大腦在夜晚也繼續(xù)工作？

熊子云

Why do we need sleep？ Is bedtime just a time for dreaming？ Do our brains turn off for the night？ What if I told you that scientists recently discovered that our brains may be just as busy at night as they are during the day？

為什么我們需要睡眠呢？睡覺(jué)的這段時(shí)間僅僅是為了做夢(mèng)嗎？我們的大腦在夜間是否處于休息狀態(tài)呢？如果我告訴你，據(jù)最近的科學(xué)研究，我們的大腦在夜間也像白天一樣忙碌，你對(duì)此有何看法？

While we sleep， our brains are doing much more than getting ready for the next day. Researchers at the University of Rochester found that the brain may be busy cleaning house— cleaning out harmful waste materials.

當(dāng)我們處于睡眠狀態(tài)時(shí)，大腦不僅僅只是為明天做準(zhǔn)備。羅切斯特大學(xué)的研究人員發(fā)現(xiàn)，大腦在夜間也許正忙于清理房子——掃除有害的垃圾。

They studied mice that had colored dye injected1 into their brains. They observed the mice brains as they slept and when they were awake. The researchers say they saw that the brains of sleeping mice were hard at work.

研究人員將彩色染料注入老鼠的腦內(nèi)并在它們睡眠和清醒時(shí)觀察他們的大腦。結(jié)果發(fā)現(xiàn)，老鼠的大腦在它們睡眠時(shí)也在忙碌地工作。

Working Double Duty

雙重任務(wù)

Dr. Maiken Nedergaard led the study. The brain expert says our brains perform two very different jobs. It seems they have daytime jobs. Later they “moonlight” at a nighttime job.

麥肯·尼達(dá)加特博士負(fù)責(zé)這項(xiàng)研究。腦專家認(rèn)為我們的大腦執(zhí)行著兩項(xiàng)十分不同的工作，不僅有日間的工作，之后還要“兼職”做一些夜間的工作。

“When we are awake， the brain cells2 are working very hard at processing all the information about our surroundings3. Whereas when we are asleep， they work very， very hard at removing4 all the waste that builds up when we are awake.”

當(dāng)我們醒著時(shí)，大腦細(xì)胞拼命工作，處理關(guān)于我們四周環(huán)境的信息。但是，當(dāng)我們睡覺(jué)時(shí)，它們也仍然拼命掃除我們醒著時(shí)在腦中積累的垃圾。

The researchers say that the waste material includes poisons， or toxins， responsible for brain disorders5 such as Alzheimers disease.

研究人員認(rèn)為這些垃圾包括各種毒素。這些毒素是一些大腦疾病——如老年癡呆癥的誘因。

They also found that during sleep， the brains cells shrink， or become smaller. This shrinking permits waste to be removed more effectively.

研究人員也發(fā)現(xiàn)，大腦細(xì)胞在睡眠中會(huì)收縮或變小。這種收縮運(yùn)動(dòng)可以更有效的清理垃圾。

Dr. Nedergaard says these toxins end up in the liver. There， they are broken down and then removed from the body.

麥肯·尼達(dá)加特博士說(shuō)這些毒素會(huì)轉(zhuǎn)移到肝臟。在肝臟中，這些毒素被分解，然后被排出。

“So our study suggests we need to sleep because we have a macroscopic cleaning system that removes many of the toxic waste products from the brain.”

“所以我們的研究證明了睡眠對(duì)于人們的重要性。因?yàn)槲覀冇幸粋€(gè)微觀的清理系統(tǒng)來(lái)清除大腦中的很多有害物質(zhì)。”

The brains cleaning system could only be studied with new imaging technologies. The test animal must be alive in order to see for this brain process to be seen as it happens.

研究人員只能利用最新的成像技術(shù)來(lái)觀察大腦的清理系統(tǒng)。試驗(yàn)中的動(dòng)物必須是活的，以保證這一大腦運(yùn)行過(guò)程能被觀察到。

Dr. Nedergaard says the next step is to look for the process in human brains. She said the results demonstrate6 just how important sleep is to health and fighting disease. The research may also one day lead to treatments to prevent or help fight neurological disorders.

尼達(dá)加特博士表示下一步的工作將是觀察人腦的運(yùn)行過(guò)程。她指出目前的實(shí)驗(yàn)結(jié)果僅僅證明了睡眠對(duì)于健康和預(yù)防疾病的重要性。這一研究將來(lái)也許有助于預(yù)防和治療神經(jīng)性疾病。

7 Tips for Better Sleeping

7條保持良好睡眠的建議

Do you have trouble sleeping？ Not being able to sleep is called insomnia. According to the United States National Sleep Foundation， here are some tips for a good nights sleep：

你入睡困難嗎？我們用“失眠”來(lái)定義人們無(wú)法入睡的情況。為了保證一夜的睡眠，美國(guó)國(guó)家睡眠基金會(huì)提出了以下建議：

1. Go to bed about the same time each night， even on weekends. This helps to“set” your bodys “sleep clock.”

每晚在同一時(shí)間上床睡覺(jué)，即使是周末也要如此。這一方法有助于“設(shè)定”身體的“睡眠生物鐘?！?/p>

2. Exercise every day.

每天運(yùn)動(dòng)。

3. Have a calm， relaxing bedtime routine7—Take a warm bath or drink a hot cup of tea.

擁有一個(gè)平靜、放松的睡前習(xí)慣——洗個(gè)熱水澡或喝杯熱茶。

4. Try not to take long naps during the day. Periods of sleep during the daytime can interfere8 with sleep at night.

白天小睡時(shí)間不宜過(guò)長(zhǎng)。白天的睡眠時(shí)長(zhǎng)會(huì)影響夜晚的睡眠。

5. Make sure you have a pleasant environment where you sleep. For most people， a cool， quiet and dark room is best for sleeping.

確保你有一個(gè)舒適的睡眠環(huán)境。對(duì)于大多數(shù)人來(lái)說(shuō)，一個(gè)涼爽、安靜和黑暗的房間最適合睡眠。

6. Avoid using television， computers and other electronic screens before bedtime.

睡前避免盯著電視，電腦和其它電子屏幕。

7. Also avoid alcohol， cigarettes and heavy meals before bedtime.

睡前避免喝酒、吸煙和飲食過(guò)量。

——英語(yǔ)原文摘自VOA Special

[1] inject vt. 注入；注射 [2] cell n. 細(xì)胞 [3] surrounding n. 環(huán)境，周圍的事物

[4] remove vt. 移動(dòng)，遷移；調(diào)動(dòng) [5] disorder n. 混亂 [6] demonstrate vt. 證明；展示；論證

[7] routine n. 例行公事 [8] interfere vi. 干涉；妨礙；打擾