晚上開燈睡覺竟會導致抑鬱甚至虛胖
Sleeping with the light on could leave you feeling low the next day, scientists have warned. They say that a night-light – however dim – may affect the structure of the brain, raising the odds of depression. The eerie glow emitted by a TV or the seemingly reassuring presence of a night-light could be enough to impact on mental health.
科學家發現，睡覺開燈會導致第二天心情“跌到谷底”，他們解釋，無論“夜燈”多麼昏暗，再微弱的光源都會對大腦產生影響，並製造情緒低落消沉（也就是咱們說的抑鬱哦）。即使睡覺不開燈換電視取代，或者開其他光源，都會影響人的精神健康。
It is the latest in a long line of warnings about the potential dangers of disrupting the body’s natural sleep-wake cycle. There are concerns that shift workers are at higher risk of breast cancer and, only last month, a study linked night-time light with weight gain. With complete darkness being hard to achieve in the modern world, experts say the findings could have serious implications for health.
調查指出，亮光會干擾人類的“醒週期”會影響人類自然睡眠，產生潛在危險。此外，常上夜班或者經常從事“倒班”職業的人更容易患上乳腺癌。睡眠不好的人還會“虛胖”，專家指出，人在睡眠中應該處於一個完全黑暗的環境。
In the latest study, presented at an American conference, researchers from Ohio State University looked at the effect of exposing rodents to dim light in the eight hours or so they would usually be asleep. At the equivalent of having a television on in a darkened room, the lamp used was not bright, but it was enough to affect the animals’ behaviour, the Society for Neuroscience’s annual conference heard.
美國俄亥俄州的專家通過做實驗，還發現即使是很微弱的燈光也能影響小動物（齧齒類）的睡眠，專家發現齧齒類動物的行爲和舉動受燈光影響相當大。
Researcher Tracy Bedrosian said: ‘The hippocampus plays a key role in depressive disorders, so finding changes there is significant. ‘Even dim light at night is sufficient to provoke depressive behaviour.’Neuroscientist Dr Randy Nelson said: ‘The light was a very low level. Something that most people could easily encounter every night.
專家說，海馬體在控制人類情緒上有重要作用，據悉，海馬體位於左右腦之間，它雖然很小，但卻是收發信息的門戶站。它將信息轉化爲記憶，發送、儲存到大腦不同部位，任何微弱的燈光都能作用海馬體。
Vocabulary:
hippocampus n. 海馬體
