美国国家公共电台 NPR We Just 'Fell Back' An Hour. Here Are Tips To Stay Healthy During Dark Days Ahead

 

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

If you woke up before your alarm went off this morning, it's no big surprise. Those of us who turned back our clocks over the weekend are still adjusting. NPR's Allison Aubrey reports that scientists are learning just how sensitive our bodies are to time.

ALLISON AUBREY, BYLINE¹: When we turn back the clocks in the fall or spring forward in the spring, the one-hour change may not seem like a big deal, but our bodies definitely notice. Daylight saving time is actually linked to an increased risk of traffic accidents, heart attacks and strokes.

JAY CHUDOW: It is definitely a surprise when thinking about one-hour difference causing significant health effects.

AUBREY: That's Jay Chudow. He's an internal medicine resident at Montefiore Health System. He says the bad effects that have been documented in studies are mostly linked to the spring forward change when we lose an hour of sleep. And he was curious to know how that might influence the risk of a heart condition known as atrial fibrillation or AFib. It's a type of irregular heartbeat. So he analyzed² about 6,000 hospital admissions over an eight-year period.

CHUDOW: What we found when we took a look at people who were admitted to the hospital for atrial fibrillation was that linked to daylight saving time, there was a 20-percent increase in the number of admissions for atrial fibrillation in the days following spring transition. And it was surprising.

AUBREY: Chudow is set to present his research at an American Heart Association conference this week. The findings are preliminary, but they give insight into just how sensitive our bodies can be to time. Fred Turek is director of the Center for Sleep & Circadian Biology at Northwestern University. I asked him what's happening in our bodies and brains as we adjust to the time change.

FRED TUREK: You might think that one-hour time change is not a lot. But it turns out that the master circadian clock in our brain is pretty hardwired. It runs with a period of about 24 hours, and it's synchronized³ to the light-dark cycle.

AUBREY: And daylight is a primary cue to reset⁴ the clock. So if daylight comes an hour earlier or later, it throws us off.

TUREK: So all of a sudden, if you change the day by an hour, that internal clock has to catch up. It's going to take a day or two for it to readjust to the new time.

AUBREY: Turek says over the last 20 years, scientists have learned a lot about how our body clocks help regulate our biology. And it's not just the master clock in our brain. We have time-keeping mechanisms⁵ in every organ of the body. And increasingly, there's evidence that when our habits - such as when we eat and sleep - are out of sync with our internal clocks, it can harm us. Our bodies crave⁶ consistent routines. So when we disrupt them by, say, binge-watching late-night TV or midnight snacking or doing overnight shift work, there can be consequences.

TUREK: There's a great deal of research studies demonstrating that when we shift the biological clock and we shift the sleep-wake cycle - if that's done on a chronic⁷ basis, it leads to disease states such as obesity⁸, diabetes⁹ and cardiovascular disease.

AUBREY: It doesn't happen overnight, but the risks increase the more your habits are at odds¹⁰ with your natural rhythms. At this time of year, as the amount of daylight continues to decrease, it can be easy to fall into bad habits. Psychologist Sanam Hafeez says especially in northern climates where it's cold and dark people are inclined to hibernate¹¹.

SANAM HAFEEZ: So that daylight change can actually really throw off a lot of things, including socialization, emotional rhythm. It sort of has a pervasive¹² effect on some folks.

AUBREY: To combat the dark-day blues¹³, Hafeez has three basic pointers. One, plan social gatherings¹⁴ in advance. Maybe join a club or a group linked to a hobby. Two, watch your alcohol consumption since drinking too much can amplify¹⁵ the pervasive effects. And three, go to bed an hour or so earlier so you can get up and maximize that exposure to sunlight in the morning hours. Allison Aubrey, NPR News.

1 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

2 analyzed   

v.分析( analyze的过去式和过去分词 )；分解；解释；对…进行心理分析

参考例句：

• The doctors analyzed the blood sample for anemia. 医生们分析了贫血的血样。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The young man did not analyze the process of his captivation and enrapturement, for love to him was a mystery and could not be analyzed. 这年轻人没有分析自己蛊惑著迷的过程，因为对他来说，爱是个不可分析的迷。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 synchronized   

同步的

参考例句：

• Do not use the synchronized keyword in Managed Objects. 不要在管理对象上使用synchronized关键字。 来自互联网
• The timing of the gun was precisely synchronized with the turning of the plane's propeller. 风门的调速与飞机螺旋桨的转动精确同步。 来自辞典例句

4 reset   

v.重新安排，复位；n.重新放置；重放之物

参考例句：

• As soon as you arrive at your destination,step out of the aircraft and reset your wristwatch.你一到达目的地，就走出飞机并重新设置手表时间。
• He is recovering from an operation to reset his arm.他做了一个手臂复位手术，正在恢复。

5 mechanisms   

n.机械( mechanism的名词复数 )；机械装置；[生物学] 机制；机械作用

参考例句：

• The research will provide direct insight into molecular mechanisms. 这项研究将使人能够直接地了解分子的机理。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He explained how the two mechanisms worked. 他解释这两台机械装置是如何工作的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 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。

7 chronic   

adj.(疾病)长期未愈的，慢性的；极坏的

参考例句：

• Famine differs from chronic malnutrition.饥荒不同于慢性营养不良。
• Chronic poisoning may lead to death from inanition.慢性中毒也可能由虚弱导致死亡。

8 obesity   

n.肥胖，肥大

参考例句：

• One effect of overeating may be obesity.吃得过多能导致肥胖。
• Sugar and fat can more easily lead to obesity than some other foods.糖和脂肪比其他食物更容易导致肥胖。

9 diabetes   

n.糖尿病

参考例句：

• In case of diabetes, physicians advise against the use of sugar.对于糖尿病患者，医生告诫他们不要吃糖。
• Diabetes is caused by a fault in the insulin production of the body.糖尿病是由体內胰岛素分泌失调引起的。

10 odds   

n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别

参考例句：

• The odds are 5 to 1 that she will win.她获胜的机会是五比一。
• Do you know the odds of winning the lottery once?你知道赢得一次彩票的几率多大吗？

11 hibernate   

v.冬眠，蛰伏

参考例句：

• Bears often hibernate in caves.熊常在山洞里冬眠。
• Some warm-blooded animals do not need to hibernate.一些温血动物不需要冬眠。

12 pervasive   

adj.普遍的；遍布的，(到处)弥漫的；渗透性的

参考例句：

• It is the most pervasive compound on earth.它是地球上最普遍的化合物。
• The adverse health effects of car exhaust are pervasive and difficult to measure.汽车尾气对人类健康所构成的有害影响是普遍的，并且难以估算。

13 blues   

n.抑郁，沮丧；布鲁斯音乐

参考例句：

• She was in the back of a smoky bar singing the blues.她在烟雾弥漫的酒吧深处唱着布鲁斯歌曲。
• He was in the blues on account of his failure in business.他因事业失败而意志消沉。

14 gatherings   

聚集( gathering的名词复数 )； 收集； 采集； 搜集

参考例句：

• His conduct at social gatherings created a lot of comment. 他在社交聚会上的表现引起许多闲话。
• During one of these gatherings a pupil caught stealing. 有一次，其中一名弟子偷窃被抓住。

15 amplify   

vt.放大，增强；详述，详加解说

参考例句：

• The new manager wants to amplify the company.新经理想要扩大公司。
• Please amplify your remarks by giving us some examples.请举例详述你的话。