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

譯者: Lilian Chiu 審譯者: Zoe Walmsley

You’re just one Roman Empire history final away

你只要再撐過一場 羅馬帝國歷史期末考，

from a relaxing spring break.

就可以輕鬆放春假了。

But you still have so much to study!

但你還有好多書要讀。

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

所以你打算追隨你學長姐的腳步，

and pull an all-nighter.

熬夜通宵讀書。

When you stay up all night,

當你整晚不睡覺時，

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

你是在對抗你身體的自然晝夜節律。

These are the cyclical changes that virtually all living things experience

這些節律指的是幾乎所有生物

在二十四小時內都會 經歷的週期性變化──

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

比如睡眠和醒來──

and they’re heavily influenced by light.

而光線對這些節律的影響很大。

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

但此刻，你很清醒，

正全力讀凱薩大帝的統治史。

the rule of Julius Caesar.

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

隨著日落，

你的眼睛將光線減弱的訊號發送到

to a part of your brain called suprachiasmatic nucleus.

大腦中的視神經交叉上核。

This is basically your circadian rhythm’s clock.

基本上，它就是你的晝夜節律時鐘。

It alerts your pineal gland to start producing melatonin.

它會提醒松果體開始分泌褪黑素──

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

一種協助身體準備入睡的荷爾蒙──

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

在你睡前兩小時開始增加。

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

同時，下視丘和腦幹的神經元

release a compound called GABA.

開始釋放一種叫做 GABA （γ-氨基丁酸）的化合物，

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

讓大腦活動慢下來， 且會有鎮定的效果。

You’re approaching your normal bedtime.

快到你平常睡覺的時間了。

Since the brain needs to cool down before sleep,

因為大腦必須要在睡覺前先降溫，

your core body temperature starts to drop.

所以你的核心體溫會開始下降。

Huh, that map kind of looks like a face.

嗯，這地圖看起來好像一張臉。

Uh-oh, your attention has started to drift.

糟糕，你的注意力開始飄忽了。

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

白天，大腦都在釋放 一種叫做腺甘酸的代謝廢物。

called adenosine.

The more adenosine latching onto receptors in your brain,

大腦的受體上附著越多的腺甘酸，

the more tired and inattentive you become.

你就越疲憊，注意力也會越渙散。

Time for a cup of coffee.

該是喝杯咖啡的時候了。

Caffeine blocks adenosine from binding to receptors,

咖啡因會阻止腺甘酸和受體結合，

which can give you a boost of energy.

會提振你的精神。

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

然而，它也可能會讓你心悸顫抖，

增加你的焦慮。

You’re acing these flashcards!

這些教學卡完全難不倒你！

Right now these dates and names are being stored

此刻，這些日期和名字被儲存在

in an area of the brain called the hippocampus.

大腦的海馬迴裡面。

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

通常，當你入睡時， 這類記憶會被加固，

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

置入大腦的新皮質中，長期存放。

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

好在過了明天你就不用記得這些東西。

through tomorrow.

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

微睡是一種無預期的 短暫睡眠，最長只有幾秒鐘，

and are triggered by sleep deprivation.

通常因睡眠不足引起。

You stretch in an attempt to stay awake.

你伸個懶腰，試圖保持清醒。

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

但此時你的運動技能也受到了影響。

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

研究發現，超過十九小時沒睡的人

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

協調性和反應時間和喝酒的人差不多。

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

隨著日出，你的松果體 停止釋放褪黑素，

You feel a “second wind” come on.

你會感覺到「第二春」湧現。

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

儘管如此，你仍然帶著好心情去上學。

Sleep deprivation can briefly induce euphoria.

睡眠不足會引發短暫愉悅的亢奮，

It's caused a temporary boost in dopamine levels,

造成多巴胺暫時的提升，

which can unfortunately also lead to poor choices.

不幸的是，這也可能會 讓你做出錯誤的決定。

The final starts off well.

期末考剛開始很順利。

It’s all multiple choice!

全都是選擇題！

But then you get to the essay portion.

但接著你做到了論述題。

It’s thought that during sleep,

一般認為，在睡眠期間，

our brains process ideas and draw connections between new memories

大腦會處理新進資訊， 並將新舊記憶連結起來。

and old ones.

So your sleepless brain might be able to regurgitate facts,

你那一夜無眠的大腦 或許記住了許多東西，

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

但你卻發現歸納或解題變得很吃力。

You stare at the blank page, defeated.

你看著空白的試卷，無能為力。

You head up to your room, anxious and irritable.

好不容易回到房間， 卻感覺焦慮又易怒。

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

你的杏仁核，也就是 大腦中處理情緒的區域，

is going haywire.

變得過度活躍。

Your prefrontal cortex usually keeps your amygdala in check,

你的前額葉皮質通常能 抑制杏仁核的過度反應，

but it still isn't firing on all cylinders.

但此刻卻好像無法全開機。

Your bed has never felt so sweet.

你的床從未如此誘人。

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

醒來後，昨晚的徹夜未眠， 好像對你身體和大腦沒有影響，

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

這是好事，畢竟我們不是 總能控制我們的睡眠時間。

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

但如果長期都沒有好好睡，

or constantly changing your bedtime, can take its toll.

或經常改變上床時間， 則會產生負面影響。

Regularly getting less than seven hours of sleep each night

晚上長期睡不足七小時

is linked to all sorts of health issues,

會引起各式各樣的健康問題，

from diabetes to stroke to chronic pain.

糖尿病、中風，甚至慢性疼痛等等。

It also leaves you more vulnerable to developing mental health issues

同時也更容易引發心理健康問題，

like depression.

比如憂鬱症。

Your sleep schedule can even affect your grades.

你的睡眠時間表甚至 可能會影響你的成績。

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

研究顯示，睡眠規律的大學生，

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

他們的平均 GPA 高於 睡眠不規律的學生。

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

所以，下次你打算挑燈夜戰時，

remember that Rome wasn’t built in a day,

別忘了，羅馬不是一天造成的，

or for that matter, one night.

或者，就此而言，也不是一晚造成的。