囧研究：为什么睡前你老觉得饿要吃东西？

 If you’re at all like me, you’ve eaten a lot of junk food late at night. One explanation for those late-night slices of pizza or burgers has to do with alcohol, which has a disinhibiting effect that makes us crave¹ fat and salt. But an increasing body of research suggests that exhaustion², too, plays a role — that the “sleep munchies” are real, at least in cases when people didn’t get enough sleep the night before.

是不是有小伙伴和我一样，晚上很晚的时候还要吃很多垃圾食品呢。有一个解释就是那些我们晚上吃的披萨和汉堡都含有酒精，而酒精则可以使我们更加渴望脂肪和盐。但是越来越多的研究表明，疲惫也会使人养成睡前吃东西的习惯，尤其是那些前一晚没有充足睡眠的人。

A new study in the journal?Sleep in which participants were put on normal sleep or sleep-restricted schedules while their calories were carefully monitored. Allison reports:The new study, based on blood samples, documents a novel finding: The daily rhythm of a particular endocannabinoid is altered by a lack of sleep.

《睡眠》期刊中记录了一项实验，参与者分别被分到正常睡眠组和限制性睡眠组，并且详细监测了他们体内的卡路里。阿里森说这一基于血液试样的研究证明了一个新的发现：人体内的花生四烯酸甘油的含量会因缺乏睡眠而改变。

囧研究：为什么睡前你老觉得饿要吃东西？

And these changes “could be driving intake³ for more palatable⁴ foods,” Erin Hanlon, a neuroscientist at the University of Chicago Medical Center, told us.

“而这些变化就是驱使人对美食向往的元凶。”芝加哥医疗中心大学的神经系统科学家艾瑞森·汉龙告诉我们。

“We found that sleep restriction⁵ boosts a signal that may increase the hedonic aspect of food intake,” says Hanlon. In other words, being sleep deprived may produce a stronger desire to eat.

汉龙说，缺乏睡眠会促使人们增加对美味食物的享受。换言之，睡眠不好会让人更加想吃东西。

We’re still a long way from understanding the connections between sleeplessness⁶, stress, and, well, gluttony. But knowing that the “sleep munchies” are probably a real thing with an explainable physical cause can only help those of us trying to improve our droopy-eyed eating habits.

或许我们尚未研究清楚睡眠、压力以及暴饮暴食之间的关系。但了解睡前饥饿感的原因至少可以帮助我们改善睡眼惺忪还得吃东西的习惯。

 

1 crave   

vt.渴望得到，迫切需要，恳求，请求

参考例句：

• Many young children crave attention.许多小孩子渴望得到关心。
• You may be craving for some fresh air.你可能很想呼吸呼吸新鲜空气。

2 exhaustion   

n.耗尽枯竭，疲惫，筋疲力尽，竭尽，详尽无遗的论述

参考例句：

• She slept the sleep of exhaustion.她因疲劳而酣睡。
• His exhaustion was obvious when he fell asleep standing.他站着睡着了，显然是太累了。

3 intake   

n.吸入，纳入；进气口，入口

参考例句：

• Reduce your salt intake.减少盐的摄入量。
• There was a horrified intake of breath from every child.所有的孩子都害怕地倒抽了一口凉气。

4 palatable   

adj.可口的，美味的；惬意的

参考例句：

• The truth is not always very palatable.事实真相并非尽如人意。
• This wine is palatable and not very expensive.这种酒味道不错，价钱也不算贵。

5 restriction   

n.限制，约束

参考例句：

• The park is open to the public without restriction.这个公园对公众开放，没有任何限制。
• The 30 mph speed restriction applies in all built-up areas.每小时限速30英里适用于所有建筑物聚集区。

6 sleeplessness   

n.失眠，警觉

参考例句：

• Modern pharmacy has solved the problem of sleeplessness. 现代制药学已经解决了失眠问题。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The doctors were puzzled by this strange continuous sleeplessness. 医生们对他的奇异的不眠感到疑惑。 来自英语晨读30分（高三）