早起鳥 vs 夜貓子：英語精讀講義

You may have heard the saying, "The early bird gets the worm." 慣用語

你可能聽過這句話：「早起的鳥兒有蟲吃。」

But when it comes to humans, 片語搭配

但說到人類，

do morning people really have an advantage over night owls? 用詞

早起型的人真的比夜貓子更有優勢嗎？

Does one come out on top as more intelligent or successful than the other 慣用語

兩者中是否有一方比另一方更聰明或更成功，

in this battle over bedtime?

從而在這場就寢時間之爭中勝出呢？

The somewhat surprising truth is that we have little say in sleep preference 片語搭配

一個有些出人意料的事實是，我們幾乎無法選擇自己偏好的睡眠時段，

as it's almost entirely genetically predetermined.

因為這幾乎完全由遺傳決定。

Chances are if you're a night owl, 文法

如果你是個夜貓子，

it was likely passed down from an ancestor who was also a night owl. 片語動詞

那很可能是從同樣愛熬夜的祖先那裡遺傳來的。

And from an evolutionary perspective, 表達脈絡

而從演化的角度來看，

it makes sense.

這很合理。

Having individuals with varying sleeping patterns

群體中不同個體有不同的睡眠模式，

would allow for better protection of a group throughout the day and night. 片語動詞

就能讓整個群體在白天和夜晚都獲得更好的保護。

Instead of everybody sleeping at one time, 文法

大家不必在同一時間全部入睡，

some people naturally stay up later and some wake up earlier

有些人天生會熬到更晚，有些人則醒得更早，

aware of threats or predators while others sleep.

在其他人睡覺時保持警覺，防範威脅或掠食者。

But considering most modern societal activities happen between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.,

但考慮到現代社會的大多數活動都發生在上午9點到下午5點之間，

it may seem clear that night owls are put at a disadvantage. 片語搭配

夜貓子似乎明顯處於劣勢。

And researchers have actually coined the term social jet lag 講解

研究人員甚至創造了「社交時差」這個術語，

to describe the sleep deprivation many experience to accommodate social norms.

用來描述許多人為了適應社會規範而經歷的睡眠不足。

For night owls,

對夜貓子來說，

this social jet lag feels like living in a different time zone every single day. 慣用語

這種社交時差就像每天都生活在不同的時區。

Considering chronic sleep deprivation has a direct effect on brain functioning, 片語搭配

鑑於長期睡眠不足會直接影響大腦功能，

it's no surprise that studies report night owl university students have lower overall grades. 片語搭配

難怪研究顯示，夜貓子型大學生的整體成績較低。

Not to mention early birds tend to display more positive social traits 表達脈絡

更不用說，早起型的人往往會展現出更多正面的社交特質，

such as being proactive and optimistic

比如積極主動、樂觀向上，

and are less prone to depression or addictions to nicotine, alcohol, and food. 片語搭配

而且較不容易罹患憂鬱症，也較不容易對尼古丁、酒精和食物成癮。

And we can see these traits represented physically in the brain,

我們還能在大腦中看到這些特質的生理表現，

particularly the white matter which helps neurons communicate. 文化背景

尤其是在幫助神經元溝通的白質中。

Night owls exhibit significantly less white matter and as a result,

夜貓子的大腦白質明顯更少，因而

there are fewer pathways for feel-good hormones such as serotonin or dopamine to travel through. 用詞

血清素或多巴胺等讓人感覺愉悅的荷爾蒙可通過的路徑也更少。

But it's not all bad for the late nighters. 表達脈絡

但對晚睡族來說，也不全是壞消息。

In fact, they tend to be much more creative, have been found to have higher cognitive abilities, 文法

事實上，他們往往更有創造力，研究還發現他們的認知能力更強，

and are known to be risk takers.

而且他們以敢於冒險著稱。

What they lack in white matter, they make up in cortisol levels. 文法

他們在白質上的不足，會由較高的皮質醇濃度來彌補。

This stress hormone gets your body ready to face an immediate threat,

這種壓力荷爾蒙會讓身體做好應對眼前威脅的準備，

contributing to their risk taking behavior, 文法

從而助長他們的冒險行為，

which studies show can translate into opportunities and potentially much more financial gain. 片語動詞

而研究顯示，這種行為可能轉化為機會，甚至帶來高得多的經濟收益。

Furthermore, even though morning people can be very energetic right after waking, 文法

此外，儘管早起型的人剛醒來時可能精力充沛，

they tend to lose steam faster than night owls throughout the day. 慣用語

但一整天下來，他們往往比夜貓子更快失去活力。

Both sides perform equally well in reaction time tests an hour after waking,

醒來一小時後，雙方在反應時間測驗中的表現不相上下，

but after 10 hours of being awake, night owls perform significantly better.

但清醒10小時後，夜貓子的表現明顯更好。

Your inner clock is regulated by many proteins 慣用語

你的生理時鐘受多種蛋白質調控，

which are created from various genes in your DNA.

而這些蛋白質由你DNA中的不同基因產生。

Studies have even shown that a single change

研究甚至顯示，單單一處變化——

of the genetic code near a gene called period one

名為period one的基因附近的一處遺傳密碼變化——

can result in an hour difference in your waking time. 片語動詞

就可能讓你的起床時間相差一小時。

As crazy as it seems, 文法

儘管聽起來不可思議，

scientists also found a correlation between these same genes and your time of death. 片語搭配

科學家還發現，這些相同的基因與你的死亡時間存在關聯。

The early risers were more likely to die around 11:00 a.m., 文法

早起者更有可能在上午11點左右去世，

while the night owls were more likely to die before 6:00 p.m.

而夜貓子則更有可能在下午6點前去世。

What about teenagers you say? 表達脈絡

你可能會問，那青少年呢？

It's true, most tend to be night owls due to the hormonal changes during puberty,

的確，由於青春期的荷爾蒙變化，大多數青少年都傾向成為夜貓子，

but this tends to wane out into your genetic default as you enter adulthood.

但隨著步入成年，這種傾向通常會逐漸減弱，最終回歸由基因決定的作息模式。

So while there may be some truth to early birds getting the worm, 文法

所以，「早起的鳥兒有蟲吃」或許確實有幾分道理，

night owls aren't exactly lagging behind in life. 慣用語

但夜貓子在人生中並沒有真的落後。

They're just lagging behind in time.

他們只是在時間上落後而已。

Don't forget to check out our latest AsapTHOUGHT video

別忘了觀看我們最新的AsapTHOUGHT影片，

where you can participate in a scientific pop music experiment with us.

你可以在其中和我們一起參與一項關於流行音樂的科學實驗。

We're finding out what makes songs so catchy in the first place 片語搭配

我們要找出歌曲究竟為什麼會如此抓耳，

and if there's an exact science behind it all.

以及這一切背後是否存在一套精確的科學原理。

Click on the screen or the link in the description

點選畫面或資訊欄中的連結，

and subscribe for more weekly science videos.

並訂閱頻道，觀看更多每週更新的科學影片。