第1527期:What you didn't know about the verges of sleep

How long does it take you to fall asleep? Are you out like a light as soon as your head hits the pillow, or does it take you more than a little time to doze off?你需要多长时间才能入睡？当你的头撞到枕头上时，你是不是像灯一样亮了起来，还是你需要一点时间才能打瞌睡？If the average night’s sleep is eight hours, or a third of a day, then it means we spend around one third of our lives in this dormant state. Science already has reams of data on the brain’s activity during sleep itself. Now, an international group of researchers at the University of Cambridge are researching that dopey state we all go through between wide awake and fast asleep.如果每晚的平均睡眠时间为八小时，或一天的三分之一，那么这意味着我们大约三分之一的生命都处于这种休眠状态。科学已经拥有大量关于睡眠期间大脑活动的数据。现在，剑桥大学的一个国际研究小组正在研究我们在完全清醒和熟睡之间所经历的那种昏昏欲睡的状态。This transitional period usually lasts between five and 20 minutes, says Sridhar Rajan Jagannathan, one of Cambridge’s Gates Scholars. However, people exhibit a variety of behaviour within this time. For some, going to the land of nod is a smooth, quick journey, while others have more difficulty. They “begin to get drowsy” and then snap out of it “back to alertness” he says.剑桥盖茨学者之一斯里达尔·拉詹·贾甘纳坦说，这个过渡期通常持续 5 到 20 分钟。然而，人们在这段时间内表现出各种各样的行为。对一些人来说，前往点头之地是一段顺利、快速的旅程，而另一些人则困难重重。他说，他们“开始昏昏欲睡”，然后“恢复警觉”。The aim of the research is to find out how this pre-sleep phase, when the eyes glaze, the attention wanders and the mind is lulled, could be linked to accidents and dangerous mistakes. This could happen during the day while at work. “If you’re doing some boring task, you might be drowsy in this period. Small drift-offs can cause big problems,” says Mr Jangannathan. This is not just connected to safety concerns with driving, for example, but any task where concentration and decision making are important.这项研究的目的是找出这个睡前阶段，当眼睛呆滞、注意力分散、头脑昏昏沉沉时，如何与事故和危险的错误联系起来。这可能在白天工作时发生。“如果你在做一些无聊的工作，这段时间你可能会昏昏欲睡。小的漂移会导致大问题，”Jangannathan 先生说。例如，这不仅与驾驶的安全问题有关，还与注意力和决策很重要的任何任务有关。There are positive sides to this hypnagogic period too. Some experts think there is a connection to creativity and imagination. This is caused by a reduction in your inhibitions, which makes you more creative. You have more freedom to express yourself, and you’re more willing to make mistakes. It certainly seems to support the old adage of sleeping on it to solve a problem.这个催眠期也有积极的一面。一些专家认为这与创造力和想象力有关。这是由于你的抑制减少了，这让你更有创造力。你有更多表达自己的自由，你更愿意犯错误。它似乎支持了“睡在上面来解决问题”这句古老的格言。Ultimately, there are hopes that research into brain activity during falling asleep and waking might help stroke victims who are trying to regain lost physical functions. That could well be a pipe dream. There are also research efforts underway to find ways to warn of the onset of sleep, identifying changes in eye movements or brain activity. These could have practical applications for tired people operating heavy machinery and may help ensure that when it comes to accidents, we’re not caught napping.最终，希望研究入睡和醒来期间的大脑活动可能有助于中风患者试图恢复失去的身体功能。那很可能是白日梦。还有一些研究正在进行中，以寻找警告睡眠开始的方法，识别眼球运动或大脑活动的变化。这些可能对操作重型机械的疲倦的人有实际应用，并可能有助于确保在发生事故时，我们不会被困在打盹。词汇表out like a light 迅速入睡doze off 入睡dormant 休眠的，沉睡的dopey 迷迷糊糊的wide awake 完全清醒的fast asleep 熟睡的the land of nod 在睡梦中drowsy 半梦半醒的，睡意朦胧的snap out of it 从…迅速恢复过来alertness 清醒glaze 发呆，（眼神）变呆滞lull 使发困， 使安静drift-off 渐渐入睡hypnagogic 催眠的，入睡前的sleeping on it 考虑一晚上，把…留到第二天再作决定pipe dream 白日梦catch someone napping 使某人措手不及、猝不及防

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