A new study outlined how insomniacs might make their condition even more tiresome: clock-watching (or time-monitoring behavior (TMB), to be technical). It seems this can aggravate insomnia, increase frustration and lead to higher use of sleeping aids.
研究表明，不断确认时间（时间监测行为，TMB）会让失眠者更加痛苦，加剧失眠问题，增加焦虑感，并导致更加依赖安眠药。
It's a sort of negative feedback loop, the researchers found. TMB worsens insomnia and its associated annoyances, leading to more clock-watching and so on.
研究人员发现，这是一种负反馈循环。时间监测行为加剧失眠和焦虑，导致失眠者更频繁看时间等。
“People are concerned that they're not getting enough sleep, then they start estimating how long it will take them to fall back asleep and when they have to be up,” said clinical psychologist Spencer Dawson from Indiana University Bloomington.
印第安纳大学伯明顿分校的临床心理学家斯宾塞·道森说，“人们担心他们没有得到充足睡眠，然后他们开始估算重新入睡需要多长时间，以及什么时候必须起床。”
“That is not the sort of activity that's helpful in facilitating the ability to fall asleep. The more stressed out you are, the harder time you're going to have falling asleep.”
“这不是有助于促进入睡的活动；你越紧张，就越难入睡。”
Mr. Dawson and his colleagues looked at sleep-specific data from 4,886 patients who completed a questionnaire at a sleep medical center in Arizona: the severity of their insomnia, the time spent monitoring their behavior while trying to sleep and their use of both over-the-counter and prescription sleep medications.
道森和研究团队查看了在亚利桑那州一个睡眠医学中心接受问卷调查的4886名患者的睡眠相关数据，包括研究对象的失眠严重程度，入睡时监测自己行为的时间，以及他们使用非处方和处方安眠药的情况。
“We found time monitoring behavior mainly has an effect on sleep medication use because it exacerbates insomnia symptoms,” said Mr. Dawson.
“我们发现时间监测行为加剧了失眠症状，从而影响安眠药物的使用。”道森说。
TMB wasn't the only driver for medication, however. Frustration with not being able to sleep, the researchers noted, is just as important when it comes to dealing with insomnia.
时间监测行为并不是导致用药的唯一因素。研究人员指出，无法入睡引发的焦虑对失眠的影响也很重要。
The researchers recommended specific therapies -- cognitive restructuring or addressing emotional processing -- to further alleviate frustration, in turn alleviating the use of sleep medications.
研究人员建议采用特定的治疗方法，通过认知重建或处理情绪加工以进一步缓解焦虑感，从而减少使用安眠药。
Source: China Daily