Growing up in a hard-working Midwestern city in the 1980s, I quickly learned that sleep is the first expense I should cut in a given day. The men I looked up to at a young age regularly boasted about running on just a few hours of sleep.

我生长在上世纪80年代美国中西部一个崇尚努力工作的城市中，我很快就认识到睡眠是我在一天中应该削减的第一样东西。我小时候崇拜的人经常夸耀自己每天只睡几个小时。

While this was rooted in a good-natured work ethic, it led me to view needing sleep as a sign of weakness. I continue to see this perception in the workplace today, where it is considered a badge of honor to stay at the office late working on a project.

尽管这根源于一种良好的职业操守，但却使我认为对睡眠的需求是一种软弱的表现。如今在职场中我仍能看到有人持这样的观点。在办公室为一个项目工作到很晚被视为是一种荣耀。

The problem is, one less hour of sleep is not equal to an extra hour of achievement. In many cases the opposite occurs. When you lose an hour of sleep, it decreases your well-being, productivity, health, and ability to think the following day.

问题是，少睡一个小时并不等于多做出一个小时的成绩。很多时候情况恰恰相反。少睡一个小时，第二天的精神状态、效率、健康和思考能力就会降低。

One of the most influential studies of human performance, conducted by professor K. Anders Ericsson, found that top performers slept 8 hours and 36 minutes per day. The average American, for comparison, gets just 6 hours and 51 minutes of sleep on weeknights.

埃里克森教授的研究发现，表现优秀的人每天睡8小时36分钟。相比之下，普通美国人非周末每晚只睡6小时51分钟。这是有关人类表现的各种研究中最有影响的研究之一。

You are simply a different person when you operate on insufficient sleep. And it shows. If you do not get enough sleep, it can lead to a cascade of negative events. You achieve less at work, skip regular exercise, and eat poorly.

当你在睡眠不足的状态下工作时，你会失常。而且这会表现在方方面面。如果你睡眠不足，可能会导致一系列的不良后果。你的工作效率会下降，定期的体育锻炼也不再坚持，饮食也会一团糟。

This lack of sleep is also costly. According to a study from Harvard Medical School, lack of sleep costs the American economy $63 billion a year in lost productivity alone. The problem is not just people missing work on account of sleep, the larger issue is people who show up for work in a sleepless state.

睡眠不足还会带来不菲的代价。据哈佛大学医学院的一项研究显示，睡眠不足导致生产效率低下，仅此一项每年就给美国经济造成630亿美元的损失。问题不止是人们因睡眠不足而翘班，更大的问题是人们在睡眠不足的状态下继续工作。

One scientist, who has studied this topic extensively, claims a loss of four hours of sleep produces as much impairment as consuming a six-pack of beer. According to a survey from the National Sleep Foundation, roughly two-thirds of people studied do not get enough sleep on weeknights.

一位一直研究这个问题的科学家称，少睡四个小时造成的损害与喝六瓶啤酒不相上下。据美国国家睡眠基金会的一项调查显示，约有三分之二的被研究者非周末睡眠不足。