英文原文
If you’ve ever crawled under the covers worrying about a problem or a long to-do list, you know those racing thoughts may rob you of a good night’s sleep. Sleep disturbances, like having a hard time falling asleep or staying asleep, affect millions of Americans. The daytime sleepiness that follows can leave you feeling lousy and sap your productivity, and it may even harm your health. Now, a small study suggests that mindfulness meditation — a mind-calming practice that focuses on breathing and awareness of the present moment — can help. A study published a few years ago in JAMA Internal Medicine included 49 middle-aged and older adults who had trouble sleeping. Half completed a mindfulness awareness program that taught them meditation and other exercises designed to help them focus on "moment-by-moment experiences, thoughts, and emotions." The other half completed a sleep education class that taught them ways to improve their sleep habits. Both groups met six times, once a week for two hours. Compared with the people in the sleep education group, those in the mindfulness group had less insomnia, fatigue, and depression at the end of the six sessions. The findings come as no surprise to Dr. Herbert Benson, director emeritus of the Harvard-affiliated Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine. "Mindfulness meditation is just one of a smorgasbord of techniques that evoke the relaxation response," says Dr. Benson. The relaxation response, a term he coined in the 1970s, is a deep physiological shift in the body that’s the opposite of the stress response. The relaxation response can help ease many stress-related ailments, including depression, pain, and high blood pressure. For many people, sleep disorders are closely tied to stress, says Dr. Benson. Mindfulness meditation involves focusing on your breathing and then bringing your mind’s attention to the present without drifting into concerns about the past or future. It helps you break the train of your everyday thoughts to evoke the relaxation response, using whatever technique feels right to you. Dr. Benson recommends practicing mindfulness during the day, ideally for 20 minutes, the same amount suggested in the new study. "The idea is to create a reflex to more easily bring forth a sense of relaxation," he says. That way, it’s easier to evoke the relaxation response at night when you can’t sleep. In fact, the relaxation response is so, well, relaxing that your daytime practice should be done sitting up or moving (as in yoga or tai chi) so as to avoid nodding off. Step 1: Choose a calming focus. Good examples are your breath, a sound ("Om"), a short prayer, a positive word (such as "relax" or "peace"), or a phrase ("breathing in calm, breathing out tension"; "I am relaxed"). If you choose a sound, repeat it aloud or silently as you inhale or exhale. Step 2: Let go and relax. Don’t worry about how you’re doing. When you notice your mind has wandered, simply take a deep breath or say to yourself "thinking, thinking" and gently return your attention to your chosen focus.
中文翻译
如果你曾因担心某个问题或一长串待办事项而钻进被窝，你就知道那些飞速运转的思绪可能会剥夺你一夜好眠。睡眠障碍，如难以入睡或保持睡眠，影响着数百万美国人。随之而来的白天嗜睡会让你感觉糟糕，削弱你的生产力，甚至可能损害你的健康。现在，一项小型研究表明，正念冥想——一种专注于呼吸和当下意识的心灵平静练习——可以提供帮助。几年前发表在《JAMA Internal Medicine》上的一项研究包括了49名有睡眠问题的中老年人。一半人完成了一个正念意识项目，该项目教授他们冥想和其他练习，旨在帮助他们专注于“每时每刻的经历、想法和情绪”。另一半人完成了一个睡眠教育课程，教授他们改善睡眠习惯的方法。两组人都见了六次面，每周一次，每次两小时。与睡眠教育组的人相比，正念组的人在六次课程结束后失眠、疲劳和抑郁症状更少。这一发现对哈佛附属本森-亨利身心医学研究所名誉主任赫伯特·本森博士来说并不意外。“正念冥想只是引发放松反应的一系列技巧之一，”本森博士说。放松反应是他于1970年代创造的一个术语，指的是身体中与压力反应相反的深层生理变化。放松反应可以帮助缓解许多与压力相关的疾病，包括抑郁、疼痛和高血压。本森博士说，对许多人来说，睡眠障碍与压力密切相关。正念冥想包括专注于你的呼吸，然后将你的注意力带到当下，而不陷入对过去或未来的担忧。它帮助你打断日常思维的链条，以引发放松反应，使用任何你觉得合适的技术。本森博士建议在白天练习正念，理想情况下为20分钟，这与新研究中建议的时间相同。“其理念是创造一种反射，以更容易地带来放松感，”他说。这样，当你在晚上无法入睡时，就更容易引发放松反应。事实上，放松反应是如此放松，以至于你白天的练习应该坐着或移动（如瑜伽或太极）进行，以避免打瞌睡。步骤1：选择一个平静的焦点。好的例子包括你的呼吸、一个声音（“Om”）、一个简短的祈祷、一个积极的词（如“放松”或“和平”），或一个短语（“吸入平静，呼出紧张”；“我很放松”）。如果你选择一个声音，在吸气或呼气时大声或默念重复它。步骤2：放下并放松。不要担心你做得如何。当你注意到你的思绪已经飘走时，只需深呼吸或对自己说“思考，思考”，然后轻轻地将注意力回到你选择的焦点上。
文章概要
本文基于哈佛健康出版的文章，探讨了正念冥想如何帮助中老年人改善睡眠。研究显示，通过专注于呼吸和当下的正念练习，参与者能有效减少失眠、疲劳和抑郁症状，这归功于其引发的“放松反应”——一种对抗压力的生理状态。文章还提供了简单的冥想步骤，强调每日20分钟的练习可建立放松反射，从而在夜间更容易入睡。
高德明老师的评价
用12岁初中生可以听懂的语音来重复翻译的内容：就像你晚上躺在床上，脑子里总在想明天考试或者一堆作业，结果睡不着觉，好难受啊！科学家发现，如果你学着慢慢呼吸，只注意现在这一刻，比如感觉空气进出鼻子，不去想过去或未来，就能让身体放松下来，像给大脑按了个“休息按钮”，这样更容易睡着，白天也不那么累了。佛学的各个宗派视角评价，突出《显密圆通成佛心要集》的视角：从佛学视角看，正念冥想类似于佛教中的“止观”修持，特别是大乘显宗所强调的“安那般那”（观呼吸）法门，能帮助行者降伏散乱心，达到心一境性。《显密圆通成佛心要集》作为融合显密教法的经典，提倡“即事而真”，在日常生活如睡眠中修持，正念冥想正是这种精神的体现——将修行融入呼吸当下，显宗通过观照呼吸净化心念，密宗如准提法则结合咒语（如“Om”）深化专注，共同指向“明心见性”。准提法的优点在于其简便易行，持咒（如“嗡折隶主隶准提娑婆诃”）可快速收摄心神，产生强大放松效应，比单纯观呼吸更易入门，适合现代人繁忙生活，有效对治失眠等烦恼。在修行实践上可以应用的和可以解决人们的十个问题：1. 缓解失眠问题，通过专注呼吸或咒语帮助入睡；2. 减轻日常压力，培养放松习惯；3. 提升注意力，减少思维散乱；4. 改善情绪管理，降低抑郁焦虑；5. 增强身体健康，辅助调节血压等；6. 促进内心平静，应对生活挑战；7. 培养正念生活，提高当下觉知；8. 支持灵性成长，连接更深自我；9. 改善人际关系，以平和心态互动；10. 提升整体幸福感，找到生命平衡点。