Insomnia is a symptom of sleep disorders, characterized by persistent difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep. Insomnia is a symptom, not a stand-alone diagnosis or a disease. By definition, insomnia is “difficulty initiating or maintaining sleep, or both” and it may be due to inadequate quality or quantity of sleep. It is typically followed by functional impairment while awake. Both organic and non-organic insomnia without other cause constitute a sleep disorder, primary insomnia.
失眠是一种睡眠障碍的症状，特点是持续不断的人睡困难或无 法人睡。失眠是一种症状，而不是一种独立的诊断或是疾病。根据 定义，失眠是“难以进人或维持睡眠状态，或二者兼而有之”，也可 能是睡眠质或量达不到要求。它通常伴随着清醒时的机体功能障 碍。无其他原因的有机性或无机性失眠构成了睡眠障碍，称为原 发性失眠。
Traditionally, to prevent insomnia, you may need to go to bed and get up at the same time every night (including weekends).
一般来说，为防止失眠，你需要每晚都按时睡觉和起床(包括周末)。
And avoid the following for up to six hours before bedtime:
在睡觉前6小时之内不可以做以下事情；
Alcohol may help you relax in the short term, however, chronic use can lead to insomnia and even a small amount can cause disruptive and fitful sleep and early wakening.
酒精可以在短期内帮助您放松，然而，长期使用也会导致失眠,甚 至喝一点点也可能会破坏或者导致断断续续的睡眠和早醒。
Caffeine is a stimulant found in many common substances including coffee, tea, soft drinks, chocolate and many medicines. Obviously any stimulant is going to make sleeping harder. And, you will probably wake sooner or more often.
咖啡因是一种兴奋剂,常见于咖啡、茶、饮料、巧克力和许多药 物中。很显然，任何一种兴奋剂都会导致入睡困难。而且，你也可能 会经常早醒或醒的次数更多。
Nicotine, most commonly found in tobacco products, is a very powerful drug that can act as either a stimulant or a depressant, depending on the set of the person taking it. As a stimulant nicotine can be highly disruptive to sleep patterns.
尼古丁，常见于烟草产品中,是非常强效的药物,不同需要的人 服用可作为兴奋剂或镇静剂。作为兴奋剂,尼古丁会严重破坏睡眠 模式。
Avoid beverages that contain ginseng, guarana, kola or cola nut and ginger.
要避免喝含有人参、瓜拿纳、可乐或可乐坚果和生姜成分的饮料。
Avoid heavy meals: eating a great meal soon before attempting to sleep can be awkward. Food creates energy, and energy keeps you awake. In addition falling asleep before fully digesting a large meal can cause indigestion, heartburn and fitful sleep. Inversely, going to bed hungry can also contribute to restlessness.
避免吃得太饱：吃一顿美味大餐，然后想马上人睡是不可能 的。食物产生能量，能量又能使你清醒。此外睡觉前消化大量食物 可引起消化不良、胃灼热和断断续续的睡眠。反过来，饿着也只会 增加辗转反侧，不利于入睡。
Good news is, a Web-based program for treating insomnia may help sleep, according to a small study published in today’s Archives of General Psychiatry. The study is the first to demonstrate that it’s possible to help people improve sleep problems by modifying their sleep-related thoughts and behavior using the Internet.
好消息是，据最新一期美国《普通精神病学文献》上刊登的一篇 短小的研究报告显示，一个基于网络的治疗失眠的项目可能有助于 患者人睡。这项研究首次表明了有可能通过网络调整患者的与睡眠 相关的思维和行为，从而帮助他们改善睡眠。。
Insomnia affects about 10% of the US population and costs $41 billion a year in reduced workplace productivity.
美国大约有1/10的人患有失眠，每年造成的工作效率下降损失达到410亿美兀。
Forty-four individuals with moderate to severe insomnia participated in the study, with half taking part in the program and while half were told they were on a wait list. Compared with those on the wait list, those who took part in the program were less likely to wake up during the night after falling asleep and were asleep more of the time that they spent in bed than before they joined the program.
44位患有中度至重度失眠的患者参与了这项研究,一半人参加了实验项目，而另一半人被告 知他们在等候名单上。与那些在等候名单上的患者相比，那些参加了实验项目的患者人睡后夜里 醒来的情况少了，睡眠时间也比参加实验之前更长了。
The nine-week program was based on a well-studied, cognitive-behavior therapy techniques for insomnia typically delivered in person. Participants were taught “stimulus control” techniques like going to bed only when sleepy, getting out of bed if unable to sleep and returning only when feeling sleepy again. Another strategy: wake up at the same time every day.
这个项目为期9周，其理论依据是一个通常会面对面传授的被研究的很透彻的认知行为疗法。 参与者会被传授一些“刺激控制”手段，例如只有当困乏的时候才去睡觉，如果睡不着就下床，等再 次想睡的时候再上床睡觉。另一个策略是每天按时起床。
The researchers, from the University of Virginia Health System and University Laval in Quebec, note that because the study size was so small, a greater number and more diverse participants is necessary to draw broader conclusions.
这个项目的研究人员来自弗吉尼亚医护大学和加拿大魁北克的拉瓦尔大学。他们表示，因为 研究规模太小,如果要得出更广泛的结论，就必须有更多不同的试验对象。
Still, they say the results suggest that an Internet-based cognitive-behavioral program “may be an effective first step in providing care to adults with insomnia” and that “an effective and inexpensive Internet intervention would expand treatment options for large numbers of adults with insomnia.”
不过,他们称实验结果显示，一个基于网络的认知行为项目“可能是向成年失眠患者提供护理的 有效的第一步,一次有效又不昂贵的网络干预可能给大量成年失眠患者提供更多的治疗选择。”