Getting enough shut-eye is your best bet for slimming down and staying healthy. What’s the connection between a lack of shut-eye and a higher number on the scale? Sleep deprivation spikes the hormone ghrelin, which stimulates your appetite. This can cause you to eat up to 300 more calories a day than you would if you got a good night’s sleep. That adds up to a whopping 30 pounds a year.
充足的睡眠既是減肥的又一良藥，還可以保證身體健康。那缺乏睡眠與肥胖有什麼聯繫呢？睡眠不足會抑制生長激素，這樣則會刺激食欲。在睡眠不足的時候，你一天會多攝取300多卡路裏，比平常睡眠充足時吃得多。一年下來，你就會有可能增加30磅。
Case in point: Research published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition shows that people who are sleep deprived (sleeping about 5.5 hours per night) take in significantly more calories from snacking throughout the day than those who are well-rested (8.5 hours per night). And they aren’t jonesingfor veggies: The sleepy snackers craved carbs and ate fewer proteinsand fats, which help you feel full.
美國臨床營養學雜誌的一份研究顯示，與睡眠充足的人（每晚睡約8.5小時）相比，睡眠不足的人（每晚睡約5.5小時）每天會在零食裏大量攝入卡路裏。另外，睡眠不足的人不喜歡吃蔬菜，他們愛吃零食和膨化食品，不常吃那些容易飽肚的蛋白質和脂肪。
Try these tips for making sleep a priority and getting your beauty rest:
下列5個小貼士能讓你優先考慮睡眠，讓你睡上一個減肥美容覺：
Aim to up your snooze time
努力增加睡眠時間
Try wrapping up nighttime tasks, such as emailing friends or straightening up the living room, earlier to give yourself more time to sleep. Need an incentive? If you increase the amount you sleep by one hour a night—say, from 6 to 7 hours a night—you could lose about 14 pounds a year on average.
嘗試早點結束晚上的工作，例如給朋友發郵件或打掃客廳的衛生，這樣能讓你獲得較多的睡眠時間。需要鼓勵鼓勵？如果你每天增加一小時的睡眠時間（例如說，一晚睡6-7個小時），你每年就能減去14磅的肥肉。
Remind yourself it’s bedtime
提醒自己是時候睡覺了
You can’t always control when you wake up (darnthat 7:30am alarm!), but you can ensure that you go to a bed at a decent hour and get the good night’s sleep your mind and body need by setting your alarm clock to remind you to go to bed—not just to wake up in the a.m.
你不能控制自己什麼時候睡醒 （早上該死的7：30鬧鐘！），但你可以用設置好鬧鐘的方式，提醒自己是時候睡覺了，要讓大腦和身體得到充分的休息。鬧鐘也可以叫你睡覺。
Depending on what time you have to get up, subtract7.5 hours from that time and set your alarm accordingly. So if you have to be up by 7:30am, set your alarm for midnight (or better yet, an hour earlier than that so you have time to get ready for bed and wind down) to signal it’s time to hit the sack.
根據你要起床的時間，減去7.5小時，就能設定你的鬧鐘了。因此，如果你要在早上7點30分起床，那你就要在晚上12點設好鬧鐘（或是設置早一個小時，那你就可以早早做好準備，好好放鬆放鬆），提醒自己是時候上床睡覺了。
Try calming supplements
吃一些“鎮靜劑”
Try taking calcium and magnesium, which help calm the nervous system, acting as natural sleep aides. Aim to get in 600 milligramsof calcium and 400 milligrams of magnesium.
你可以嘗試攝入一些鈣和鎂，這樣能舒緩神經系統，它們有天然安眠的作用。攝入量可為：鈣是600毫克，而鎂是400毫克。
Bring on the dark
帶來黑暗
The best sleep environment is a dark, quiet and cool (between 60 and 68 degrees Fahrenheit). Be sure you have shades or curtains (or an eye mask) to block out light, which can keep you awake. If you can, remove all light-emitting electronics, such as TVs and computers from your bedroom. Darkness helps stimulate your body’s production of melatonin, a hormone that promotes sleepiness.
黑暗、安靜且涼快（溫度介於華氏60-68攝氏度）的環境是最佳的睡眠環境。另外，光線會讓人清醒，你要確保有遮光物或窗簾（或是一個遮眼罩）擋去光線。可以的話，你要移去房間裏面的發光電子器材，例如電視和電腦。黑暗能讓身體多產抗黑變激素，這種激素能促進睡眠。
Adopt a relaxation ritual
採用舒適的方式
Stress can mess with your rest. Banish it and help bring on sleep by practicing soothing relaxation techniques, such as deep breathing, guided imagery, meditation or progressive muscle relaxation exercises. Or try listening to calming music or taking a warm bath or shower before bedtime. When you’re relaxed, your heart rate and respiration slow down, preparing your body to slip into slumber.
壓力會讓你的作息一團糟。多練習放鬆的技巧，如深呼吸、圖像引導、冥想和漸進性肌肉放鬆練習，能去除壓力，回歸睡眠。或者，你可以在睡前聽聽輕音樂、洗個熱水澡。當你整個人都放鬆了，心跳和呼吸都會減緩，讓身體準備進入睡眠。（來源：滬江英語網）
