How sleep affects your emotions | Sleeping with Science, a TED series

So exactly, how does a lack of sleep impact our emotional brain?

翻译人员: Nicole Tsang 校对人员: Meng Ren

那么，究竟睡眠不足 对我们的情绪大脑有什么影响呢？

Why does that lack of sleep make us

为什么睡眠不足会使我们

so emotionally irrational and hyperreactive?

情绪失常和反应过度？

[Sleeping with Science]

【与科学同眠】

Well, several years ago, we conducted a brain imaging study.

几年前，我们进行了脑成像研究。

And we took a group of healthy adults.

我们选了一群健康的成年人。

And we either gave them a full night of sleep

我们保证一组人有整夜的睡眠，

or we sleep-deprived them.

另一组则剥夺了他们的睡眠。

And then the next day, we placed them inside an MRI scanner,

然后第二天， 我们给他们做了核磁共振扫描，

and we looked at how their emotional brain was reacting.

然后观察他们大脑中的情绪 会产生怎样的反应。

And we focused on one structure in particular,

我们着重观察了一个脑部结构，

it's called the amygdala.

它叫做杏仁核。

And the amygdala is one of the centerpiece regions

而杏仁核是一个专门负责产生

for the generation of strong emotional reactions,

强烈情绪反应的核心区域，

including negative emotional reactions.

包括负面的情绪反应。

Now when we looked at those people who had had a full night of sleep,

于是，当我们观察 那些睡了一整夜的人时，

what we saw was a nice, appropriate moderate degree

我们看到的是来自杏仁核

of reactivity from the amygdala.

不错而适度的反应。

It wasn't as though there was no response at all,

虽然那里根本没有回应，

but it was an appropriate response.

但是这本身是一个适当的反应。

Yet in those people who were sleep-deprived,

但是那些睡眠不足的人，

that deep emotional brain center was in fact, hyperactive.

大脑深处的情感中心 则表现得异常活跃。

Indeed, the amygdala was almost 60 percent more responsive

事实上，杏仁核在缺乏睡眠的情况下，

反应比正常情况要剧烈近 60％。

under conditions of a lack of sleep.

But why was that the case?

但是为什么会这样呢？

And what we went on to discover,

然后我们继续研究发现

is that there's another brain region that's involved.

这还涉及到另一个大脑区域。

This brain region is called the prefrontal cortex,

这个大脑区域称为前额叶皮质，

and it sits directly above your eyes.

它就位于你眼睛的正上方。

And you can think of the prefrontal cortex

你可以把前额叶皮层

almost like the CEO of your brain.

想象成大脑的首席执行官。

It's very good at making high-level, executive, top-down

它擅长做高级的、 执行性的、自上而下的

control decisions and reactions.

控制决策和反应。

In fact, it's one of the most evolved regions of our brain.

实际上，这是我们大脑中 进化最完善的部位之一。

And one of the parts of the brain that it controls

而杏仁核控制着大脑的一个部分，

is this deep emotional center, the amygdala.

就是深层的情感中心。

Now in those people who had had a full night of sleep,

在那些睡了一整夜的人脑中，

there was a nice, strong communication and connection

前额叶皮质与杏仁核之间

between the prefrontal cortex,

存在一个完好的、强大的沟通与联系，

regulating that deep emotional brain center.

合理调节了深处的情绪大脑中心。

But in those people who were sleep-deprived,

但是在那些睡眠不足的人脑中，

that communication, that connection between the prefrontal cortex

前额叶皮质与杏仁核 这个大脑深处的情绪中心

and that deep amygdala emotional brain center

之间的那种交流和联系

had essentially been severed.

基本上被切断了。

And as a consequence,

结果，

the amygdala was responding far more reactively

由于缺乏睡眠

杏仁核出现了更强烈的反应。

due to a lack of sleep.

It's almost as though without sleep

好像没有睡觉，

we become all emotional accelerator pedal,

我们都成了情绪化的油门踏板，

and too little regulatory control brake.

缺少常规的控制刹车。

And that seems to be the reason that we become so unbuckled

这似乎就是在我们没有睡好觉时，

in terms of our emotional integrity

我们会在情绪方面失控的原因。

when we haven't been sleeping well.

So that's the bad that can happen

也就是说如果你缺乏好的睡眠，

if I take sleep away from you.

就会有这样的坏事发生。

But it turns out

但事实证明，

that there's something good that happens

一旦你恢复了良好睡眠，

when you get your sleep back.

好事就会发生。

And sleep, particularly rapid eye movement sleep,

而睡眠，特别是快速眼动睡眠，

actually offers a form of emotional first aid.

实际上提供了一种情绪急救的功效。

Because it's during sleep at night

因为晚上睡觉时，

that we take these difficult emotional experiences

我们会想到白天一直在经历的

that we've been having during the day,

艰难的情感体验，

and that sleep acts almost like a nocturnal soothing balm,

而睡眠尤如夜间舒缓药膏一样，

taking the sharp edges off those difficult experiences.

从那些困难的经历中解脱。

And so perhaps it's not time that heals all wounds,

所以也许不是时间治愈了所有伤口，

it's time during sleep that provides that form of emotional convalescence.

而是睡眠提供了情绪恢复期。

So that when we come back the next day,

这样，当我们第二天醒来时，

we're able to cope with those emotional memories.

才能够应付那些情感回忆。