FOR most of us, sleep is the only time during the day where we can get away from our screens and get a bit of rest.
對大部分人來說，在面對各種屏幕一天后，終于可以在睡覺休息的時候遠離電腦了。

But not for 27-year-old Rikki Mortimore, who shops online in her sleep.
但27歲的麗奇·莫蒂默卻會在睡夢中上網購物。

“I’ve spent around $1500 so far, but I’ve returned around 85 per cent of the items I’ve bought,” Rikki, who works as an online designer in Sydney, told news.com.au.
麗奇現居悉尼，是一名網絡設計師。她告訴澳大利亞新聞在線：“算下來，我已經在熟睡時網購了近1500美元的東西，不過其中約85%的東西已經被我退掉了。”

Rikki says her abnormal sleep behaviour is only a few months old, which she thinks stemmed “from a few incidents as a child”.
麗奇稱，自己的反常行為始于幾個月前。不過，她認為，這與發生于“自己小時候的幾則軼事”息息相關。

“When I was a kid, I would sometimes sleepwalk,” she said.
她說：“我小時候偶爾會夢游。”

“Once, I walked through my house and straight to our alarm system. It was switched off that night, but I typed in the pin and set the alarms off in the middle of the night.
“有一回大半夜，我穿過整座房子，徑直走到警報器前，輸入了密碼，觸發了原本關閉的警報器。”

“My mum found me standing there as sirens were going off around me. It was a one off incident, so we didn’t take it seriously and seek treatment.”
“我媽發現我站在那兒，四周警報大響。不過后來這樣的情況再沒發生過，我們也就沒當回事，沒去看醫生。”

During her teenage years, Rikki would often set three alarms during high school, because while asleep, she would switch each clock off and in turn, run late to school.
青少年時期也有軼事。那時麗奇上高中，每天要設三個鬧鐘，因為她總會在睡夢中關掉鬧鐘，害得自己第二天遲到。

She has recently been diagnosed with insomnia, and is now taking non-addictive medication to assist with a healthy sleeping pattern.
最近她被診斷出得了失眠癥，眼下正在服用一些非成癮藥物輔助睡眠。

But Rikki admits her strange sleeping behaviour didn’t start with online shopping.
但麗奇也坦言，夢中網購并不是自己第一宗睡眠怪行。

“When I first started waking up, I would go to sleep and wake up wearing different clothes,” she said.
她說：“剛開始夢游那會兒，我第二天醒來會發現自己穿著與前一晚完全不同的衣服。”

“The shopping incidents started when I fell asleep next to my laptop. When I was asleep, I guess I would just use it and go to websites I had visited during the day.”
“有段時間，我趴在筆記本電腦前睡著了，于是就有了夢中購物的經歷。我猜我就是在夢中無意識地操作電腦，上白天瀏覽過的網頁。”

Admittedly a big ASOS fan, Rikki said her fingers do all the talking when it comes to her sleep shopping stints.
麗奇本人很喜歡逛ASOS網店（譯者注：英國著名網上時裝與化妝品店）。夢游時，光動動手指，就買下了許多東西。

“During the day, I look obsessively at ASOS, so my fingers know where to go,” she said.
她說：“平日里我特愛逛ASOS，手指對操作網頁已是熟門熟路。”

“I have heaps of things in my shopping cart online just waiting. But most of the time I am buying things that I would never buy, so I must browse in my sleep.
“雖然我購物車里屯著一大堆東西，但其實我夢游時買下的那些并不是我平日里想買的，由此可見我夢游時也會瀏覽其他東西。”

“My last order, I brought jumpers and swimsuits, which I really don't want. I never go swimming! I haven’t in three years!
“我上次買了毛衣和泳衣，結果壓根用不上。我從不游泳！這三年里一次都沒去過！”

“I also bought three pairs of the same shoes once.”
“有一回，我還買了三雙一模一樣的鞋子。”

From blazers, skirts and shirts, Rikki now keeps a box under her desk where she collects the unwanted items, which she will return to the online retailer before the refund date expires.
如今，麗奇的桌子下放著一只盒子，里面塞滿了她夢中買的，卻用不上的東西：上衣啦，裙子啦，襯衣啦等等。她得在退貨截止日前，把這些東西統統退掉。

“Sometimes I actually like what I have bought while asleep, but a lot of the time it’s too big and it has to go back.”
“有時候，我還蠻喜歡睡夢中買到的衣服的。但大多數時候，它們總是太大，需要退貨。”

Rikki and her partner laugh at her shopping habits now, but admit she has recently taken extreme measures in a bid to reduce her addiction.
說到夢游怪癖，麗奇和她的伴侶往往會忍俊不禁。但麗奇表示，近來也在想方設法克服自己的異行。

“I’m really worried what I might actually buy one day, like a flight overseas or something similar,” she said.
她說：“我很擔心自己哪天買了張國際機票啥的。”

“As a measure, I have taken my credit card details off websites, and even hidden my laptop in the bathroom so I won’t be able to find it while I’m asleep.
“所以呢，我刪掉了網站上的信用卡預留信息，甚至把電腦藏到浴室里，這樣我夢中就找不到它了。”

“I was looking at a beautiful handbag online the other day, but had to delete it from my history so I didn’t drop $3000 in my sleep,” she laughed.
“有一次，我在網上看到一款特別漂亮的手提包，但不得不清空了瀏覽記錄，免得自己睡夢中又當‘剁手黨’，花掉3000美元。”她笑著說。

The National Sleep Foundation suggests sleepwalking and parasomnia originates during deep sleep, and is much more common in children than in adults.
全國睡眠協會稱，一旦人進入深度睡眠，就可能引發夢游和睡眠機能紊亂，且兒童的發生率比成人高。

The act of movement and activity while asleep is sometimes an inherited trait caused by lack of sleep or even stress, drugs and other medicines.
另外，缺乏睡眠、壓力過大、濫用藥物等亦可能引發夢游活動。

Parasomnias include abnormal acts like eating disorders while asleep, nightmares, sleep paralysis and sleep aggression.
睡眠機能紊亂包括了夢游進食、頻發惡夢、睡眠麻痹、睡眠躁動等一系列失常癥狀。

It is often hard to wake someone during the activity because they are in such deep slumber when the walking or activity occurs. Aside from traditional ‘sleepwalking’ it can also include sitting in bed, walking around the house, leaving the home and in extreme cases, even getting behind the wheel of a car.
通常，旁人很難叫醒睡眠機能紊亂患者，因為他們正處于深度睡眠狀態。除了常見的“夢游”外，他們也可能突然從床上坐起，在房內打轉，離開住所，甚至開車出行。

“I dealt with a patient recently who was going on a cruise but was a sleepwalker,” Dr Maree Barnes, Sleep Physician and President of the Australasian Sleep Association told news.com.au.
瑪麗·巴恩斯博士是一名睡眠治療師，也是澳洲睡眠協會會長。她告訴澳大利亞新聞在線：“我最近接收了一個夢游病人，那人在夢游時乘船出行。”

“So I gave him sedatives so he was very sound asleep while on the ship.
“于是我給他開了鎮定劑，好讓他在船上睡得安穩些。”

“Some other patients are compulsive eaters, sleep walkers and talkers, or even people who get behind the wheel of a car while asleep.
“我也有過不少其他病人，有的會在睡眠時進食，有的會夢游，有的會發夢囈，還有人甚至邊睡覺邊開車。”

“Basically these are people who have deep rooted psychological issues that are being played out during the night. It’s a matter of keeping people safe until the behaviour ceases to occur, and usually it always is dealt with through psychology and time.”
“其實這些人都患有根深蒂固的心理疾病，各種癥狀會在睡夢中表現出來。治療的首要準則是確保他們的安全，直至癥狀消失。通常來說，這需要通過心理誘導，更需要耐心。”

Sleep Health Foundation of Australia suggests that around three children in 100 sleepwalk often, and approximately five in 100 children sleepwalk sometimes.
澳大利亞睡眠健康協會稱，約3%的兒童經常夢游，約5%的兒童偶爾夢游。

In adults, this figure is lower, with only four in every 1000 people still sleepwalking. Statistics indicate that if you sleepwalk or talk as a child, you’re less than a quarter likely to do that as an adult.
成人夢游的比率要低得多。只有4‰的成人深受夢游之苦。同時，數據顯示，哪怕一個人在兒童時期夢游或發夢囈，此概率在成年后會驟降七成多。

“Most people will grow out of it,” Dr Barnes said.
“這些癥狀一般在成年后都會消失。”巴恩斯博士說。

We don’t know why people sleep walk or talk, but we do know that it is not uncommon at some stage of your life to do some for of activity.”
夢游或發夢囈的原因尚不可知，但這些行為在個人成長中并不罕見。

While 4 per cent of the population admit to sleepwalking at least once in their lives, the condition can be easily rectified if treated accordingly. Adults are advised to enlist good sleeping habits, or seek medical advice.
4%的成人表示，他們有過夢游經歷。只要治療得當，比如培養良好的睡眠習慣，尋求醫護人員的幫助，夢游癥狀便會很快消失。

“Main treatment is to keep these people safe,” Dr Barnes said.
巴恩斯博士稱：“主要的治療手段是保證患者的安全。”

“Partners and family members should ensure sleepwalkers can’t get out of the room, out of windows or through the front door.
“患者的配偶及家屬應確保患者待在屋內，不會爬出窗戶，或走出家門。”

“Psychologists can explore anxieties, concerns, issues and past events and even worries about the future.
“心理學家不妨著手研究患者的為什么會焦慮擔心、心事重重，以及他們對往事的執念，或是對未來的擔憂。”

“All of these areas can contribute to these behaviours.”
“以上種種，都可能導致睡眠功能紊亂。”

As for Rikki’s sleep-shopping, Dr Barnes suggests more sleep, and eliminating caffeine, food and alcohol at least one hour before bedtime, and not to rely on prescribed sleeping medication.
針對麗奇的夢中網購癥狀，巴恩斯博士建議她補充睡眠，切勿在睡前一小時喝咖啡、進食或飲酒，并避免一味依賴安眠藥。

“The room should be also quiet, dark and comfortable,” Dr Barnes said.
“還要營造安靜、黑暗、舒適的睡眠環境，”巴恩斯博士補充道。

“Sometimes medication can effect your sleep — its like a circuit breaker. Taking sleeping tablets are not good for anyone in the long term. If the short term interventions don’t work, then a psychologist is the way to go.”
“安眠藥的作用機制和斷路器相似。從長遠角度看，吃安眠藥都會產生副作用。病人短期服用安眠藥后發現無效果，就應該轉而尋求心理治療。”

英文來源：澳大利亞新聞在線
譯者：garywguo
審校&編輯：杜娟