Study: Humans Sleep Less, Better Than Other Animals

Humans need less sleep than other mammals, yet their slumber is more efficient, said researchers at Duke University in North Carolina.

北卡罗来纳州杜克大学的研究人员说，人类比其他哺乳动物需要更少的睡眠，但是他们的睡眠效率更高。

In their study, the scientists researched sleep patterns of hundreds of animals. They discovered humans sleep for shorter periods of time compared to other animals.

在他们的研究中，科学家们研究了数百种动物的睡眠模式。他们发现与其他动物相比，人类的睡眠时间更短。

The study also concluded that a human's sleep is higher quality. A deeper stage of sleep, called rapid eye movement sleep, or REM, makes up 25 percent of a human's sleep. In primates like lemurs or monkeys, REM sleep does not reach the five percent mark.

研究还得出结论，人的睡眠质量更高。深度睡眠阶段，称为快速眼动睡眠，或REM，占人类睡眠的25%。在灵长类动物如狐猴或猴子中，快速眼动睡眠不能达到百分之五。

"Humans are unique in having shorter, higher quality sleep," said David Samson, a study co-author.

“人类独特的睡眠时间更短，质量更高，”研究合著者大卫·萨姆森说。

Samson's research team found that humans can prosper with an average of seven hours of sleep a day. Other primates need as many as 14 to 17 hours of sleep.

萨姆森的研究小组发现，人类每天平均睡眠7小时，就能繁荣昌盛。其他灵长类动物需要14到17个小时的睡眠。

Samson said human sleep habits evolved during prehistoric times. Human ancestors moved from sleeping in trees to sleeping on the ground. Better sleeping habits resulted in better sleep in a shorter amount of time.

萨姆森说，人类的睡眠习惯是在史前时期形成的。人类的祖先从睡在树上变成睡在地上。更好的睡眠习惯导致在更短的时间内获得更好的睡眠。

I'm Mario Ritter.