译/王美懿 审订/钱多秀

Why You Should Get the Kids to Bed on Time 为何要让孩子按时睡觉

译/王美懿 审订/钱多秀

Going to bed at the same time every night could give your child’s brain a boost, a recent study found.

[2] Researchers at University College London found that when 3-year-olds have a regular bedtime they perform better on cognitive tests administered1administer执行，给予。at age 7 than children whose bedtimes weren’t consistent2consistent始终如一的，一致的。. The findings represent a new twist3twist弯曲，转折点。on an expanding body of research showing that inadequate sleep in children and adolescents hurts academic performance and overall health.

[3] The latest study considered other factors that can influence bedtime and cognitive development, such as kids skipping breakfast or having a television in their bedroom. After accounting for these, the study found that going to bed very early or very late didn’t affect cognitive performance, so long as the bedtime was consistent.

近期有研究发现，每晚让孩子在同一时间睡觉可以促进孩子的大脑发育。

[2]伦敦大学学院的研究人员发现，孩子如果在三岁时就有固定的就寝时间，那么等他们到七岁接受认知测试时，就会比那些就寝时间不规律的孩子表现得更好。在此之前，已经有越来越多的研究表明，儿童和青少年睡眠不足会对其学习成绩和身体健康造成不良影响。而伦敦大学学院的这个发现，正是该研究领域的一个新转折点。

[3]这项最新研究也将影响就寝时间及认知发展的其他因素考虑在内，如不吃早饭或卧室里有电视等。在考虑这些因素之后，该研究发现，只要就寝时间规律，无论太早睡还是太晚睡，均不会对孩子的认知水平造成影响。

[4] “The surprising thing was the later bedtimes weren’t significantly affecting children’s test scores once we took other factors into account4take ... into account 把……考虑进去。,” said Amanda Sacker, director of the International Center for Lifecourse Studies in Society and Health at University College London and a co-author of the study.“I think the message for parents is…maybe a regular bedtime even slightly later is advisable.”

[5] The researchers suggested that having inconsistent bedtimes may hurt a child’s cognitive development by disrupting circadian5circadian生理节奏的，以24小时为周期的。rhythms. It also might result in sleep deprivation and therefore affect brain plasticity—changes in the synapses6synapse神经元突触。and neural pathways—at critical ages of brain development.

[6] Sleep experts often focus largely on how much sleep children get. While that is important, “we tend to not pay as much attention to this issue of circadian disruption,” said Judith Owens, director of sleep medicine at Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C.,who wasn’t involved with the study.

[4]阿曼达·萨克尔是伦敦大学学院社会与健康生命历程研究国际中心的负责人，也是该研究报告的合作作者。她说：“最让我们惊讶的地方在于，一旦我们将其他因素考虑进来，就会发现晚一点睡觉并未对考试成绩造成很大影响。我认为，对于家长来说，只要孩子的就寝时间有规律，稍晚一点也是可以的。”

[5]研究者认为，就寝时间不规律，会打乱孩子的昼夜节律，从而对孩子的认知发展造成伤害。同时也有可能导致睡眠剥夺，从而在孩子大脑发育的关键阶段对其大脑的可塑性造成影响——即神经元突触与神经通路的变化。