讓你大半夜睡不著的“夜鷹”

午夜夢回，思緒萬千，似乎是很多人都有過的經歷。越是睡不著的時候就越容易想到很多事情，想得越多，就越睡不著。這些在夜里困擾我們的事情在英文里有個說法，叫nighthawk。

Nighthawk is a recurring thought that only seems to strike you late at night -- an overdue task, a nagging guilt, a looming and shapeless future -- that circles high overhead during the day, that pecks at the back of your mind while you try to sleep, that you can successfully ignore for weeks, only to feel its presence hovering outside the window, waiting for you to finish your coffee, passing the time by quietly building a nest.
“夜鷹”指大半夜在你腦中反復出現、讓你無法入睡的一些思緒，比如：還沒完成的任務、難以擺脫的負罪感、黯淡無光的未來，等等。這些事白天在你頭頂盤旋，你在想要入睡的時候突然對你迎頭一擊。你可以好幾個星期對其不予理睬，但它們會一直在你窗外盤旋，等你喝完那杯咖啡，看著你隨手搭些小玩意打發時間。

For example:

I have been disturbed by nighthawks of several deadlines lately.
我最近一直被幾個要到期的任務困擾，無法入眠。

（中國日報網英語點津 Helen）