What staying up all night does to your brain - Anna Rothschild

翻译人员: Jing Quan 校对人员: Yanyan Hong

You’re just one Roman Empire history final away

你只需要完成一场 罗马帝国历史期末考试，

from a relaxing spring break.

就可以享受一个轻松的春假了。

But you still have so much to study!

但是你仍有很多知识点没看完，

So you decide to follow in the footsteps of many students before you

所以你决定追随前辈的脚步

and pull an all-nighter.

熬个大夜。

When you stay up all night,

当你熬夜的时候，

you're fighting against your body's natural circadian rhythms.

你在和身体的自然昼夜节律做斗争。

These are the cyclical changes that virtually all living things experience

这些周期变化几乎是全部生物

over the course of a 24-hour period— such as sleeping and waking—

在24小时内都要经历的—— 比如睡眠和醒来——

and they’re heavily influenced by light.

他们受光的严格调控。

But for the moment, you're alert and powering through

但是目前，你仍保持警惕并全力以赴

the rule of Julius Caesar.

着眼于尤利乌斯·凯撒的统治。

As the sun sets, your eyes send signals about the dwindling light

当太阳落山时，你的眼睛 发送光线减弱信号

to a part of your brain called suprachiasmatic nucleus.

到大脑中一个叫视交叉上核的地方。

This is basically your circadian rhythm’s clock.

这基本就是你的昼夜节律时钟，

It alerts your pineal gland to start producing melatonin.

它提醒你的松果腺体生产褪黑素，

That’s the hormone that helps prepare your body for sleep,

这是一种帮助身体入睡的激素，

and levels start to rise about two hours before your normal bedtime.

将在你正常就寝时间前 2 小时持续升高。

At the same time, neurons in the hypothalamus and brain stem

同时，下丘脑和脑干的神经元

release a compound called GABA.

释放名为 GABA 的递质，

This slows down activity in your brain and can have a calming effect.

它会减缓大脑活动达到镇静效果。

You’re approaching your normal bedtime.

快到正常就寝时间时，

Since the brain needs to cool down before sleep,

大脑需要在睡前冷却，

your core body temperature starts to drop.

所以你的体温开始下降。

Huh, that map kind of looks like a face.

诶，这地图好像一张脸啊。

Uh-oh, your attention has started to drift.

哎哟，你的注意力开始涣散了。

Throughout the day, your brain has been releasing a waste product

一整天，你的大脑都在释放废物，

called adenosine.

就是腺苷。

The more adenosine latching onto receptors in your brain,

越多腺苷附着在你的大脑上，

the more tired and inattentive you become.

你就越感到疲乏和无法集中注意力。

Time for a cup of coffee.

咖啡时间到。

Caffeine blocks adenosine from binding to receptors,

咖啡因阻止了腺苷和受体的结合，

which can give you a boost of energy.

让你短暂得到能量。

However, it might also make you jittery and increase your anxiety.

但是，它也可能让你 紧张不安、焦虑增加。

You’re acing these flashcards!

你在抽认卡自测表现出色！

Right now these dates and names are being stored

现在这些数据和名词都记在

in an area of the brain called the hippocampus.

大脑里一个叫海马的区域。

Normally when you go to sleep, memories like these are consolidated

通常当你睡觉的时候， 这些记忆得以巩固，

and slotted into long-term storage in your brain’s neocortex.

并且存入大脑新皮层的长期内存里。

So it’s a good thing you only need to remember this information

所以好消息是你只要记得这些信息

through tomorrow.

直到明天。

Microsleeps are unpredictable periods of sleep that last for only a few seconds

微睡眠指的是无法预测的睡眠时间， 仅持续几秒钟，

and are triggered by sleep deprivation.

是由睡眠不足引发的。

You stretch in an attempt to stay awake.

你伸个懒腰试图保持清醒，

But at this point your motor skills have also taken a hit.

但这会儿你的运动机能也不好使了。

Studies have found that people who have been awake for 19 hours

研究表明持续清醒19个小时的人

have similar coordination and reaction times as those who have been drinking.

他们的协调能力和反应时间 同饮酒后的人类似。

As the sun rises, your pineal gland stops releasing melatonin.

太阳升起了，你的松果腺体 停止释放褪黑素。

You feel a “second wind” come on.

你感觉“第二春”来了。

And despite everything, you leave for school in a really good mood.

不管三七二十一， 你心情愉悦地去上学。

Sleep deprivation can briefly induce euphoria.

睡眠不足让人短暂地引发欣快感。

It's caused a temporary boost in dopamine levels,

是因为暂时地提高了多巴胺的水平，

which can unfortunately also lead to poor choices.

但也导致决策失误。

The final starts off well.

考试一开始很好，

It’s all multiple choice!

全是多项选择题！

But then you get to the essay portion.

但接下来是论文部分。

It’s thought that during sleep,

人们认为睡眠期间，

our brains process ideas and draw connections between new memories

我们的大脑处理信息并且连接新记忆

and old ones.

和旧记忆。

So your sleepless brain might be able to regurgitate facts,

所以虽然你未眠的大脑 可能可以反复思考事实，

but you're finding it more difficult to find patterns or problem solve.

但你会发现很难举一反三或解决问题。

You stare at the blank page, defeated.

你看着空白纸张，茫然无措。

You head up to your room, anxious and irritable.

你放空，感到焦虑和烦躁。

Your amygdala, the part of the brain involved with processing emotion,

你的杏仁核，一个大脑处理情绪的脑区，

is going haywire.

乱了套了。

Your prefrontal cortex usually keeps your amygdala in check,

你的前额叶通常会管着杏仁核，

but it still isn't firing on all cylinders.

但如今做不到全力以赴了。

Your bed has never felt so sweet.

你的床从未如此有吸引力。

After one sleepless night, your body and brain bounce back pretty quickly.

仅一次熬夜，你的身体 和大脑能够迅速恢复，

Which is a good thing since we can’t always control how much sleep we get.

这是件好事，因为我们 无法掌控睡多久。

But going for long periods without a good night's sleep

但是长期的睡眠不足

or constantly changing your bedtime, can take its toll.

或频繁改变就寝时间， 可能带来负面影响。

Regularly getting less than seven hours of sleep each night

长期低于每晚7小时的睡眠时间

is linked to all sorts of health issues,

会带来很多健康问题，

from diabetes to stroke to chronic pain.

糖尿病、中风或长期疼痛。

It also leaves you more vulnerable to developing mental health issues

它也会让你更易患精神疾病，

like depression.

比如抑郁。

Your sleep schedule can even affect your grades.

你的睡眠周期也会影响成绩。

Studies have shown that college students who keep regular sleep hours have,

研究表明规律睡眠的大学生

on average, a higher GPA than students who don't.

相比不规律睡眠的大学生 通常成绩更好。

So the next time you’re thinking of pulling an all-nighter,

所以下次你再想熬夜的时候，

remember that Rome wasn’t built in a day,

记得罗马并非一日建成，

or for that matter, one night.

确切地说，不是一夜之间建成的。