研究:適當嘈雜聲有助睡眠

Forget counting sheep -- Britons now prefer listening to lions roaring and monkeys calling to help them nod off, according to a new survey。

The poll, which questioned 2,000 adults about falling asleep at night, found that birds twittering and rainforest noises are the most soothing sounds for one in five people at bedtime, with fewer than one in 10 relying on counting sheep to send them into slumber。

"These noises can stop intrusive thoughts," John Shneerson, President of the British Sleep Society and consultant at Papworth Sleep Center in Britain。

"A repetitive noise has an occasional rhythm change, works by distracting you. The sound can't be too boring but should not be so stimulating that you actively think about it -- it has to be something in the middle," Shneerson said。

While the relaxing properties of natural sound may not come as a surprise, noises generally considered to be irritating, such as passing traffic and ticking clocks can also be soporific, according to the survey。

The study was commissioned by Chessington World of Adventure Resort, the British theme park。據路透社8月5日報道：一項新的調查發現，以前人們以爲 “數羊”有助於入睡，而如今很多英國人都喜歡聽着獅子的吼聲和猴子的叫聲入眠。

有2000名成年人就夜間入睡情況參與了這項問卷調查。調查發現，對於1/5的人來說，在睡覺時聽到鳥的啼鳴聲和雨林中的嘈雜聲最讓其感到放鬆，而只有不到1/10的人靠“數羊”入睡。

兼任英國睡眠協會會長和帕沃思睡眠中心顧問的約翰•肖森說：“這些吵鬧聲可阻止人胡思亂想。”

“這種重複的、富有節奏變化的聲音能分散人的注意力。這種聲音不能太無聊，也不能太刺激，不然人們就會思索它，介於二者之間的就剛剛好。”肖森補充說。

調查表明，自然界的聲音有助於人們放鬆，這並不奇怪，然而有些很討厭的聲音，例如交通噪音和滴答鐘聲，也可以催眠。

這項研究是由英國切辛頓冒險世界主題公園進行的。