VOA慢速英语2016 为何在新环境中不易入睡?（在线收听）

Why It's Harder to Sleep in New Place 为何在新环境中不易入睡?

Have you ever had trouble sleeping in a new place?

换了新环境你是否会辗转反侧，难以入睡？

Lots of people do. And now researchers from Brown University in Rhode Island think they know why.

相信大多数人都是这样的。美国罗得岛州布朗大学的研究员们找到了这一问题的根源。

They found that one-half of the brain “remains more awake” than the other half when people are trying to sleep in a new place.

当人们在陌生的环境中睡觉时，大脑的左半球比右半球更清醒。

This appears a case of the brain keeping people ready for trouble in a new place, the researchers said.

研究人员表示，这是因为大脑在陌生环境中随时准备应付突发状况。

The sleep findings were reported in Current Biology and by Brown University.

布朗大学将该研究结果发表在《当代生物学》杂志上。

In their report, the researchers said many people report they have a harder time sleeping the first night at a hotel or other places outside their home. 

研究人员在报告中指出，许多人都表示在酒店或外地的第一晚都难以入睡。

They call it, “first-night effect.”

他们称之为“第一夜现象”。

“In Japan they say, ‘if you change your pillow, you can’t sleep,’’’ said Yuka Sasaki, one of the report’s authors. “You don’t sleep very well in a new place. We all know about it.”

该研究的作者之一佐佐木优香（Yuka Sasaki）表示，“在日本人们常说，‘如果换了枕头就会睡不着。’”她说，“陌生环境会影响睡眠，我们都知道这一点。”

The researchers measured brain waves for 35 volunteers over two nights in a laboratory. The two nights were a week apart.

研究人员对35位志愿者进行了两次晚间睡眠状况的测量。两次测量时间相距一周。

They found during the first night the left hemisphere of the brain was more active than the right hemisphere. This was during the first deep-sleep period, the researchers said.

他们发现，第一晚大脑左半球比右半球活跃。研究人员表示，这是第一次深度睡眠的测量结果。

Sasaki said a lot of questions remain.

佐佐木优香表示仍有很多问题尚待研究。

Researchers did not keep measuring brain waves all night long. So, they don’t know if the left hemisphere keeps “watch” all night. Or whether it “works in shifts” with the right hemisphere later in the night.

研究人员并没有整晚测量脑电波。因此，不知道整晚是左脑一直在“值班”，还是随后与右脑进行轮班。

They also do not know why the extra brain activity, at least during the first phase of deep sleep, is always on the left hemisphere.

也不知道为什么大脑活动总是发生在大脑左半球，至少第一晚的深睡眠阶段是如此。

For some, this research may be calming. It is good to know that our brain is “looking out for us,” in a new place.

对某些人来说，这项研究结果让他们喜出望外。知道大脑在陌生环境中“为我们站岗放哨”的确是件值得高兴的事情。

But it may not help with sleep. That extra brain activity, at least according to this new research, makes it harder to get the sleep people need to wake up well rested in the morning.

但是这并不能改善睡眠。据这项新研究显示，这一大脑活动让人们难以获得充足睡眠。

Words in This Story

pillow – n. a bag filled with soft material that is used as a cushion usually for the head of a person who is lying down

hemisphere – n. either of the two halves of the brain

active – adj. doing things that require energy

shift – n. work done in a period of time