Genetic Protection Against Sleep Deprivation

    Numerous studies have shown that lack of sleep hurts-it can lead to weight gain, diseases, and of course weakened cognitive functioning. But a bad night's sleep doesn't hurt everyone equally. Unlike me, some people can think clearly no matter what. A study published June 24th in the Journal of Neuroscience helps explain why.

    Scientists looked for a genetic marker called Period 3 known to predict the effects of sleep deprivation. People with short versions of the gene do okay when they lose sleep. But the longer gene leads to suffering with lack of sleep.

    Researchers tested attention and cognition before and after both good and bad nights' sleeps. Those with the long Period 3 had poor function in the part of the brain that would usually spring to life. Even after a decent night, the long-gene people had reduced brain activity towards the end of the day. But folks with the short gene did better, and their brains even pulled in extra assistance from surrounding brain areas. I can guess which variation of the gene I have-which means not only should I get a good's night sleep, I should probably write my scripts in the morning.

    利用遺傳保護對付睡眠剝奪

    許多研究表明睡眠缺乏對人有害--它能導致體重增加、生病，當然還能導致認知能力減退。但是糟糕的睡眠對每個人的影響是不一樣的。不像我，有些人即使睡眠不好也能清醒地思考。發(fā)表在6月24日的《神經(jīng)科學雜志》（Journal of Neuroscience）上的一項研究能幫助解釋其中的道理。

    科學家們研究了一種稱為周期3的遺傳標記，這種遺傳標記能預測睡眠剝奪的影響。當人們的這種基因比較短的時候，他們缺乏睡眠影響也不大。但是，當人們的這種基因比較長的時候，睡眠缺乏就能導致不適。

    研究者們檢測了在擁有高質量的睡眠以及糟糕睡眠之前以及之后人們的注意力和認知力。那些具有長周期3基因的人，他們大腦的某些部位表現(xiàn)欠佳，而這些部位通常都很活躍。即使是有了一個不錯的睡眠，那些具有長周期3基因的人在一天結束的時候，他們的大腦活動也減少了。但是那些具有短周期3基因的人表現(xiàn)更好，而且他們的大腦甚至還從這些大腦部位的周邊區(qū)域尋找到額外的幫助來活躍大腦。我能猜測到我屬于那種基因類型--這就是說我不僅僅需要一個好的睡眠，而且我可能應該在早上寫我的廣播稿。

    Vocabulary:

    Deprivation:喪失；剝奪

    Zzz:（象聲詞，模擬打鼾的聲音）睡眠

    Genetic:遺傳的；基因的

    Cognitive:認知的

    Script:廣播稿，研究稿