跟团去台湾:The American Sleep Deficit 美国的睡眠赤字

There are many things that divide Americans. But at least one thing unites us. Most of us — 64 percent, to be precise — are sleep-deprived. A recent survey by the National Sleep Foundation found that lack of sleep interferes with the daily activities of 40 percent of adults.
美国人个性十足，要区分美国人很容易，但是要用一个共同点把美国人都联系起来却并不简单。不过现在看来至少有一点可以把美国人都联系起来——那就是大部分美国人——确切的说是64%的美国人——都睡眠不足。最近一个来自国家睡眠基金会的调查发现睡眠不足影响了大约40%美国成年人的日常生活。
Now before you yawn, rub your eyes and hit the snooze button, consider the consequences of living in a nation of sleepheads. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, sleep deprivation is responsible for at least 100000 crashes and 1500 deaths a year. But while we have national campaigns against drunk driving and speeding, there is no outcry against driving while sleepy. Maybe it's because we can't measure fatigue with Breathalyzers or blood tests——quick,develop a yawnometer. But I think the real answer lies in our workaholic culture's contempt for a time-waster like sleep. "I never sleep, because sleep is the cousin of death," Nas rapped in "N.Y. State of Mind".
现在在你打哈欠，揉眼睛，准备打盹之前，想一想生活在一个瞌睡虫遍地的国家是怎样的一个情况吧。国家道路交通安全局称睡眠不足每年至少会造成100000起交通事故并导致1500人死亡。不过尽管我们有众多的活动来抗议酒驾和超速，但却没有任何活动对疲劳驾驶进行指责。这或许是因为我们没法用类似呼气测醉或者血液检测的手段来检验我们的疲劳程度吧——快发明一个哈欠测量仪吧。但是我觉得真正的原因来还是自于美国工作狂文化背景下对于诸如睡觉此类浪费时间的行为的一种蔑视。“我从来不睡觉，因为睡觉是死亡的兄弟。” Nas在歌曲《N.Y. State of Mind》中唱到。
”Anything which tends to slow work down is a waste," Thomas Edison said, predicting that the light bulb would make 24-hour workdays possible. And, indeed, over the past century Americans have reduced their average nightly sleep time by more than 20 percent——wearing the dark circles under their eyes like badges of honor. Our political leaders are particularly proud of how little rest they get. "None of us have had a great deal of sleep," a bleary eyed President Bush said after burning the midnight oil deciding whether of not to bomb Iraq.
Thomas Edison曾说过：“任何会降低工作效率的事情都是对时间的浪费”，并预测他发明的电灯将使24小时工作日成为可能。的确，在过去的一个世纪里，美国人每晚平均睡眠时间减少了20%以上——人们带着黑眼圈就像戴着荣誉徽章一样光荣。我们的国家领导人尤其对他们稀少的睡眠感到自豪。“我们这群人没有一个能睡饱觉的，”睡眼朦胧的布什总统在熬夜决定是否轰炸伊拉克后说道。（也许这正是睡眠不足而引起的一个错误^_^）
Unfortunately, there is a strong correlation between poor decision-making and lack of sleep. A NASA study found that 21 percent of pilot errors are related to fatigue. The American Airlines crash in Arkansas earlier this month may have been due to the pilots' impaired judgment after 13.5 straight hours on duty. And sleep deprivation has been a factor in some of the biggest disasters in recent history, including Chernobyl, the Exxon Valdez spill, the Challenger explosion and the marriage of Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee.
不幸的是，人们作出的愚蠢的决定往往和睡眠不足有着莫大的关系，美国太空总署的一份调查报告显示21%的飞行员操作失误跟疲劳有关。这个月早期美国航空公司一架飞机在阿肯色州失事也许就是因为飞行员在连续工作13.5个小时的情况下作出了错误决定而酿成的惨剧。并且睡眠不足也是近期历史上数起重大事故的主要原因，包括切尔诺贝利核泄漏、埃克森·瓦尔迪兹号油轮泄油、挑战者号航天飞机爆炸以及帕米拉·安德逊与托米·李的婚姻破裂。
Even putting aside disasters like these, sleep deprivation costs US businesses 100 billion dollars a year in accidents and reduced productivity. Prof. Moore-Ede of the Harvard Medical School has recommended napping policies for corporations, and in some offices nap times are starting to replace coffee breaks. Dr. James Maas, author of "Power Sleep", is also an advocate of sleeping on the job:"By napping for 15 to 20 minutes, you can regain creativity and problem-solving skills."
即使撇开这些重大事故不说，睡眠不足造成的意外每年也会给美国商界带来超过100亿美元的损失，并且还会降低美国社会的生产效率。哈佛医学院的Moore-Ede教授建议在规模较大的公司中实行“工作间隙打盹政策”——在一些办公室中，这一政策已经开始取代原本的“咖啡休息政策”。“睡眠的力量”的作者，James Maas博士也支持在工作间隙打一会儿盹，他说：“只要睡上15到20分钟，你会发现你的创造力和解决问题的能力又回来了。”
Imagination, originality, the ability to think——all qualities conspicuously lacking in our leaders——are the first casualties of sleep deprivation. Those aspiring to leadership should read history. Thomas Jefferson, Winston Churchill and Ronald Reagan were all renowned nappers. "Don't think," Churchill warned his colleagues, "you will be doing less work because you sleep during the day. That's a foolish notion held by people who have no imagination. You will be able to accomplish more."
创意，想象力，思考能力是睡眠不足的直接受害者——正因如此，这些杰出的素质才很难在我们的领导人身上体现出来。那些想成为优秀领导人的人应该多读读历史。在历史上Thomas Jefferson, Winston Churchill以及Ronald Reagan都是出了名的爱打盹。Churchill告诫他的同事，“不要觉得你在白天睡觉就是虚度了光阴，那是没有想象力的人的愚蠢的观念，其实你会比他们做的更多。”
Maybe we should spend more time worrying about how many hours our leaders are sleeping rather than whom they are sleeping with. Now that our budget is in the black, how about turning our attention to the national sleep deficit?
也许我们更应该关心的是我们的领导人睡了几个小时，而不是关心他们在跟谁睡觉。我们国家的预算现在已经开始盈余了，但是什么时候我们才能把我们的注意力集中到我们的睡眠赤字上去呢？