缺覺的“吸血鬼一代”

看電視打游戲，上網玩兒不停？作業太多完不成？現在孩子們的睡眠時間真是越來越少了，這不僅影響了他們的身體和智力發育，還可能導致抑郁和肥胖。在英國，這些缺覺的孩子被叫做“吸血鬼一代”。

A broken night’s sleep is nothing new for any parent. What is unusual are the legions of older children now suffering from sleep problems well into their late teens — the ‘vampire generation’ as they’ve been dubbed.
睡不好覺對父母來說都不陌生。但現在有很多青少年也遇到了睡眠問題，這與以往很不一樣，他們被稱為“吸血鬼一代”。

In general, children between the ages of ten and 18 need around nine to ten hours’ sleep. But experts warn that, nowadays, seven is often the norm, with many getting far less.
通常來講，10到18歲的孩子每天需要9到10個小時的睡眠。但專家提醒說，如今這么大的孩子只睡7個小時很常見，還有很多孩子甚至睡得更少。

And this lack of sleep is having a serious impact on children’s health — with insufficient sleep linked to everything from impeded brain development to heart problems, depression and obesity.
缺乏睡眠對孩子的健康有嚴重影響，睡眠不足與智力發育障礙、心臟問題、情緒抑郁和肥胖癥都有關系。

Some teachers are now so concerned that they allow ‘nap’ times in classrooms so exhausted students can catch up.
一些教師現在對此非常擔心，他們允許孩子們在課堂上打瞌睡，這樣疲憊的孩子們才能精力恢復一些。

So, what can be done to help your child sleep better? Having a regular, calming bedtime routine, which includes shutting down all devices and turning down loud music and bright light is vital, says Dr Winwood.
那么如何才能幫助孩子睡得很好呢？溫伍德博士告訴大家，要養成規律且讓人平靜的睡前儀式，包括關閉所有電子設備、調低音樂的音量、把燈光調暗，這些都很關鍵。

（中國日報網英語點津 yaning）