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1What happens to our brain when we sleep?
"I'm knackered - have you got any tips for a good night's sleep?" Not only is sleep a common feature of our small talk, we've also spent decades trying to understand and explain it. After all, we spend on average 26 years of our lives asleep. So, what do we know? Here are the highlights of the last decade of research.
“我累坏了，你有什么睡个好觉的建议吗？”睡眠不仅是我们闲聊中的常见话题，我们还花了几十年的时间来理解和解释它。毕竟，我们一生中平均有26年是在睡眠中度过的。那么，我们知道些什么呢？以下是过去十年的研究重点。
One of the most intriguing developments is in the study of lucid dreaming – it seems it's possible to communicate with people while they're sleeping. In a study called 'Real-time dialogue between experimenters and dreamers during REM sleep', researchers asked questions to participants in a lucid dream. The dreamers signalled the answers using pre-agreed eye or facial movements. They were accurate, suggesting they could access their cognitive functions such as working memory while sleeping. This interaction between dreamworld and reality has brought excitement to the sleep science community.
最引人入胜的进展之一是对清醒梦境的研究--似乎有可能在人们熟睡时与他们交流。在一项名为“快速眼动睡眠中实验者与做梦者之间的实时对话”的研究中，研究人员向清醒梦境中的参与者提出了问题。做梦者用事先商定的眼部或面部动作示意回答。他们的回答非常准确，这表明他们可以在睡眠中使用工作记忆等认知功能。梦境与现实之间的这种互动让睡眠科学界为之一振。
Sleep can also help our memory and problem-solving. A 2023 review of research by Denis and Cairney noted that brain regions that are used to learn new things, are reactivated during sleep. That means while we're sleeping, our brains replay our memories of what happened during the day, which is believed to be crucial for memory retention. And, if you've ever felt it was best to sleep on a tricky problem and solve it in the morning, you might have scientific backing! A 2019 study by Sanders and colleagues found that people were more likely to solve a tricky problem the next day if the problem had been activated in their brains during sleep. So, if you're stuck, rest up and return to it in the morning.
睡眠还能帮助我们记忆和解决问题。丹尼斯和凯尔尼在2023年的研究综述中指出，用于学习新事物的大脑区域在睡眠中会被重新激活。这意味着，当我们睡觉时，大脑会重放白天发生的事情，这被认为是保持记忆的关键。而且，如果你曾觉得最好先睡一觉再说，把棘手的问题留到明早再解决，这可能有科学的依据！桑德斯及其同事在 2019 年进行的一项研究发现，如果问题在睡眠中被激活，人们第二天就更有可能解决棘手的问题。所以，如果你卡壳了，可以休息一下，明天早上再解决。
What if you're unlucky enough to suffer with sleep deprivation? Unfortunately, you may be at higher risk of negative moods and worse emotional regulation, according to a 2021 meta-analysis called 'The effect of sleep deprivation and restriction on mood, emotion, and emotion regulation'. The good news is there are plenty of tips to help you with your sleep hygiene. The UK's National Health Service recommends having a set time to start winding down, meditation before bed, which they call 'beditation', and avoiding caffeine before bed.
如果你不幸遭受睡眠不足的困扰怎么办？不幸的是，根据 2021 年的一项名为“睡眠不足和限制对心情、情绪和情绪调节的影响”的荟萃分析，你可能面临更高的负面情绪和更差的情绪调节风险。好消息是有很多技巧可以帮助你保持睡眠健康。英国国家卫生服务局建议有一个固定的时间开始放松，睡前冥想，他们称之为“睡前冥想”，并在睡前避免摄入咖啡因。
词汇表
knackered 筋疲力尽的
a good night's sleep 睡个好觉
asleep 睡着的
lucid dreaming 清醒梦，在做梦时保持思考和记忆能力
dreamer 睡梦中的人
REM sleep 快速动眼睡眠
cognitive functions 认知功能
working memory 工作记忆，一种持续时间较短的记忆
dreamworld 梦中世界，梦境
memory retention 记忆保持，在记忆中保留信息或经验
sleep on something 把…留到下一天再作决定
rest up 得到充分休息
sleep deprivation 睡眠不足
sleep hygiene 睡眠健康
wind down 逐渐放松
beditation 睡前冥想
caffeine 咖啡因
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