
Getting too little sleep for several nights in a row disrupts hundreds of genes that are essential for good health, including those linked to stress and fighting disease.
連續(xù)幾個晚上睡眠過少會擾亂數(shù)以百計對身體健康必不可少的基因,包括那些與壓力有關(guān)以及對抗疾病的基因。
Tests on people who slept less than six hours a night for a week revealed substantial changes in the activity of genes that govern the immune system, metabolism, sleep and wake cycles, and the body's response to stress, suggesting that poor sleep could have a broad impact on long-term wellbeing.
對連續(xù)一周每晚睡不到六個小時的人的測試揭示了控制免疫系統(tǒng)、代謝、睡眠和清醒周期以及身體應激反應的那些基因活動的明顯變化,這表明睡眠不好對長期健康有廣泛影響。
The changes, which affected more than 700 genes, may shed light on the biological mechanisms that raise the risk of a host of ailments, including heart disease, diabetes, obesity, stress and depression, in people who get too little sleep.
這些變化,影響超過700個基因,可能闡明了那些睡眠過少的人會增加一系列包括心臟病、糖尿病、肥胖、壓力和抑郁等疾病風險的生物機制。
Previous studies have suggested that people who sleep less than five hours a night have a 15% greater risk of death from all causes than people of the same age who get a good night's sleep. In one survey of workers in Britain more than 5% claimed to sleep no more than five hours a night. Another survey published in the US in 2010 found that nearly 30% of people claimed to sleep no more than six hours a night.
先前的研究顯示:那些夜里睡眠少于5個小時的人比能睡個好覺的同齡人多增了因各種原因而死亡的15%的風險。在對英國工人的一項調(diào)查中,超過5%的人聲稱每晚睡眠不超過5小時。另一個2010年在美國發(fā)表的調(diào)查發(fā)現(xiàn),近30%的人聲稱每晚不超過6小時睡眠。
The time spent asleep had a huge effect on the activity of genes, picked up from blood tests on the volunteers, according to a report in the US journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Among the sleep-deprived, the activity of 444 genes was suppressed, while 267 genes were more active than in those who slept for longer.
睡眠時間對基因活動有巨大影響,從血液測試志愿者那采集的,根據(jù)《美國國家科學院院刊》上的一份報告。在睡眠不足的人中, 444個基因活動被抑制,而267個基因比那些睡得更長的人的基因更活躍。
Changes to genes that control metabolism might trigger or exacerbate conditions such as diabetes or obesity, while disruption to other genes, such as those that govern the body's inflammatory response, might have an impact on heart disease. Further genes that were affected have been linked to stress and ageing.
控制代謝的基因變化可能會引發(fā)或加劇像糖尿病或肥胖那樣的情況,而破壞其他基因,比如那些掌控身體應激反應的基因,可能會對心臟疾病有影響。被影響的其他基因與壓力和老化有關(guān)。
Sleep loss also had a dramatic effect on genes that govern the body's biological clock, suggesting that poor sleep might trigger a vicious cycle of worsening sleep disruption.
睡眠不足對支配人體生物鐘的基因也有巨大影響,這表明睡眠不足可能引發(fā)惡化的睡眠中斷的惡性循環(huán)。
Jim Horne, professor of psychophysiology at Loughborough University's Sleep Research Centre, said: "The potential perils of 'sleep debt' in today's society and the need for 'eight hours of sleep a night' are often overplayed and can cause undue worry. Although this important study seems to support this concern, the participants had their sleep suddenly restricted to an unusually low level, which must have been somewhat stressful.
吉姆•霍恩,拉夫堡大學睡眠研究中心的心理生理學教授,說:“ 在今天社會‘睡眠債’的潛在危險以及需要‘每晚八小時睡眠’往往被夸大,會導致過度憂慮。盡管這一重要研究似乎支持這一擔憂,但參與者使其睡眠突然限于異常低的水平,這一定是有些緊張。”
"We must be careful not to generalise such findings to,then say, habitual six-hour sleepers who are happy with their sleep. Besides, sleep can adapt to some change, and should also be judged on its quality, not simply on its total amount."
“我們必須小心地不去歸納這些發(fā)現(xiàn),然后說習慣于六小時睡眠的人滿意他們的睡眠。此外,睡眠可以適應于一些變化,也應根據(jù)其質(zhì)量來判斷,而不是簡單地根據(jù)其總量。”