The best book I’ve read on sleep is Matthew Walker’s Why We Sleep. In it, he explains the importance of getting good sleep as well as offers suggestions for how to avoid problems of nighttime insomnia.
关于睡眠问题，我读过的最好的书是马修·沃克(Matthew Walker) 的《为什么要睡觉》。他在书中解释了良好睡眠的重要性，并提供了如何避免夜间失眠问题的建议。

Here are a few strategies you can apply to sleep better:
以下是一些可以尝试的建议，帮你获得更好的睡眠：

1、Reduce light levels(especially blue and white light) before bed
1、睡觉前减弱光线（尤其是蓝光和白光）

The body uses two different hormone systems for signaling the need to sleep.One of these is managed by melatonin and is influenced by light levels.This creates our circadian rhythm of night and day.It’s also responsible for jet lag, as our mental clock is out of sync with the actual clock, resulting in struggling to sleep at night and napping all day whenever you have to travel overseas.
身体通过两个不同的荷尔蒙系统来指示什么时候需要睡觉。 其中一个由褪黑素控制，而褪黑素是受光线水平影响的。这就使我们有了日夜的生理周期。它也和时差有关，当去国外旅行时，生物钟和外部实际的时间不同步，就会在晚上难以入眠，而白天瞌睡连连。

This melatonin system is influenced by light. Unfortunately, in our modern environment we are constantly illuminated by bulbs and screens, making it easy for this system to get out of sync.
褪黑素系统受光照的影响。不幸的是，在现代环境中，我们时刻处于灯泡和屏幕的照明中，使这个系统很容易就和外部时间不同步。

Tip:If you struggle getting to sleep early, make it a habit to use minimal lighting(or no lighting) an hour before bed.I often listen to audiobooks in a mostly dark room as Itry to fall asleep.Avoid LED screens which have more blue light, and are more likely to trick your brain into thinking it’s daytime.
建议:如果你早睡有困难，可以养成习惯，在睡前一小时将光线降到最弱(或者不要有光)。想睡觉的时候，我通常会在几乎全黑的房间里听有声书。避免LED显示屏，它会放射出更多蓝光，也更容易使你的大脑想到白天。

2、 Avoid caffeine after noon(including decaf coffee)
2、午后避免咖啡因（包括脱因咖啡）


Caffeine interacts with the second of the two hormone systems our bodies use for sleep.As we go longer without sleep we accumulate adenosine. Receptors watch for levels of adenosine and push us to sleep when it has been a long time without shut eye. Caffeine, in turn, temporarily “plugs” these receptors so they can’t deliver the sleep signal they normally would.
咖啡因作用于与睡眠有关的另一个荷尔蒙系统。随着我们醒着的时间逐渐延长，就会积累腺苷酸。大脑中的腺苷酸受体会监控它的水平，当很长时间没有休息时，大脑就会催促我们去睡觉。而咖啡因会暂时“堵住”这些受体，使它们无法正常地发出睡眠信号。

The problem, however, is that caffeine doesn’t actually remove adenosine from your body(or give the restorative benefits of sleep), so when it finally breaks down, all the adenosine that was present before comes back and can make you feel worse than before. Sometimes, this can lead to the urge to have a second cup(or fourth) in the afternoon, to push through the rest of the day.
然而，问题在于，咖啡因并没有使腺苷酸真正排出体外(或像睡眠那样有恢复精力的好处)，因此当咖啡因也坚持不住的时候，之前积累的所有腺苷酸都会回来，使你感觉比之前更糟糕。有时这会导致下午再喝第二杯(甚或第四杯) 咖啡，才能熬过一天剩下的时间。

Unfortunately this can also interfere with later sleep. Caffeine loses its immediate kick soon, but it has a surprisingly long half-life in the brain, meaning even hours after drinking it , there is still a non-trivial amount in your system. Decaf coffees, while having much less caffeine than normal, still have non-trivial amounts of caffeine, so a decaf after dinner might also make it harder to sleep.
不幸的是，这也会影响后续的睡眠。咖啡因当下的刺激很快就会消失，但它在大脑中的半衰期长得惊人，意味着即使过了几个小时，你的身体里残留的咖啡因仍然不可忽略。脱因咖啡虽然比正常咖啡的咖啡因含量低，但仍然不可小觑，因此晚饭后喝脱因咖啡也会使睡眠变得困难。

3、 Sleep the same time on weekdays and weekends
3、 工作日和周末都在相同的时间睡觉


I know, I know.Easier said than done.Weekends are a good time for socializing, and who wants to be the person going home to bed at nine pm?
我知道，我很了解，这说起来容易做起来难。周末是社交的好时光，谁愿意9点就回家睡觉呢？

Still the benefits of a consistent sleeping schedule may make up for the occasional social interference.Staying up late, especially if you struggle to sleep in fully, can mean you’re not getting a full night’s rest on weekends.This is particularly true if you drink alcohol before sleeping, which can interfere with the brain processes of sleep that make it restorative. Do this regularly and it’s no wonder you’re always exhausted.
尽管如此，坚持一以贯之的睡觉时间所带来的好处，可以弥补偶尔对社交带来的干扰。熬夜，特别是如果你难以完全入睡，意味着周未晚上没有得到完整的休息。如果睡前喝了酒则更是如此，因为酒精会干扰大脑活动，而正是这些活动使睡眠有恢复元气的效果。如果经常睡前饮酒，那么总是觉得筋疲力尽也就不足为奇了

4、 Watch out for naps
4、 警惕打盹

If you struggle with falling asleep (or staying asleep) then the fatigue can push you to take naps in the day.However, as Walker points out in his book, napping can alleviate some of the adenosine build-up, which conversely, makes it harder to fall back asleep at night time.
如果你入睡困难(或频繁醒来)，疲惫感会迫使你在白天打盹。然而，正如沃克在书中指出的，打盹可以减少一些积攒的腺苷酸，但反过来也会使晚上的入睡变得更困难。

I certainly struggle with this advice myself, as I often take quick naps in the early afternoon. I do think a short nap (15-20 minutes) is preferable to a long one, if only because it has a lesser impact on later sleeping.
我自己就在与这条建议斗争，因为我常在午后不久打个小盹。 我认为打个盹(15-20分钟)比长时间午睡更好，因为这对晚上的睡眠影响更小。

5、Get help from your family
5、从家人那里获得帮助

For some, going to sleep is an entirely independent choice.However for many of us(myself included) going to sleep usually means going to sleep with your spouse(or having them come in after while you’re already trying to sleep). Therefore, when working on a new sleeping habit, it’s important to communicate your goals and motivations. If you don’t talk about it , then the habit likely won’t last as you stay up to watch another episode of Stranger Things.
对一些人来说，睡觉完全是一个独立的选择;但对我们很多人而言(包括我自己在内)，睡觉往往是和配偶一起(或者他们会在我们已经尝试入睡后上床)。因此，在培养新的睡眠习惯时，与家人沟通你的目标和动机就很重要。如果对此闭口不谈，那么当你们熬夜看《怪奇物语》时，很可能也就无法坚持按时睡觉的习惯。