24小时内你的身体是这样的：英语精读讲义

Good morning body,

早上好，身体，

time for another day.

新的一天又开始了。

Your alarm goes off, 短語動詞

闹钟响了，

you hit this snooze button and lay there for a few minutes

你按下贪睡按钮，又躺了几分钟，

between the land of wake and sleep known as the hypnopompic state. 用詞

徘徊在清醒与睡眠之间，这就是所谓的“睡眠转醒状态”。

When you do finally get up, 語法

当你终于起床时，

you're groggy and disoriented thanks to sleep inertia. 講解

由于睡眠惯性，你仍然昏昏沉沉、晕头转向。

Most of it's shed in 10 minutes,

这种状态大多会在10分钟内消退，

but can sometimes linger for a few hours.

但有时也会持续几个小时。

During this time,

在此期间，

your body temperature is still low,

你的体温仍然偏低，

but your blood pressure is sharply rising.

但血压却在迅速升高。

There's a 50% increase in the stress hormone cortisol pumping through your bloodstream

在你血液中流动的压力激素皮质醇增加了50%，

in preparation for the stresses of your day. 短語搭配

为你应对一天的压力做好准备。

Time for a shower.

该洗澡了。

It's also the best time to shave

这也是刮胡子的最佳时机，

as clot-forming platelets are most abundant right now,

因为此时能形成血凝块的血小板最为丰富，

making your blood more sticky, 語法

会让你的血液更容易凝固，

meaning less bleeding from cuts.

也就是说，刮伤后出血会更少。

But it's also the time of day when heart attacks most often occur.

不过，这也是一天中心脏病最容易发作的时段。

7:30 a.m. swings around 習語

到了早上7:30，

and it's time for coffee and breakfast.

该喝咖啡、吃早餐了。

Enjoy the smell before sipping, though. 語氣意圖

不过，先享受一下香气再喝吧。

75% of how we enjoy flavor is not through the tongue, 語法

我们对味道的享受有75%并非来自舌头，

but through smell.

而是来自嗅觉。

The vapors pass through your mouth

香气分子穿过口腔，

around the soft palate into the nasal cavity

绕过软腭进入鼻腔，

and to the olfactory bulb.

再抵达嗅球。

Mmm, that's good.

嗯，真香。

Settling in at work 短語動詞

开始工作后，

and Your mental activity is actually at a peak in late morning.

其实，临近中午时你的大脑活动正处于高峰。

Most of us are sharpest 2 and a half to 4 hours after waking, 用詞

我们大多数人在醒来2个半到4小时后思维最敏锐，

but your memory is impacted as the day moves on. 短語搭配

但随着时间推移，你的记忆力会受到影响。

In the morning,

早上，

we forget an average of 5 facts,

我们平均会忘掉5件事，

but by afternoon,

但到了下午，

we forget around 14.

会忘掉大约14件。

Not if you're a young adult, though. 語氣意圖

不过，如果你是年轻人，情况就不同了。

In fact, the reverse is true 短語搭配

事实上，情况正好相反：

with young people becoming more mentally alive in the afternoon and evening. 語法

年轻人到了下午和晚上，头脑反而更活跃。

But at night,

但到了夜间，

our biological clock seems to turn off proteins involved in forming long-term memories,

我们的生物钟似乎会关闭参与形成长期记忆的蛋白质，

which is why it's best not to cram for a test all night. 講解

所以最好不要为了考试通宵临时抱佛脚。

It's noon

到中午了，

and it's time for lunch.

该吃午饭了。

Your stomach is able to expand as much as 2 and a half pints 語法

你的胃能扩张到最多2.5品脱的容量，

to receive a meal.

以容纳一顿饭。

Here it stays for a few hours

食物会在这里停留几个小时，

before it's sent to your small intestine.

然后才被送进小肠。

We digest meals without even thinking about it.

我们甚至不用思考，身体就会自动消化食物。

In fact,

事实上，

there's a brain of sorts in your belly called the enteric nervous system, 短語搭配

你的腹中有一个类似大脑的系统，叫作肠神经系统，

which performs everything from sensing nutrients,

它的功能包罗万象，从感知营养物质、

measuring acids,

测量酸度，

and coordinating the immune system

到协调免疫系统，

to defend your gut.

从而保护你的肠道。

Around 2:30 p.m.

下午2:30左右，

and lunch has left us a wave of fogginess and fatigue. 習語

午饭让我们迎来一阵迷糊和疲惫。

After a meal,

饭后，

your body has a short boost in energy from the glucose, 短語搭配

葡萄糖会让你的身体短暂获得一股能量，

but is then followed by a wave of insulin,

但紧接着，胰岛素也会大量释放；

the hormone that transports sugar to your cells.

这种激素负责把糖运送到细胞中。

Scientists believe that insulin might pull too much from your blood,

科学家认为，胰岛素可能会从血液中带走过多糖分，

causing an energy nosedive. 習語

导致能量骤降。

However,

然而，

this phenomenon occurs even if you don't have lunch, 語法

即使不吃午饭，这种现象也会出现，

which has led to much research on the power of naps,

这促使人们对午睡的作用展开了大量研究；

which increase productivity and safety.

午睡可以提高效率和安全性。

4:30 p.m.

下午4:30，

and it's time to hit the gym. 習語

该去健身房了。

Though many try to work out in the morning,

虽然很多人会选择早上锻炼，

studies suggest that you may gain 20% more muscle strength

但研究表明，你的肌肉力量可能会多提升20%

by working out in the afternoon.

——只要把锻炼安排在下午。

Your airways are more open,

此时你的气道更加畅通，

your heart works more efficiently,

心脏运转更高效，

and your reaction time is at its peak.

反应速度也达到巅峰。

Much of this has to do with your core body temperature 短語搭配

这在很大程度上与你的核心体温

peaking later in the day.

会在一天较晚时达到峰值有关。

Even most sports records are achieved between 3:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.

甚至大多数体育纪录都是在下午3:00至晚上8:00之间创造的。

Now you start off the evening by joining some friends for drinks. 講解

现在，你和几位朋友一起喝酒，开启夜晚。

During cocktail hour,

在鸡尾酒时间，

you're actually more tolerant to the effects of alcohol. 用詞

你其实更能耐受酒精的影响。

In one study,

一项研究发现，

those drinking vodka at 9:00 a.m. 語法

早上9:00喝伏特加的人，

had significantly worse reaction time and psychological functioning

其反应速度和心理机能都明显不如

than those who had the same dose at 6:00 p.m.

下午6:00喝下相同剂量的人。

It's around 8:30 p.m. now

现在大约是晚上8:30，

and you catch someone's eye in the bar. 習語

你在酒吧里与某个人对上了眼。

Most of our mammalian ancestors

我们大多数哺乳动物祖先

have had ways of advertising their fertility. 用詞

都有展示自身生育能力的方式。

It turns out that human women also give cues when they're ovulating. 表達脈絡

原来，人类女性排卵时也会发出信号。

In fact,

事实上，

when looking at pictures of women,

观看女性照片时，

studies show men find women in the fertile phase 語法

研究显示，男性会认为处于易孕期的女性

to be more attractive.

更有吸引力。

You ask each other to dance,

你们相邀共舞，

which brings you close enough to get a whiff. 講解

距离近到能闻见对方的气味。

After all, 表達脈絡

毕竟，

your sebaceous and apocrine glands release scents through the armpit,

你的皮脂腺和顶泌汗腺会通过腋窝释放气味，

which potential partners may find attractive.

潜在伴侣可能会觉得这种气味很迷人。

And because humans walk upright,

而且，由于人类直立行走，

the armpit is the ideal body part

腋窝是最理想的身体部位，

to disperse scent.

可以用来散发气味。

It's 11:00 p.m. now,

现在是晚上11:00，

which is the most popular time for sexual activity,

这是性行为最常发生的时段，

which has little to do with our bodies 語法

原因与我们的身体关系不大，

and more to do with societal schedules.

更多是由社会作息决定的。

In fact,

事实上，

levels of testosterone are much lower in the evening and peak at 8:00 a.m.,

晚上的睾酮水平低得多，并在早上8:00达到峰值，

while semen quality is best in the afternoon

而精液质量则在下午最佳，

with 35 times 10 to the 6 more spermatozoa per ejaculation.

每次射精的精子数量会多出3500万个。

As such, 表達脈絡

因此，

couples hoping to conceive 語法

想要受孕的伴侣

have better chances with midday sex than during the midnight hour. 短語搭配

在中午发生性行为，比在午夜成功率更高。

As you go to sleep and finally begin to drift off, 短語動詞

当你上床睡觉，终于开始进入梦乡时，

melatonin is secreted by the pineal gland,

松果体会分泌褪黑素，

which begins the sleep cycle,

由此启动睡眠周期；

which happens multiple times through the night.

这样的周期会在整夜重复多次。

A change from alpha wave drowsiness

从阿尔法波带来的困倦状态

to lower frequency theta brain waves signify early sleep.

转为频率更低的西塔脑波，标志着进入睡眠初期。

And as your sleep deepens,

随着睡眠加深，

your brain moves to longer delta waves.

你的大脑会转为波长更长的德尔塔波。

For children,

对儿童来说，

sleep is the time in which 90% of bone growth occurs.

90%的骨骼生长都发生在睡眠期间。

Finally,

最后，

as you move into REM sleep,

当你进入快速眼动睡眠时，

your brain is as busy as it was during the day,

大脑会像白天一样忙碌，

firing theta waves with bursts of alpha and beta.

发出西塔波，并夹杂阵阵阿尔法波和贝塔波。

Though dreams occur in all stages of sleep,

虽然睡眠的各个阶段都会做梦，

it's during REM 語法

但在快速眼动睡眠期间，

that our dreams are most vivid and intense.

我们的梦最鲜明，也最强烈。

Recent brain scans have shown that neurotransmitters like serotonin,

最近的脑部扫描显示，血清素等神经递质，

histamine, and noradrenaline

还有组胺和去甲肾上腺素，

are shut off at this point, 短語動詞

此时都会停止活动，

turning off reason and logical sense of time,

让理性和合乎逻辑的时间感一并关闭，

which explains some weird dreams.

这就解释了某些怪梦。

We dream for an hour and a half to 2 hours each night,

我们每晚会做1.5到2小时的梦，

meaning you spend about 6 years vividly dreaming over your lifetime. 語法

也就是说，一生中大约有6年是在栩栩如生的梦境中度过的。

In the middle of the night,

到了半夜，

your body actually wakes up periodically in something called microarousals. 用詞

你的身体其实会周期性醒来，这种现象叫作“微觉醒”。

These can last only seconds,

每次可能只持续几秒，

but occur between 200 to 1,000 times per night.

但每晚会发生200至1000次。

Though most of us in the Western world sleep in all one go, 習語

虽然西方世界的大多数人会一觉睡到头，

many past cultures' sleep was broken up into two periods 短語動詞

但过去许多文化会把睡眠分成两段，

with social activity in between.

中间穿插社交活动。

Some studies have even shown that we have two distinct 4-hour natural sleep periods,

一些研究甚至表明，我们天生有两个彼此独立的4小时睡眠时段，

which in the past would have lasted between 8:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m.

过去，第一段会从晚上8:00持续到午夜12:00，

and then again from 2:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m.

第二段则从凌晨2:00持续到早上6:00。

By 4:30 a.m.,

到凌晨4:30，

your body temperature is at its lowest

你的体温降到最低点，

and your sleep continues to move through the cycle.

睡眠则继续经历一个个周期。

In a few hours,

再过几个小时，

it'll be good morning body, 表達脈絡

就又该说：“早上好，身体，

time for another day.

新的一天又开始了。”