如果不睡觉会怎样
What would happen if you didn't sleep
原文阅读
In 1965, 17-year-old high school student, Randy Gardner stayed awake for 264 hours. That's 11 days to see how he'd cope without sleep. On the second day, his eyes stopped focusing. Next, he lost the ability to identify objects by touch. By day three, Gardner was moody and uncoordinated. At the end of the experiment, he was struggling to concentrate, and trouble with short-term memory, became paranoid, and started hallucinating.
Although Gardner recovered without long-term psychological or physical damage, for others, losing shuteye can result in hormonal imbalance, illness, and in extreme cases, death.
We're only beginning to understand why we sleep to begin with, but we do know it's essential. Adults need seven to eight hours of sleep a night, and adolescents need about ten. We grow sleepy due to signals from our body telling our brain we are tired, and signals from the enviroment telling us it's dark outside.
The rise in sleep-inducing chemicals, like adenosine and melatonin, send us into a light doze that grows deeper, making our breathing and heart rate slow down and our muscles relax. This non-REM sleep is when DNA is repaired and our bodies replenish themselves for the day ahead.
In the United States, it's estimated that 30% of adults and 66% of adolescents are regularly sleep-deprived. This isn't just a minor inconvenience. Staying awake can cause serious bodily harm. When we lose sleep, learning, memory, mood, and reaction time are affected. Sleeplessness may also cause inflammation, hallucinations, high blood pressure, and it's even been linked to diabetes and obesity.
In 2014, a devoted soccer fan died after staying awake for 48 hours to watch the World Cup. While his untimely death was due to a stroke, studies show that chronically sleeping fewer than six hours a night increases stroke risk by four and half times, compared to those getting a consistent seven to eight hours of shuteye.
For a headful of people on the planet who carry a rare inherited genetic mutation, sleeplessness is a daily reality. This condition, known as Fatal Familial Insomnia, places the body in a nightmarish state of wakefulness, forbidding it from entering the sanctuary of sleep. Within months or years, this progressively worsening condition leads to dementia and death.
How can sleep deprivation cause such immense suffering? Scientists think the answer lies with the accumulation of waste products in the brain. During our waking hours, our cells are busy using up our day's energy sources, which get broken down into various byproducts, including adenosine. As adenosine builds up, it increases the urge to sleep, also know as sleep pressure. In fact, caffeine works by blocking adenosine's receptor pathways. Other waste products also build up in the brain, and if they're not cleared away, they collectively overload the brain, and are thought to lead to the many negative symptoms of sleep deprivation.
So, what's happening in our brain when we sleep to prevent this? Scientists found something called the glymphatic system, a clean-up mechanism that removes this buildup, and is much more active when we're asleep. It works by using cerebrospinal fluid to flush away toxic byproduct, that accumulate between calls. Lymphatic vessels, which serve as pathways for immue cells, have recently been discovered in the brain, and they may also play a role in clearing out the brain's daily waste products.
While scientists continue exploring the restorative mechanisms behind sleep, we can be sure that slipping into slumber is a necessity if we want to maintain our health and our sanity.
生词统计
| 单词 | 音标 | 翻译 |
|---|---|---|
| cope | koʊp | v. 处理、对付、竞争； n. 长袍 |
| concentrate | ˈkɑːnsntreɪt | v. 集中、浓缩、全神贯注； n. 浓缩、精选 |
| paranoid | ˈpærənɔɪd | n. 患妄想症的人、偏执狂患者； adj. 类似偏执狂的 |
| hallucinate | həˈluːsɪneɪt | v. 出现幻觉 |
| chemical | ˈkemɪkl | n. 化学制品、化学药品； adj. 化学的 |
| adenosine | əˈdenəˌsin | n. 腺苷酸 |
| melatonin | ˌmeləˈtoʊnɪn | n. 褪黑激素、N-乙酰-5-甲氧基色胺 |
| doze | doʊz | v. 打瞌睡、假寐； n. 瞌睡 |
| inflammation | ˌɪnfləˈmeɪʃn | n. [病理]炎症、[医]发炎、燃烧、发火 |
| diabetes | ˌdaɪəˈbiːtiːz | n. 糖尿病、多尿症 |
| obesity | oʊˈbiːsəti | n. 肥大、肥胖 |
| chronical | 'krɒnɪkəl | adj. 慢性的、延续很长的 |
| mutation | mjuːˈteɪʃn | n. 突变、变化、元音变化 |
| nightmarish | ˈnaɪtmerɪʃ | adj. 可怕的、恶梦似的、不愉快的 |
| sanctuary | ˈsæŋktʃueri | n. 避难所、耶路撒冷的神殿 |
| dementia | dɪˈmenʃə | n. [内科]痴呆 |
| immense | ɪˈmens | adj. 巨大的、广大的、无边无际的、非常好的 |
| accumulate | əˈkjuːmjəleɪt | v. 累积、积聚 |
| cerebrospinal | ˌserəbroʊˈspaɪnəl | adj. [解剖]脑脊髓的 |
| toxic | ˈtɑːksɪk | adj. 有毒的、中毒的 |
| lymphatic | lɪmˈfætɪk | n. 淋巴管、淋巴腺； adj. 淋巴的、含淋巴的 |
| slumber | ˈslʌmbər | n. 睡眠、麻木状态、静止状态； v. 睡眠、蛰伏、麻木 |
翻译
In 1965, 17-year-old high school student, Randy Gardner stayed awake for 264 hours. That's 11 days to see how he'd cope without sleep. On the second day, his eyes stopped focusing. Next, he lost the ability to identify objects by touch. By day three, Gardner was moody and uncoordinated. At the end of the experiment, he was struggling to concentrate, and trouble with short-term memory, became paranoid, and started hallucinating.
1965年，17岁的高中生Randy Gardner坚持了264个小时不睡觉。也就是11天，来看看他都经历了什么。第二天，他的眼睛就已经无法聚焦了。然后，他失去了依靠触摸来辨别物体的能力。第三天，Gardner变得喜怒无常，动作也开始不协调。在实验结束的时候，保持专注对他来说十分艰难，短期记忆出现了问题，变得易怒而且出现了幻觉。
Although Gardner recovered without long-term psychological or physical damage, for others, losing shuteye can result in hormonal imbalance, illness, and in extreme cases, death.
尽管Gardner痊愈了，没有长期的心理或生理的后遗症，对于其他人来说，失去睡眠可能导致荷尔蒙失衡，生病，在极端情况下甚至会死亡。
We're only beginning to understand why we sleep to begin with, but we do know it's essential. Adults need seven to eight hours of sleep a night, and adolescents need about ten. We grow sleepy due to signals from our body telling our brain we are tired, and signals from the enviroment telling us it's dark outside.
我们才刚刚开始了解我们为什么要睡觉，但我们知道睡眠是至关重要的。成人每晚需要7-8小时的睡眠，青少年大概需要10小时。我们变困是因为身体发出暗示，告诉我们的大脑，“我们累了”，还有外部环境发出的信号，外面天黑了。
The rise in sleep-inducing chemicals, like adenosine and melatonin, send us into a light doze that grows deeper, making our breathing and heart rate slow down and our muscles relax. This non-REM sleep is when DNA is repaired and our bodies replenish themselves for the day ahead.
嗜睡化学成分的上升，比如腺苔和褪黑素，是我们进入浅睡眠，并越睡越深，是我们的呼吸和心跳变缓，肌肉放松。DNA在这段非快速眼动睡眠期被修复，我们的身体也补充能量以准备迎接新的一天。
In the United States, it's estimated that 30% of adults and 66% of adolescents are regularly sleep-deprived. This isn't just a minor inconvenience. Staying awake can cause serious bodily harm. When we lose sleep, learning, memory, mood, and reaction time are affected. Sleeplessness may also cause inflammation, hallucinations, high blood pressure, and it's even been linked to diabetes and obesity.
在美国，大概有30%的成年人和66%的青少年经常缺少睡眠。这并不只是小麻烦。长期保持清醒会对身体产生巨大的伤害。当我们失去睡眠的时候，学习、记忆、情绪和反应都会受到影响。失眠还肯能会导致上火、幻觉、高血压甚至和糖尿病和肥胖有关系。
In 2014, a devoted soccer fan died after staying awake for 48 hours to watch the World Cup. While his untimely death was due to a stroke, studies show that chronically sleeping fewer than six hours a night increases stroke risk by four and half times, compared to those getting a consistent seven to eight hours of shuteye.
2014年，一个铁杆球迷因为连续48小时看世界杯而死亡。虽然他是因为中风而“英年早逝”，但研究表明，长期维持每日少于6小时的睡眠，相对于那些保持每晚7-8小时睡眠的人来说，增加了4.5倍中风的风险。
For a headful of people on the planet who carry a rare inherited genetic mutation, sleeplessness is a daily reality. This condition, known as Fatal Familial Insomnia, places the body in a nightmarish state of wakefulness, forbidding it from entering the sanctuary of sleep. Within months or years, this progressively worsening condition leads to dementia and death.
对于世上少数人，因为遗传基因突变，失眠时家常便饭。这种症状被称为致命性家族失眠症，将身体置于一种噩梦般的清醒状态，阻止患者进入睡眠这个庇护所。在几个月到几年内，这种逐渐恶化的病情会导致痴呆或死亡。
How can sleep deprivation cause such immense suffering? Scientists think the answer lies with the accumulation of waste products in the brain. During our waking hours, our cells are busy using up our day's energy sources, which get broken down into various byproducts, including adenosine. As adenosine builds up, it increases the urge to sleep, also know as sleep pressure. In fact, caffeine works by blocking adenosine's receptor pathways. Other waste products also build up in the brain, and if they're not cleared away, they collectively overload the brain, and are thought to lead to the many negative symptoms of sleep deprivation.
失眠时如何导致如此严重的痛苦的？科学家们认为时代谢物在大脑中的积累。在清醒的时候，我们的细胞不停地消耗一天的所需能量，分解成各种代谢物，包括腺苔，当腺苔累计到一定程度，它会增加困倦感，也就是睡眠压力。事实上，咖啡因是靠阻断接受腺苔的感知器官来实现其作用的。其他的代谢物也会积聚于大脑，如果不清理出去，它们会导致大脑和思想超负荷运转，并导致各种失眠症状。
So, what's happening in our brain when we sleep to prevent this? Scientists found something called the glymphatic system, a clean-up mechanism that removes this buildup, and is much more active when we're asleep. It works by using cerebrospinal fluid to flush away toxic byproduct, that accumulate between cells. Lymphatic vessels, which serve as pathways for immune cells, have recently been discovered in the brain, and they may also play a role in clearing out the brain's daily waste products.
那我们睡觉的时候，大脑是如何运作防止这些发生的呢？科学家们发现了一种淋巴系统，一种能清除这些积聚物的系统，当我们睡觉的时候，这个系统会非常活跃。它利用脑髓液来清除在细胞之间的有毒物质。淋巴管，为免疫细胞提供路径的血管，最近被发现存在于大脑中，淋巴管也可能在清除大脑日常代谢物中扮演了重要的角色。
While scientists continue exploring the restorative mechanisms behind sleep, we can be sure that slipping into slumber is a necessity if we want to maintain our health and our sanity.
虽然科学家们还在继续探索关于睡眠的修复机制，我们可以肯定的是，想要保持健康和离职，睡觉时必须的。