常吃安眠藥的人會發現，安眠藥貌似越吃越不靈。如今研究證實，安眠藥確實不適合長期服用，只有短期內服用才有效，長遠來看治療失眠還是應該求助于認知行為療法。

Sleeping pills prescribed to millions of people every year do not work in the long term, a study has found.

研究發現，每年醫院給數百萬人開出的安眠藥長期來看并沒有效果。

Scientists found no difference in sleep quality or duration between those who took the medication for one to two years.

科學家發現，服用安眠藥一至兩年后，睡眠質量和時間并不會改善。

The research team said that rather than taking such medication long term, patients should receive cognitive behavioural therapy to help them sleep.

研究團隊稱，患者不應該長期服用安眠藥，而應該接受認知行為療法來助眠。

Meanwhile, the UK’s Sleep Charity said on Tuesday that the study showed that drugs failed to tackle the root problem.

與此同時，英國的睡眠慈善機構5月11日稱，研究顯示安眠藥無法根治失眠。

In the Western world, insomnia is thought to affect between 10 and 30 percent of adults at any one time, according to the Economic and Social Research Council.

經濟與社會研究委員會指出，據認為，西方世界有10%到30%的成年人隨時遭受失眠困擾。

The group has also calculated that one in 10 British adults regularly take some kind of sleeping tablet, with an accompanying risk of addiction.

據研究團隊估算，英國有十分之一的成人定期服用某種安眠藥，隨之而來的是上癮的風險。

For the new study, published in BMJ Open, a team at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston compared 238 women who had started using medication to tackle insomnia with 447 matched women who were not on sleeping drugs. The average age was 49.5.

在這一發表在《英國醫學期刊》的新研究中，波斯頓的布列根和婦女醫院將238名已開始服用安眠藥來對抗失眠的女性與447名沒有服用安眠藥的失眠女性相對比。她們的平均年齡是49.5歲。

Sleep disturbances were defined as difficulty falling asleep, frequent awakening and waking up early.

睡眠障礙被定義為難以入眠、頻繁醒來和過早醒來。

On average, both groups of women reported difficulties on one in three nights, waking frequently two in three nights, and waking up early one in three nights.

平均來看，兩組女性都報告稱自己每三夜就有一夜難以入眠，每三夜就有兩夜頻繁醒來，每三夜就有一夜過早醒來。

Overall, more than 70 percent of women reported disturbed sleep at least three times a week, regardless of whether they were on sleep medication or not.

總體而言，逾70%的女性報告稱，每周至少出現三次睡眠障礙，無論有沒有服用安眠藥。

Around half of the women were current or former smokers and one in five were moderate to heavy drinkers, both of which may affect sleep quality.

約半數女性現在或過去是煙民，五分之一的人是中度到重度飲酒者，而吸煙和喝酒都可能影響睡眠質量。

A spokesperson for The Sleep Charity said: “While prescription drugs can help with short-term insomnia, and help to break a cycle of poor sleep, it doesn’t tackle the root problem. They really just mask the symptoms.

睡眠慈善機構的發言人稱：“盡管處方藥物有助于治療短期失眠，打破睡眠不良的惡性循環，但不能根治失眠。他們其實只是在掩蓋癥狀?！?/p>

"With long-term insomnia, lifestyle or behaviour changes usually need to happen which is why cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) is an effective treatment.

“對付長期失眠，通常需要做出生活方式或行為的改變，這就是為什么失眠認知行為療法比較有效。”

"Unfortunately, there is very little support for people struggling with sleep difficulties which is why many turn to prescription medications.”

“不幸的是，遭受失眠困擾的人得到的支持非常少，這就是為什么許多失眠者轉而求助于處方藥。”

英文來源：每日電訊報

翻譯&編輯：丹妮