⁴ effect in a few hours. Getting up at the same time every morning is also important, because that makes it easier to synchronize⁵ your body's biological clock. Whatever you do, don't panic if you become sleepless once again. Most folks find they can't break the cycle of insomnia overnight.

1 chronic   

adj.(疾病)长期未愈的，慢性的；极坏的

参考例句：

• Famine differs from chronic malnutrition.饥荒不同于慢性营养不良。
• Chronic poisoning may lead to death from inanition.慢性中毒也可能由虚弱导致死亡。

2 insomnia   

n.失眠，失眠症

参考例句：

• Worries and tenseness can lead to insomnia.忧虑和紧张会导致失眠。
• He is suffering from insomnia.他患失眠症。

3 sleepless   

adj.不睡眠的，睡不著的，不休息的

参考例句：

• The situation gave her many sleepless nights.这种情况害她一连好多天睡不好觉。
• One evening I heard a tale that rendered me sleepless for nights.一天晚上，我听说了一个传闻，把我搞得一连几夜都不能入睡。

4 rebound   

v.弹回；n.弹回，跳回

参考例句：

• The vibrations accompanying the rebound are the earth quake.伴随这种回弹的振动就是地震。
• Our evil example will rebound upon ourselves.我们的坏榜样会回到我们自己头上的。

5 synchronize   

v.使同步 [=synchronise]

参考例句：

• The sound on a film must synchronize with the action. 影片中的声音必须与动作配合一致。
• You must synchronize your Inbox before selecting additional folders. 在选择其他文件夹前，您必须同步您的收件箱。