人睡着后大脑在工作

    From VOA Learning English, this is the Health Report.
    这里是美国之音慢速英语健康报道。

    Why do we need sleep?
    我们为什么需要睡觉?

    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?
    睡觉只是做梦的时间吗?我们的大脑会整夜休息吗?如果我告诉你,科学家最近发现我们的大脑在晚上可能和白天一样忙碌,你将做何感想?

    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.
    当我们睡觉时,我们的大脑所做的工作远远不止是为第二天养精蓄锐。美国罗切斯特大学的研究人员发现,大脑可能在忙于清理有害废物。

    As with many studies, the researchers turned to mice for help. They studied mice that had colored dye injected 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.
    和许多研究一样,研究人员借助了小白鼠。他们将有色染料注入小白鼠的大脑中并对其进行研究。他们分别在小白鼠睡着与醒着时对其大脑进行观测。研究人员表示,他们发现沉睡的小白鼠的大脑也在努力工作。

    Working Double Duty
    运行双重任务

    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.
    麦肯·内德高(Maiken Nedergaard)博士主持了这项研究工作。这位脑专家表示,我们的大脑进行着两种完全不同的工作。看来他们白天有工作,随后的晚上还兼职(moonlight)。

    "Moonlighting" is working a nighttime job in addition to a day job. And this study says that is what our brains seem to be doing – working an extra job at night without additional pay for overtime.
    兼职是指除了白天工作还从事夜间工作。这项研究称,这似乎就是我们的大脑正在做的事情--晚上额外加班还没有加班费。

    "When we are awake, the brain cells are working very hard at processing all the information about our surroundings. Whereas when we are asleep, they work very, very hard at removing all the waste that builds up when we are awake."
    他说,“当我们醒着时,脑细胞在努力处理所有周围环境的所有信息。而当我们睡着时,他们在非常努力地清理我们醒着时累计下来的垃圾。”

    The researchers say that the waste material includes poisons, or toxins, responsible for brain disorders such as Alzheimer's disease.
    研究人员表示,这些垃圾包括能够引起阿尔兹海默氏病等脑部疾病的毒物或毒素。

    They also found that during sleep, the brain's cells shrink, or become smaller. This shrinking permits waste to be removed more effectively.
    他们还发现,在睡眠期间,脑细胞会萎缩或变小。这种萎缩可以让垃圾被更有效地清理掉。

    Dr. Nedergaard says these toxins end up in the liver. There, they are broken down and then removed from the body.
    内德高德博士称,这些毒素最后到了肝脏,它们在那里被分解,然后排出身体。

    "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."
    他说,“所以我们的研究表明,我们需要睡眠,因为我们有一个宏观的清洁系统,它可以清除很多大脑产生的有毒产物。”

    The brain's 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.
    这一大脑清理系统只能通过新型成像技术来进行研究。实验动物必须活着,这样才能看到大脑的整个处理过程。

    Dr. Nedergaard says the next step is to look for the process in human brains. She said the results demonstrate 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.
    内德高博士称,下一步是寻找人类大脑的处理过程。她说,该结果证明了睡眠对于健康和对抗疾病非常重要。有一天也许这项研究还能被用于预防和帮助治疗神经系统疾病。

    7 Tips for Better Sleeping
    获得更好睡眠的7个技巧

    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 night's sleep:
    你有睡眠障碍吗?睡不着就叫失眠。以下是引自美国国家睡眠基金会的一些睡个好觉的技巧:

    Go to bed about the same time each night, even on weekends. This helps to "set" your body's "sleep clock."
    每天按时睡觉,即使是周末。这样有助于设定身体的睡眠时钟。

    Exercise every day.
    天天锻炼

    Have a calm, relaxing bedtime routine – Take a warm bath or drink a hot cup of tea.
    睡前序曲要平静、放松 -- 洗个热水澡或喝杯热茶

    Try not to take long naps during the day. Periods of sleep during the daytime can interfere with sleep at night.
    白天午睡不要太久,白天的睡眠时间会影响夜间睡眠

    Make sure you have a pleasant environment where you sleep. For most people, a cool, quiet and dark room is best for sleeping.
    确保睡眠环境舒适。对大多数人来说,凉爽、安静和漆黑的房间最合适睡眠

    Avoid using television, computers and other electronic screens before bedtime.
    睡前不要看电视、电脑以及任何电子屏幕

    Also avoid alcohol, cigarettes and heavy meals before bedtime.
    睡前不要饮酒、抽烟或吃太饱

    And from VOA Learning English, that's the Health Report. I'm Anna Matteo.
    以上就是本期美国之音慢速英语健康报道的全部内容。我是安娜·马特奥(Anna Matteo)。(51VOA.COM对本文翻译保留全部权利,未经授权请勿转载,违者必究!)