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

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

譯者: Yi-Ping Cho (Marssi) 審譯者: Regina Chu

具體來說，睡眠不足 會如何影響我們的情緒腦？

Why does that lack of sleep make us

為什麼睡眠不足會讓我們

so emotionally irrational and hyperreactive?

情緒如此反常，而且反應過度？

[Sleeping with Science]

【睡眠科學】

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

我們在幾年前做了一個腦造影的研究。

And we took a group of healthy adults.

我們找來一群健康的成年人，

And we either gave them a full night of sleep

其中一組人可以一夜好眠，

or we sleep-deprived them.

另一組人則會徹夜難眠。

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

隔天，我們讓他們做核磁共振，

and we looked at how their emotional brain was reacting.

再看他們的情緒腦怎麼反應。

And we focused on one structure in particular,

我們特別專注在其中一個構造：

it's called the amygdala.

杏仁核。

And the amygdala is one of the centerpiece regions

杏仁核是產生 強烈情緒反應的關鍵部位，

for the generation of strong emotional reactions,

including negative emotional reactions.

其中也包含了負面的情緒反應。

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

我們看睡飽的那組人，

what we saw was a nice, appropriate moderate degree

發現他們的杏仁核有良好、 適當且適度的反應。

of reactivity from the amygdala.

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

它不是完全沒有反應，

but it was an appropriate response.

但那是適當的反應。

Yet in those people who were sleep-deprived,

至於那組沒睡飽的人，

that deep emotional brain center was in fact, hyperactive.

他們的深層情緒腦中心會反應過度。

Indeed, the amygdala was almost 60 percent more responsive

事實上，沒睡飽的時候，

杏仁核的反應會增加近六成之多。

under conditions of a lack of sleep.

But why was that the case?

但為什麼會這樣？

And what we went on to discover,

我們後來發現，

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

腦中還有另一個部位也受影響。

This brain region is called the prefrontal cortex,

這個部位稱為前額葉皮質，

and it sits directly above your eyes.

就位在你眼睛的正上方。

And you can think of the prefrontal cortex

你可以把前額葉皮質想像成是

almost like the CEO of your brain.

你大腦的執行長。

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

它很擅於做高階、決策、統籌

control decisions and reactions.

控制決定和反應。

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

其實前額葉皮質是我們大腦中 進化非常多的區域。

And one of the parts of the brain that it controls

它控制腦內的部位之一

is this deep emotional center, the amygdala.

就是這個深層情緒中心杏仁核。

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

那些一夜好眠的人，

there was a nice, strong communication and connection

他們的前額葉皮質之間 有良好的溝通和連繫，

between the prefrontal cortex,

regulating that deep emotional brain center.

調節那個深層情緒大腦中心。

But in those people who were sleep-deprived,

但睡不飽的那群人，

that communication, that connection between the prefrontal cortex

前額葉皮質

和深層情緒大腦中心杏仁核 之間的溝通和連結，

and that deep amygdala emotional brain center

had essentially been severed.

基本上被切斷了。

And as a consequence,

結果是

the amygdala was responding far more reactively

杏仁核的反應過度，

due to a lack of sleep.

而這是睡眠不足造成的。

It's almost as though without sleep

就好像沒有睡眠

we become all emotional accelerator pedal,

我們變成都只有情緒加速器，

and too little regulatory control brake.

太少調節用的控制煞車。

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

這似乎就是我們

在睡不好的時候 情緒會如此失控的原因。

in terms of our emotional integrity

when we haven't been sleeping well.

So that's the bad that can happen

如果我不讓你睡， 就會造成這種負面效果。

if I take sleep away from you.

But it turns out

但其實

that there's something good that happens

只要你能夠補眠就會有正面效果。

when you get your sleep back.

And sleep, particularly rapid eye movement sleep,

睡眠，特別是快速動眼期的睡眠，

actually offers a form of emotional first aid.

其實是提供情緒急救的一種方式。

Because it's during sleep at night

因為我們晚上睡覺的時候，

that we take these difficult emotional experiences

帶著白天這些難受的情緒經驗上床，

that we've been having during the day,

and that sleep acts almost like a nocturnal soothing balm,

睡眠扮演的角色就像夜間舒緩膏，

taking the sharp edges off those difficult experiences.

撫平那些難受經驗的刺。

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

因此也許並非時間撫平所有的傷痛，

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

而是睡眠提供了這樣的情緒休養期。

So that when we come back the next day,

這樣我們隔天回來

we're able to cope with those emotional memories.

就能處理那些情緒記憶了。