研究发现被子越重睡得越香

近日，一项发表在《睡眠研究杂志》（Journal of Sleep Research）的研究

发现，相比盖轻薄被子睡觉，盖厚重被子睡觉，睡前褪黑素释放得更多，睡眠质量自然更好。

🤔️小作业：

无注释原文：

Using a Weighted Blanket May Naturally Boost a Key Sleep Hormone, Study Finds

From: REAL SIMPLE

A small Swedish study found evidence of increased melatonin in healthy adults who used a weighted blanket before bed.

For many people who struggle with anxiety and poor sleep, weighted blankets are one cozy, wellness luxury well worth the small investment. Countless shoppers swear by the calming benefits of weighted blankets, reporting better sleep, lower stress and anxiety, and overall increased feelings of relaxation. Most of these weighted blanket wellness claims are anecdotal, but with no side effects or doctor’s prescription needed, who wouldn’t want to give this natural sleep solution a try? If you feel like it helps you sleep and chill out, that’s great! Worst case scenario: It’s not for you, so you return it or give it away as a thoughtful gift.

But scientifically speaking, there aren't many studies to confirm the alleged benefits of lying under a weighted blanket. That’s why researchers from Uppsala University in Sweden conducted a small study to find out whether using a weighted blanket—compared to using a light blanket—can actually help boost sleep-promoting chemicals, such as melatonin and oxytocin, and decrease stress-related mechanisms, such as cortisol production and sympathetic nervous system activity, which can harm healthy sleep patterns.

Twenty-six young, healthy adults (15 men and 11 women) participated in the study. In one session they were covered with a weighted blanket (weighing about 12 percent of their body weight) for one hour before bedtime, followed by an eight-hour sleep window. Researchers collected saliva samples during the pre-sleep hour to measure changes in melatonin and other hormone concentrations. In the next session, participants were covered with a light blanket (2.4 percent of their body weight) for the night.

Ultimately, the results found “[n]o other significant differences” in participants’ levels of oxytocin, cortisol, sympathetic nervous system activity, subjective feelings of sleepiness, or total sleep duration. However, they did notice that when participants laid under a weighted blanket for an hour before bedtime, they exhibited about a 32 percent increase in salivary melatonin concentration compared to when they used the lighter blanket.

A quick refresher: Melatonin is a hormone produced naturally by the pineal gland of the brain, and it’s involved in several bodily processes, including regulating the immune system, blood pressure, stress levels, and the sleep-wake cycle (or circadian rhythm). Melatonin itself does not put you to sleep like a magic sedative; instead, its release, triggered by the reduction in light at the end of the day, signals to the rest of the body’s sleep systems to kick into gear and get you ready to drift off for the night.

Melatonin plays a big role in setting and maintaining an optimal circadian rhythm, your body's natural and unique sleep-wake cycle. While the body does produce its own melatonin on a nightly basis to set the sleep onset process in motion, there are a few ways to obtain melatonin from external sources—certain foods (like tart cherries and cow's milk, which contain melatonin) or melatonin supplements (which sleep experts only recommend using when trying to help reset your internal clock).

“Our study is the first to suggest that using a weighted blanket may result in a more significant release of melatonin at bedtime,” the study’s abstract reads, adding that more studies are needed to “ investigate whether the stimulatory effect on melatonin secretion is observed on a nightly basis when frequently using a weighted blanket over weeks to months.” 

While this study is quite small and just a first step exploring the health benefits of weighted blankets, it does suggest that this cozy, trendy sleep accessory may indeed positively promote sleep on a physiological level, supporting all the rave product reviews and anecdotes out there.

- ◆ -

注：中文文本为机器翻译仅供参考，并非一一对应

含注释全文：

Using a Weighted Blanket May Naturally Boost a Key Sleep Hormone, Study Finds

From: REAL SIMPLE

A small Swedish study found evidence of increased melatonin in healthy adults who used a weighted blanket before bed.

瑞典的一项小规模研究发现了睡前盖重毯子的健康成年人褪黑素增加的证据。

作名词，表示“毛毯，毯子”，作动词，表示“以厚层覆盖”，英文解释为“to cover something completely with a thick layer”举个🌰：

Outside the fields were blanketed in fog.

外面，田野被浓雾笼罩着。

📍海底火山爆发文中，《卫报》（The Guardian）提到：Scientists warn the main island could be blanketed in volcanic ash. 科学家警告说主岛可能被火山灰覆盖。

blanket作形容词，表示“适用于任何情况的；总括的，综合的”，英文解释为“including or affecting everything, everyone, or all cases, in a large group or area”如：a blanket ban 全面禁止，a blanket term 一个广义词。

For many people who struggle with anxiety and poor sleep, weighted blankets are one cozy, wellness luxury well worth the small investment. Countless shoppers swear by the calming benefits of weighted blankets, reporting better sleep, lower stress and anxiety, and overall increased feelings of relaxation. Most of these weighted blanket wellness claims are anecdotal, but with no side effects or doctor’s prescription needed, who wouldn’t want to give this natural sleep solution a try? If you feel like it helps you sleep and chill out, that’s great! Worst case scenario: It’s not for you, so you return it or give it away as a thoughtful gift.

对于许多与焦虑和睡眠质量不佳作斗争的人来说，重毯子是一种舒适、健康的奢侈品，非常值得购入。无数购买者深信重毯子的镇静功效，报告说睡眠更好，压力和焦虑减少，总体上放松感更强。这些重毯子关于健康的大多数说法都是传闻，但没有副作用也不需要医生的处方，谁不想尝试一下这种自然睡眠解决方案？如果你觉得它能帮助你入睡和放松，那太好了！最坏的情况就是：它不适合你，所以你选择退货或作为一份贴心的礼物送人。

英式 cosy 美式 cozy 表示“（尤指建筑物因为小及温暖而）温馨的，温暖舒适的，惬意的，安逸的”，英文解释为“comfortable and pleasant, especially (of a building) because of being small and warm”举个🌰：

This room is nice and cosy in the winter.

这房间冬天十分温暖舒适。

作名词，表示“保暖罩”，英文解释为“a cover that you put on a teapot or a boiled egg to keep it warm”。

wellness /ˈwel.nəs/ 表示“健康”，英文解释为“the state of being healthy”

对比：

📍well-being /ˌwelˈbiː.ɪŋ/ 表示“幸福；安康”，英文解释为“the state of feeling healthy and happy”举个🌰：

People doing yoga benefit from an increased feeling of well-being.

练瑜伽的人内心的幸福感会不断增强。

luxury /ˈlʌk.ʃər.i/ 不可数名词，表示“奢华，奢侈”，英文解释为“very great comfort and pleasure, such as you get from expensive food, beautiful houses, cars etc”如：to live in luxury 生活奢华。

可数名词，表示“奢侈品，名贵品”，英文解释为“something expensive that is pleasant to have but is not necessary”如：luxuries, such as champagne and chocolate 香槟酒和巧克力之类的奢侈品。

表示“非常相信（某物有效或有用）”，英文解释为“to believe strongly that something is effective or useful”举个🌰：

My dad swears by these vitamin pills.

我爸很相信这些维生素片。

📍swear 本身作动词，1）表示“发（誓）；宣（誓）”，英文解释为“to promise or say firmly that you are telling the truth or that you will do something or behave in a particular way”举个🌰：

I don't know anything about what happened, I swear (it).

我发誓我对所发生的事一无所知。

2）表示“诅咒，咒骂”，英文解释为“to use words that are rude or offensive as a way of emphasizing what you mean or as a way of insulting someone or something”举个🌰：

It was a real shock, the first time I heard my mother swear.

我第一次听见母亲骂脏话时觉得非常震惊。

📍swear word表示“脏话，冒犯之词”，英文解释为“a rude or offensive word”举个🌰：

All swear words, even mild ones such as "damn",, were deleted from the text.

所有的脏话，哪怕是像 damn 这样比较温和的字眼，都从课本中删除了。

anecdotal /ˌænɛkˈdəʊtəl/ 表示“逸事的；趣闻的；传闻的”，英文解释为“based on anecdotes and possibly not true or accurate”，如：anecdotal evidence 传闻的证据。

表示“副作用；未曾预料的结果”，英文解释为“an unpleasant effect of a drug that happens in addition to the main effect”举个🌰：

Does this drug have any side effects?

这种药有什么副作用吗？

1）表示“方案；计划；建议；秘诀”，英文解释为“A prescription is a proposal or a plan that gives ideas about how to solve a problem or improve a situation.”举个🌰：

So what is his prescription for success?

那么他认为成功的诀窍是什么？

2）表示“处方”，英文解释为“A prescription is the piece of paper on which your doctor writes an order for medicine and which you give to a pharmacist to get the medicine.”举个🌰：

The new drug will not require a physician's prescription.

这种新药不需要医生的处方。

3）表示“处方药”，英文解释为“A prescription is a medicine that a doctor has told you to take.”举个🌰：

I'm not sleeping even with the prescription he gave me. 

我服用了他开给我的处方药还是睡不着。

表示“彻底放松；冷静；镇静”，英文解释为“to relax completely, or not allow things to upset you”举个🌰：

I'm just chilling out in front of the TV.

我只是看电视放松一下。

But scientifically speaking, there aren't many studies to confirm the alleged benefits of lying under a weighted blanket. That’s why researchers from Uppsala University in Sweden conducted a small study to find out whether using a weighted blanket—compared to using a light blanket—can actually help boost sleep-promoting chemicals, such as melatonin and oxytocin, and decrease stress-related mechanisms, such as cortisol production and sympathetic nervous system activity, which can harm healthy sleep patterns.

但从科学的角度讲，没有多少研究能证实盖重毯子所带来的好处。这就是为什么瑞典乌普萨拉大学（Uppsala University）的研究人员进行了一项小规模研究，以确定盖重毯子——与盖轻薄毯子相比——是否真的有助于提高促进睡眠的化学物质，如褪黑素和催产素，并减少压力相关机制，如皮质醇的产生和交感神经系统的活动，这些机制会损害健康的睡眠模式。

oxytocin /ˌɑːk.sɪˈtoʊ-/ 表示“催产素”，英文解释为“a hormone that helps with labour (= the process of pushing out a baby) and helps women and female mammals to produce milk.”

cortisol /ˈkɔː.tɪ.zɒl/ 表示“皮质醇，可的松”，英文解释为“a hormone (= a chemical made in the body ) that is used in medicine to treat parts of the body that are swollen and painful ”

sympathetic /ˌsɪm.pəˈθet.ɪk/ 1）表示“有同情心的，同情的；（书或电影中的人物）能引起共鸣的，让人同情的，让人有同感的”，英文解释为“used to describe someone who shows, especially by what they say, that they understand and care about someone else's suffering”举个🌰：

He suffers from back trouble too, so he was very sympathetic about my problem.

他自己也受到背痛的困扰，所以他对我的烦恼深表同情。

2）表示“支持的，赞同的”，英文解释为“agreeing with or supporting”举个🌰：

Did he give your proposal/complaints a sympathetic hearing?

他是以赞同的态度倾听你的建议/投诉吗？

Twenty-six young, healthy adults (15 men and 11 women) participated in the study. In one session they were covered with a weighted blanket (weighing about 12 percent of their body weight) for one hour before bedtime, followed by an eight-hour sleep window. Researchers collected saliva samples during the pre-sleep hour to measure changes in melatonin and other hormone concentrations. In the next session, participants were covered with a light blanket (2.4 percent of their body weight) for the night.

26名年轻、健康的成年人（15名男性和11名女性）参与了这项研究。在一次实验中，他们在睡觉前盖重毯子（重量约为体重的12%）一小时，然后是八小时的睡眠时间。研究人员在睡前收集唾液样本，以测量褪黑素和其他激素浓度的变化。在下一次实验中，参与者盖轻薄毯子（体重的2.4%）睡觉。

session /ˈseʃ.ən/ 表示“（从事某项活动的）一段时间（或集会）；一场；一节”，英文解释为“a period of time or meeting arranged for a particular activity”举个🌰：

The runner twisted his ankle in a training session.

这位赛跑运动员在训练时扭伤了脚踝。

saliva /səˈlaɪvə/ 表示“唾液”，英文解释为“Saliva is the watery liquid that forms in your mouth and helps you to chew and digest food.”

concentration除了表示我们平常熟悉的“专注、专心；关注、重视；集中、聚集”等，还可以表示“浓度”，英文解释为“the exact amount of one particular substance that is found in another substance”举个🌰：

High concentrations of toxic elements were found in the polluted areas.

在被污染地区发现了高浓度的有毒元素。

Ultimately, the results found “[n]o other significant differences” in participants’ levels of oxytocin, cortisol, sympathetic nervous system activity, subjective feelings of sleepiness, or total sleep duration. However, they did notice that when participants laid under a weighted blanket for an hour before bedtime, they exhibited about a 32 percent increase in salivary melatonin concentration compared to when they used the lighter blanket.

最终，研究结果发现，参与者的催产素、皮质醇、交感神经系统活动、主观睡意或总睡眠时间水平“没有其他显著差异”。然而，他们确实注意到，当参与者睡前躺在重毯子下一个小时时，与盖轻薄毯子相比，他们的唾液褪黑素浓度增加了约32%。

表示“主观的”，英文解释为“influenced by or based on personal beliefs or feelings, rather than based on facts”；

反义词：

📍objective表示“客观的”（based on real facts and not influenced by personal beliefs or feelings）。

表示“展出，展览；展示；表现”，英文解释为“to show something publicly”举个🌰：

He exhibited great self-control considering her rudeness.

她那么无礼，他表现出如此的克制力已很不错了。

📍表明，表示，展示出，显示，类似的有：show、find、demonstrate、exhibit，suggest。

A quick refresher: Melatonin is a hormone produced naturally by the pineal gland of the brain, and it’s involved in several bodily processes, including regulating the immune system, blood pressure, stress levels, and the sleep-wake cycle (or circadian rhythm). Melatonin itself does not put you to sleep like a magic sedative; instead, its release, triggered by the reduction in light at the end of the day, signals to the rest of the body’s sleep systems to kick into gear and get you ready to drift off for the night. Melatonin plays a big role in setting and maintaining an optimal circadian rhythm, your body's natural and unique sleep-wake cycle.

快速回顾一下：褪黑素是一种由大脑松果体（pineal gland）自然产生的激素，它参与了几个身体过程，包括调节免疫系统、血压、压力水平和睡眠-觉醒周期（或昼夜节律）。褪黑素本身不会像神奇的镇静剂那样让你入睡；相反，它的释放是由一天结束时光线的减少触发的，向身体其他睡眠系统发出信号以开始运作准备好睡觉。褪黑素在设定和维持最佳昼夜节律方面发挥着重要作用，昼夜节律是你身体自然而独特的睡眠-觉醒周期。

circadian /sɜːˈkeɪ.di.ən/ 表示“（动植物的）昼夜的，约一日的，约24小时的（节律，周期）”，英文解释为“used to describe the processes in animals and plants that happen naturally during a 24-hour period”举个🌰：

Our circadian clock makes it difficult to sleep during the day.

昼夜生理时钟让我们很难在白天睡觉。

rhythm /ˈrɪðəm/ 表示“（尤指自然界中的）规则变化，规律，节律”，英文解释为“a regular pattern of change, especially one that happens in nature”如：the rhythm of the seasons 四季的交替。

sedative /ˈsed.ə.tɪv/ 表示“镇静药；镇静剂”，英文解释为“a drug used to calm a person or animal or to make them sleep”

1）作动词，除了表示“发动；引起；触发”，英文解释为“to make sth happen suddenly”举个🌰：

Nuts can trigger off a violent allergic reaction.

坚果可以引起严重的过敏反应。

2）作名词，表示“扳机”，英文解释为“The trigger of a gun is a small lever which you pull to fire it.”举个🌰：

A man pointed a gun at them and pulled the trigger.

一个男人用枪指着他们，扣动了扳机。

类似的还有：

📍stir表示“激发，激起（强烈的感情）；引起（强烈的反应）”，英文解释为“to make someone have a strong feeling or reaction”，举个🌰：

The poem succeeds in stirring the imagination.

这首诗能够激发起想象力。

📍provoke也表示“激起，引起”，英文解释为“to cause a reaction or feeling, especially a sudden one”，如：provoke debate/discussion 激起辩论/讨论。

📍spur 鼓动；激励；鞭策；刺激；鼓舞”，英文解释为“If one thing spurs you to do another, it encourages you to do it.”举个🌰：

It's the money that spurs these fishermen to risk a long ocean journey in their flimsy boats.

是金钱驱使这些渔民驾驶单薄的小船冒险出海远航。

🎬电影《龙之心3：巫师的诅咒》（Dragonheart 3: The Sorcerer's Curse）中的台词提到：To spur the clans to war. 激励部族发起战争。

表示“开始运作，开始起步”，英文解释为“If something kicks into gear, it gets going or started.”

表示“渐渐入睡”，英文解释为“to gradually start to sleep”举个🌰：

I couldn't help drifting off in the middle of that lecture - it was so boring!

我在听讲座的过程中不知不觉地睡着了——这个讲座太乏味了！

While the body does produce its own melatonin on a nightly basis to set the sleep onset process in motion, there are a few ways to obtain melatonin from external sources—certain foods (like tart cherries and cow's milk, which contain melatonin) or melatonin supplements (which sleep experts only recommend using when trying to help reset your internal clock).

虽然人体确实会在夜间产生自身的褪黑素以启动入睡过程，但有几种方法可以从外部来源获得褪黑素——某些食物（如酸樱桃和牛奶，它们含有褪黑素）或褪黑素补剂（睡眠专家只建议在试图帮助调整你的生物钟时食用）。

表示“补充物，增补物”，英文解释为“something that is added to something else in order to improve it or complete it; something extra”举个🌰：

The doctor said she should be taking vitamin supplements.

医生说她应该服用维生素补充剂。

“Our study is the first to suggest that using a weighted blanket may result in a more significant release of melatonin at bedtime,” the study’s abstract reads, adding that more studies are needed to “ investigate whether the stimulatory effect on melatonin secretion is observed on a nightly basis when frequently using a weighted blanket over weeks to months.” 

“我们的研究首次表明，盖重毯子可能会引起褪黑素更显著地释放，”该研究的摘要部分写道，并补充说，需要更多的研究来“分析在几周到几个月内频繁盖重毯子时，是否能在夜间观察到对褪黑素分泌的刺激作用。” 

abstract /ˈæb.strækt/ 表示“摘要；梗概”，英文解释为“a short form of a speech, article, book, etc., giving only the most important facts or ideas”举个🌰：

There is a section at the end of the magazine that includes abstracts of recent articles/books.

杂志的最后一部分收录了近期发表的文章/出版的书籍的摘要。

表示“写着，写的是；显示”，英文解释为“(of something written or printed) to have or give the stated information or meaning”举个🌰：

The start of the article reads "LearnAndRecord..."

文章的开头是这样写的：“LearnAndRecord…”。

stimulative = stimulative表示“起刺激作用的，促进的；激励的”，英文解释为“to excite (a nerve, organ, etc) with a stimulus”

表示“分泌；分泌液”，英文解释为“the process by which an animal or plant produces and releases a liquid, or the liquid produced”举个🌰：

The excessive secretion of gastric juices in the gut causes ulcers.

胃中胃液分泌过多会导致胃溃疡。

While this study is quite small and just a first step exploring the health benefits of weighted blankets, it does suggest that this cozy, trendy sleep accessory may indeed positively promote sleep on a physiological level, supporting all the rave product reviews and anecdotes out there.

虽然这项研究规模很小，只是探索盖重毯子对健康益处的第一步，但它确实表明，这种舒适、时尚的睡眠好物确实可能会在生理层面上促进睡眠，为所有产品好评和传闻提供了依据。

表示“附件，配件，附属品；装饰品，配饰”，英文解释为“something added to a machine or to clothing that has a useful or decorative purpose”举个🌰：

She wore a green wool suit with matching accessories (= shoes, hat, bag, etc.).

她身着绿色羊毛套装，全身的配饰都与之配套。

physiological /ˌfɪz.i.əˈlɒdʒ.ɪ.kəl/ 表示“生理学的”，英文解释为“relating to the way in which the bodies of living things work”举个🌰：

Touching causes a physiological reaction.

触摸引起生理反应。

rave /reɪv/ 表示“狂热褒评的，大加赞扬的，捧上天的”，英文解释为“admiring and giving a lot of praise”举个🌰：

The show has received rave reviews/notices in all the papers.

这场演出受到所有报纸的高度评价/吸引了所有报纸的注意并得到热情洋溢的报道。

anecdote /ˈæn.ɪk.doʊt/ 表示“（尤指关于某人的）趣闻，轶事”，英文解释为“a short, often funny story, especially about something someone has done”，也可以指“传闻”，英文解释为“a personal account of an event”举个🌰：

He told one or two amusing anecdotes about his years as a teacher.

他讲了一两件他当老师时发生的趣事。

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