The notion that we can manipulate sleep to treat mental illness has also been around for many years. Back in the late 1960s, a German psychiatrist heard about a woman in Tübingen who was hospitalized for depression and claimed that she normally kept her symptoms in check by taking all-night bike rides. He subsequently demonstrated in a group of depressed patients that a night of complete sleep deprivation produced an immediate, significant improvement in mood in about 60 percent of the group.
可以通过调节睡眠治疗精神疾病的观点早已有之。1960年代末,德国的一名精神科医生听说,蒂宾根市一个因患抑郁症入院治疗的女人声称,她通常以整夜骑自行车的方式遏制症状。这名医生随后在一群抑郁症患者身上证实,一整晚的睡眠剥夺会让这群患者中的60%立即出现显著的情绪改善。
本段包含词汇
*notion /‘nəʊʃn/ n.观念;概念;想法
*manipulate /mə’nɪpjuleɪt/ v.操纵;控制;利用
*depression /dɪ’preʃn/ n.沮丧;萧条
*claim /kleim/ v.声称;断言;索取
*symptom /‘sɪmptəm/ n.症状;征兆
subsequently /‘sʌbsɪkwəntli/ adv.后来;随后
*demonstrate /‘demənstreɪt/ v.证明;演示;示范
deprivation /ˌdeprɪ’veɪʃn/ n.剥夺;免职;丧失
(这个词不重要,但是它的动词形式非常重要:
deprive /dɪ'praɪv/ v.剥夺;夺去 常考搭配deprive sb. of sth.)
*immediate /ɪ’miːdiət/ adj.直接的;立即的
*significant /sɪɡ’nɪfɪkənt/ adj.显著的;重要的
Of course, total sleep deprivation is impractical, to say nothing of the fact that you will crash back into depression as soon as you catch back up on sleep. It also just seems counterintuitive (adj.违反直觉的) that taking sleep away can help someone feel better. After all, most of us think of sleep as comforting and desirable. So how does this work?
当然了,完全剥夺睡眠是不切实际的,更别说你一旦补充睡眠就会重新崩溃陷入抑郁了。剥夺某人的睡眠有助于让其更好受,听上去也有悖直觉。毕竟,我们中的大多数人都认为睡觉是一件舒服、惬意的事情。那么,这种办法是如何起作用的?
本段包含词汇
*impractical /ɪm’præktɪkl/ adj.不切实际的;不实用的
to say nothing of 更不用说
*crash /kræʃ/ v.撞击;崩溃
*depression /dɪ’preʃn/ n.沮丧;萧条
*after all 毕竟;到底;终究
*comforting /‘kʌmfətɪŋ/ adj.安慰的;令人欣慰的
*desirable /dɪ’zaɪərəbl/ adj.令人满意的;值得的;令人向往的
One theory is that depressed people have something wrong with their circadian rhythm(生物钟). Their bodies tend to release melatonin(n.褪黑素) — a hormone that regulates sleep — earlier in the evening than non-depressed people, and they tend to wake up earlier in the morning.
一个理论是,抑郁症患者的生物钟出了某种问题。比起没患上抑郁症的人,他们的身体往往会在傍晚提早释放褪黑素——一种调节睡眠的荷尔蒙——使得他们在清晨提早醒来。
本段包含词汇
regulate /‘reɡjuleɪt/ v.调整;管理;控制