It's 4 a.m., and the big test is in eight hours, followed by a piano recital. You've been studying and playing for days, but you still don't feel ready for either. So, what can you do? Well, you can drink another cup of coffee and spend the next few hours cramming and practicing, but believe it or not, you might be better off closing the books, putting away the music, and going to sleep.
現在是凌晨四點, 八小時內將有一場重大考試 隨後是一場鋼琴獨奏會 儘管已學習和練習了很久, 你仍覺得一項都還沒準備好 所以,你該怎麼做呢? 你可以再喝一杯咖啡 然後花上數小時死記硬背和練習 但是不管你是否相信 更有效的辦法是合上書本、暫停練習 然後就寢
Sleep occupies nearly a third of our lives, but many of us give surprisingly little attention and care to it. This neglect is often the result of a major misunderstanding. Sleep isn't lost time, or just a way to rest when all our important work is done. Instead, it's a critical function, during which your body balances and regulates its vital systems, affecting respiration and regulating everything from circulation to growth and immune response.
睡眠約佔人生三分之一的時間 可令人詫異的是 我們很多人都對睡眠漠不關心 這種忽視通常來自人們對睡眠的誤解 睡眠不是浪費時間 不是只是完成重要工作後的休息 相反的,睡眠最主要的功能 是維持、調節身體重要系統的平衡 它可以影響你的呼吸 以及血液循環、人體生長到免疫反應
That's great, but you can worry about all those things after this test, right? Well, not so fast. It turns out that sleep is also crucial for your brain, with a fifth of your body's circulatory blood being channeled to it as you drift off. And what goes on in your brain while you sleep is an intensely active period of restructuring that's crucial for how our memory works.
聽著不錯,可你還是想 等考完試了再來煩惱對吧? 別急呢! 睡眠對大腦也非常重要 當你迷迷糊糊快睡著時 五分之一在體內循環的 血液將會被輸送進大腦 接下來當你睡著時 你的大腦會進入 非常活躍的重整、再建時期 這個過程對記憶形成至關重要
At first glance, our ability to remember things doesn't seem very impressive at all. 19th century psychologist Herman Ebbinghaus demonstrated that we normally forget 40% of new material within the first twenty minutes, a phenomenon known as the forgetting curve.
乍一看 我們的記憶力似乎一點都不強 十九世紀的心理學家 斯赫爾曼·艾賓豪斯指出 我們在接收到新事物的 20 分鐘後 通常會忘記關於新事物 40% 的內容 這個現象被稱作「遺忘曲線」
But this loss can be prevented through memory consolidation, the process by which information is moved from our fleeting short-term memory to our more durable long-term memory.
記憶鞏固可以預防這些遺失 這個過程中訊息會從 轉瞬即逝的短期記憶 轉變成為更持久的長期記憶
This consolidation occurs with the help of a major part of the brain, known as the hippocampus. Its role in long-term memory formation was demonstrated in the 1950s by Brenda Milner in her research with a patient known as H.M. After having his hippocampus removed, H.M.'s ability to form new short-term memories was damaged, but he was able to learn physical tasks through repetition. Due to the removal of his hippocampus, H.M.'s ability to form long-term memories was also damaged. What this case revealed, among other things, was that the hippocampus was specifically involved in the consolidation of long-term declarative memory, such as the facts and concepts you need to remember for that test, rather than procedural memory, such as the finger movements you need to master for that recital.
記憶鞏固主要發生在 大腦中被稱為「海馬體」的部分 它在長期記憶成型扮演的角色 是在 50 年代由布蘭達·米爾納在 透過對病患 H. M. 的研究中發現 當 H. M. 的海馬體被移除後 他喪失了形成新短期記憶的能力 但他得以通過重複練習學會肢體活動 由於他的海馬體被移除了 H. M. 還喪失了形成長期記憶的能力 這個案例研究顯示 只有海馬體 明確地與長期陳述記憶的鞏固有關 這些像是考試時 需要記住的事實和概念 而不是像你記住 獨鋼琴所需的手指活動 那樣的程序記憶
Milner's findings, along with work by Eric Kandel in the 90's, have given us our current model of how this consolidation process works. Sensory data is initially transcribed and temporarily recorded in the neurons as short-term memory. From there, it travels to the hippocampus, which strengthens and enhances the neurons in that cortical area. Thanks to the phenomenon of neuroplasticity, new synaptic buds are formed, allowing new connections between neurons, and strengthening the neural network where the information will be returned as long-term memory.
米爾納的發現與 1990年代埃里克·坎德爾的研究 給了我們現行「記憶鞏固」過程的模型 感知數據最先被轉譯 並暫時記錄在神經元內 形成作為短期記憶 隨後訊息傳送到海馬體 並強化大腦皮層區神經元的聯結 多虧了神經可塑性 新的神經突觸得以形成 加強神經元間的聯絡 這使資訊得以形成長期記憶
So why do we remember some things and not others? Well, there are a few ways to influence the extent and effectiveness of memory retention. For example, memories that are formed in times of heightened feeling, or even stress, will be better recorded due to the hippocampus' link with emotion. But one of the major factors contributing to memory consolidation is, you guessed it, a good night's sleep.
那麼為何我們記得住某些事物 忘記其他事物呢? 其實有幾種方法可以影響 記憶存留的範圍和有效程度 例如在我們的感覺強烈情緒或壓力時 因為海馬體與情緒的聯繫 將會更有效的形成記憶 但是記憶鞏固的主要因素是 你猜對了! 正是一夜好眠
Sleep is composed of four stages, the deepest of which are known as slow-wave sleep and rapid eye movement. EEG machines monitoring people during these stages have shown electrical impulses moving between the brainstem, hippocampus, thalamus, and cortex, which serve as relay stations of memory formation. And the different stages of sleep have been shown to help consolidate different types of memories.
睡眠由四個階段組成 最深層的睡眠稱作「慢波睡眠」 和「快速眼動睡眠」 腦電圖描記器在監控人類睡眠階段時 顯示出電脈衝在 腦幹、海馬體、丘腦和皮質之間移動 這些部位是記憶形成的中繼站 睡眠的不同階段幫助鞏固 不同類型的記憶
During the non-REM slow-wave sleep, declarative memory is encoded into a temporary store in the anterior part of the hippocampus. Through a continuing dialogue between the cortex and hippocampus, it is then repeatedly reactivated, driving its gradual redistribution to long-term storage in the cortex. REM sleep, on the other hand, with its similarity to waking brain activity, is associated with the consolidation of procedural memory. So based on the studies, going to sleep three hours after memorizing your formulas and one hour after practicing your scales would be the most ideal.
在非快速眼慢波睡眠的時候 陳述記憶被編譯進一個短暫的倉庫 這個倉庫位於海馬體前端 通過大腦皮質和海馬體的持續對話 陳述記憶被反覆地激活 推動它逐漸重新分配到 大腦皮質裡長期儲存 快速眼動睡眠與清醒時大腦活動相似 與鞏固程序記憶有關 根據研究結果 背記公式後睡三小時 和練琴後睡一小時, 能得到最理想的效果
So hopefully you can see now that skimping on sleep not only harms your long-term health, but actually makes it less likely that you'll retain all that knowledge and practice from the previous night, all of which just goes to affirm the wisdom of the phrase, "Sleep on it." When you think about all the internal restructuring and forming of new connections that occurs while you slumber, you could even say that proper sleep will have you waking up every morning with a new and improved brain, ready to face the challenges ahead.
所以希望你能意識到 不睡覺不僅有損你長期健康 而且還能導致你不太可能記住 前一晚學的知識和鋼琴練習 這些都證明了那句老話 「先睡一覺,把問題留在第二天解決」 當你想起所有那些在 你睡著時身體內在重建 和新形成的新神經連結 你就能說正確的睡眠 能讓你每天早晨起床時 有一顆清醒的頭腦 能直面挑戰