【英语生活】睡眠不足 孩子变古怪

A lack of sleep can easily make a child cranky, irritable or unfocused. But can it make your elementary-school child more likely to be depressed or even delinquent?

In the latest in a series of expert warnings about the high cost of sleep deprivation, a new study of 140 elementary-school students suggests that it can. Among these third- through fifth-graders, poor sleep was linked with more aggression and delinquency, as well as a higher incidence of depression, anxiety and low self-esteem. The study appears in the latest issue of the journal Child Development.

All the kids in the study tended to have more emotional and behavior problems when their sleep was impaired. But the effect was largest among children under stress, such as those from poor families. In contrast, when the kids in poverty got enough sleep, their behavior tended to fall near a normal range, according to the study, led by Mona El-Sheikh of Auburn University. Sleep problems were defined in the study as short sleep times, restlessness, frequent awakenings, or irregular sleep schedules. Measurements were taken by wrist monitors worn by the child, as well as parent questionnaires and child interviews. The children were followed for two years.

Similar emotional effects have been found in older kids. A Columbia University study linked lack of sleep among teens to a 24% higher rate of depression, and a 20% higher rate of suicidal thinking. The study was unusual in showing that the lack of sleep, which alters the brain's response to stress, may actually cause sadness and thoughts of suicide, rather than simply being another symptom of depression.

Sleep loss also has academic effects. We've posted before on research showing that getting enough sleep tends to improve kids' grades. Other research suggests a lack of sleep may affect small children's brain development.

As we've written before, ensuring that your kids get the recommended allotment of sleep can take a massive effort when both parents are getting home fairly late in the day-and there needs to be time for settling in before bed. Sometimes hitting that 7 of 8 p.m. bedtime for younger kids is just impossible when parents don't even get home until 6.

Readers, do you see more behavioral problems in your children when they lose sleep? Do they have a tougher time emotionally? How do you find time to get your children settled for adequate sleep amid other pressures of the juggle? Any advice for getting your kids off to bed early during the work week?

睡眠不足的孩子容易性情古怪、性格暴躁或缺乏注意力。但它是否有可能会使小学生更加抑郁，甚至行为不端？

专家近期对睡眠剥夺的高昂成本发出一系列警告，其中对140名小学生所做的最新调查显示存在上述可能性。在这些三至五年级的学生中，更具攻击性、出现犯罪倾向、缺乏自尊、患抑郁和焦虑的机率更高均与睡眠较差有关。最新一期的《儿童发展》期刊(Child Development)刊登了这篇研究成果。

研究显示，当睡眠受影响时，所有参与研究的孩子均倾向于出现更多的情感和行为问题。但处于压力之下的孩子，如来自贫困家庭的孩子，受其影响最大。相比之下，贫困的孩子如睡眠充足，他们的举止很可能接近正常范围。奥本大学(Auburn University)的沙伊赫(Mona El-Sheikh)负责这项研究工作。研究中界定的睡眠问题包括睡眠时间不足、烦躁、频繁醒来以及睡眠时间不规律。研究手段包括在孩子手腕上佩戴监测器、对家长进行问卷调查和对孩子进行访问。对孩子的跟踪调查期限为两年。

在稍大一些的孩子身上也发现睡眠对其情感有类似的影响。哥伦比亚大学(Columbia University)的研究认为，当十几岁的孩子缺乏睡眠时，其患抑郁症的机率增加24%，有自杀想法的机率高出20%。这项研究还不同寻常地发现睡眠不足会改变大脑对压力的反映，有可能实质性地导致忧郁及出现自杀的念头，而不仅仅是抑郁的另一种表现。

睡眠不足对学业也有影响。我们以前曾公布过一项研究结果，表明睡眠充足有助于提高孩子的学习成绩。另有研究表示，睡眠不足可能影响幼儿的大脑发育。

正如我们以前所述，当父母双方白天回家较晚时，要确保孩子按建议的时间睡觉需要付出不小的努力，而且需要时间在床前安顿下来。有时，父母不到晚上6：00回不了家，要让年幼的孩子在七、八点钟上床睡觉是不可能的。

读者们，你的孩子睡眠不足时是否有更多的行为问题？他们的情绪是否不稳定？在种种压力之下，你是如何找到时间让你的孩子睡足觉的？在每周的工作日中，要让你的孩子早早上床睡觉，你有何好的建议？