degradation  [,degrə'deɪʃ(ə)n]  

n. 堕落；毁坏；恶化

图片来源：视觉中国

There are times when it's unavoidable - a dissertation is due, a family member is in the emergency room, it's make-or-break for your company - but you should be aware of just how damaging pulling an all nighter can be for your body.
有时这是无可避免的--论文要交了，家人在急救室里，公司到了生死存亡的关头--但是你应该要知道开夜车会对你身体造成何种伤害。

Neuroscientists from Norway looked closely at the potential repercussions on our health, and it's not pretty (as you might expect if you've ever suffered a sleepless night).
挪威的神经学家仔细研究对我们健康的潜在负面影响，这不妙。（就像你可能预料到的那样，如果你曾经历过不眠之夜的话。）

They recruited 21 healthy young men to undergo a series of diffusion tensor imaging (or DTI) tests, which indicate water diffusion in the body and thus the health of the nervous system.
他们招募了21名健康的年轻男子进行一系列弥散张量成像测试（DTI），这项测试能显示水在体内的弥散，进而显示神经系统的健康程度。

The volunteers stayed awake for 23 hours, and to provide some control conditions, they weren't allowed to consume alcohol, caffeine, or nicotine during the study, and they couldn't eat anything before a DTI scan.
志愿者23小时保持清醒。为了提供对照组，他们在研究期间不被允许摄入酒精、咖啡因或者尼古丁，并且在DTI扫描前不能进食。

The 2015 report pointed to "significant" changes in the white matter inside the brain after a night with no sleep, finding that "sleep deprivation was associated with widespread fractional anisotropy".
这份2015年的报告指向一夜未眠之后，大脑中白质的“巨大”变化。发现“睡眠剥夺与普遍的局部各向异性有关。”

In other words, a degradation of the 'connectivity' networks inside the brain - something you might have felt first-hand if you've ever tried to collect your thoughts after a sleepless night.
换句话说，就是脑内“连接”网络的恶化--如果你曾在不眠之夜后试图聚集自己的想法，这就是你可能切身体会到的东西。

Changes were noticed throughout the brain, covering the corpus callosum, brainstem, thalamus, fronto temporal and parieto-occipital tracts.
脑中各部位都能看到变化，包括胼胝体、脑干、丘脑、额颞和顶枕束。

What's not quite as clear is how permanent this damage is: could a long sleep the next night repair all the damage that's been done, for example?
尚不清楚这种损伤会持续多久：例如，下一晚的长时间睡眠能修复已造成的所有损伤吗？

 

今日词汇

degradation [,degrə'deɪʃ(ə)n]  

n. 堕落；毁坏；恶化

the accelerating degradation of our planet's natural environment
地球自然环境的加速退化
、

 

degradation的动词原形是degrade

 

To treat human beings like animals is to degrade them。
像对待动物一样对待人类是在羞辱他们。