科学美国人60秒：摇晃有助于改善成人睡眠
燕山大学 刘立军 编写
【TRANSCRIPT】
This is Scientific American 60-Second Science. I'm Karen Hopkin.
Every new parent knows, or learns pretty quickly, that rocking can calm that a fussy baby when it's time to take a nap. But the benefits of gentle motion may extend past the swaddling stage. Because two new studies show that rocking also helps grown-ups, both human and mouse, get a good night's sleep. The two research efforts are in the journal Current Biology.
What should be no surprise is that movement can be soothing. Think of how many times you've fallen asleep on a train. But can motion really induce a doze, and make for a deeper sleep? To find out, researchers invited 18 healthy volunteers for a sleepover.
"So they came to the lab and they slept one time on the stationary position, normal bed. And one night where they got rocked."
Aurore Perrault, a sleep researcher at the University of Geneva in Switzerland.
"And what we find is actually compared to a stationary night, a whole night of rocking sleep has a beneficial impact. Not only on sleep initiation, which means they fall asleep faster, but also on sleep maintenance, as we saw that they have less micro-awakening during the night."
Subjects who rocked also did better on a memory test the next morning than did the stiller sleepers.
In the second study, Konstantinos Kompotis, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Lausanne, rocked a rack of rodents.
"Whether rocking affects sleep in species other than human was never before discussed. So the main questions for our study were does rocking affect sleep in mice and what is the underlying mechanism?"
Kompotis placed the mouse cages on a platform that moved from side to side. And though mice were rocked four times faster than their human counterparts - a frequency of one back-and-forth per second, or 1 Hertz, worked best - the results were strikingly similar.
"During rocking at 1 Hertz, time spent asleep increased, there were more transitions from wakefulness to non-REM sleep, and mice fell asleep twice as fast than at stationary condition."
The effect required an ability to detect motion. Mice with a defective vestibular system, which is key to maintaining balance, did not become lulled by the sleep-inducing platform.
Additional studies could allow the researchers to identify a new target for treating sleep disorders, including insomnia. Until then, you might think about adding a little swing to your nighttime routine.
Thanks for listening for Scientific American 60-Second Science. I'm Karen Hopkin.
【VOCABULARY】
1. fussy adj. doing sth. with small, quick, nervous movements 紧张不安的。例如：a fussy manner
局促不安的举止
2. swaddle v.（动词+名词短语）(old-fashioned) to wrap sb. / sth., especially a baby, tightly in clothes or a piece of cloth （用衣服或布）紧裹，包裹（尤指婴儿）
3. soothe v. to make a tense or painful part of your body feel more comfortable 减轻，缓解，缓和（身体某部位的紧张或疼痛）。（同义词）relieve 例如：
This should soothe the pain. 这个应该能缓解疼痛。
Take a warm bath to soothe tense, tired muscles. 洗个热水澡，让紧张疲劳的肌肉放松一下。
4. sleepover n. a party for children or young people when a group of them spend the night at one house （儿童或年轻人在某人家玩乐并过夜的）聚会
5. lull v.（动词+名词短语）to make sb. relaxed and calm 使放松；使镇静 soothe 例如：The vibration of the engine lulled the children to sleep. 发动机的颤动使得孩子们睡着了。
6. insomnia n.（不可数名词）the condition of being unable to sleep 失眠（症）。例如：to suffer from insomnia 失眠
【QUESTIONS】
Read the passage. Then listen to the news and fill in the blanks with the information (words, phrases or sentences) you hear.
This is Scientific American - 60-Second Science. I'm Karen Hopkin.
Every new parent knows, or learns pretty quickly, that rocking can calm ____________________________ when it's time to take a nap. But the benefits of gentle motion may extend past the swaddling stage. Because two new studies show that rocking also helps grown-ups, _________________________________, get a good night's sleep. The two research efforts are in the journal Current Biology.
What should be no surprise is that movement can be soothing. Think of how many times you've fallen asleep on a train. But can motion really _________________, and make for a deeper sleep? To find out, researchers invited 18 healthy volunteers for a sleepover.
"So they came to the lab and they slept one time on the stationary position, normal bed. And one night where they got rocked."
Aurore Perrault, a sleep researcher at the University of Geneva in Switzerland.
"And what we find is actually compared to a stationary night, a whole night of rocking sleep has a beneficial impact. Not only on sleep initiation, which means they fall asleep faster, but also on ______________________________, as we saw that they have less micro-awakening during the night."
Subjects who rocked also did better on a _______________ the next morning than did the stiller sleepers.
In the second study, Konstantinos Kompotis, a _______________________ at the University of Lausanne, rocked a rack of rodents.
"Whether rocking affects sleep in species other than human was never before discussed. So the main questions for our study were __________________________________________ and what is the underlying mechanism?"
Kompotis placed the mouse cages on a platform that moved from side to side. And though mice were rocked four times faster than their human counterparts - a frequency of one back-and-forth per second, or 1 Hertz, worked best - the results were _______________.
"During rocking at 1 Hertz, time spent asleep increased, there were more transitions from wakefulness to non-REM sleep, and mice fell asleep twice as fast than at stationary condition."
The effect required an ability to detect motion. Mice with a defective vestibular system, which is key to maintaining balance, did not become lulled by the sleep-inducing platform.
Additional studies could allow the researchers to identify a new target for treating _____________________________, including insomnia. Until then, you might think about adding _________________________ to your nighttime routine.
Thanks for listening for Scientific American 60-Second Science. I'm Karen Hopkin.
【KEY】
Read the passage. Then listen to the news and fill in the blanks with the information (words, phrases or sentences) you hear.
This is Scientific American - 60-Second Science. I'm Karen Hopkin.
Every new parent knows, or learns pretty quickly, that rocking can calm a fussy baby when it's time to take a nap. But the benefits of gentle motion may extend past the swaddling stage. Because two new studies show that rocking also helps grown-ups, both human and mouse, get a good night's sleep. The two research efforts are in the journal Current Biology.
What should be no surprise is that movement can be soothing. Think of how many times you've fallen asleep on a train. But can motion really induce a doze, and make for a deeper sleep? To find out, researchers invited 18 healthy volunteers for a sleepover.
"So they came to the lab and they slept one time on the stationary position, normal bed. And one night where they got rocked."
Aurore Perrault, a sleep researcher at the University of Geneva in Switzerland.
"And what we find is actually compared to a stationary night, a whole night of rocking sleep has a beneficial impact. Not only on sleep initiation, which means they fall asleep faster, but also on sleep maintenance, as we saw that they have less micro-awakening during the night."
Subjects who rocked also did better on a memory test the next morning than did the stiller sleepers.
In the second study, Konstantinos Kompotis, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Lausanne, rocked a rack of rodents.
"Whether rocking affects sleep in species other than human was never before discussed. So the main questions for our study were does rocking affect sleep in mice and what is the underlying mechanism?"
Kompotis placed the mouse cages on a platform that moved from side to side. And though mice were rocked four times faster than their human counterparts - a frequency of one back-and-forth per second, or 1 Hertz, worked best - the results were strikingly similar.
"During rocking at 1 Hertz, time spent asleep increased, there were more transitions from wakefulness to non-REM sleep, and mice fell asleep twice as fast than at stationary condition."
The effect required an ability to detect motion. Mice with a defective vestibular system, which is key to maintaining balance, did not become lulled by the sleep-inducing platform.
Additional studies could allow the researchers to identify a new target for treating sleep disorders, including insomnia. Until then, you might think about adding a little swing to your nighttime routine.
Thanks for listening for Scientific American 60-Second Science. I'm Karen Hopkin.