Is your bedroom really hot? If it is, it may be affecting your memory and other thinking skills.
你的卧室里很热吗?如果是，它可能会影响你的记忆力和其它思维能力。
Heat waves sometimes kill people who are very old, very young or in poor health.
高温可能会威胁到老人、幼儿以及身体虚弱者的生命。
But new research shows that sleeping in a hot room can affect the thinking ability of even healthy young adults.
但新的研究表明，即使是健康的年轻人，在炎热的房间睡觉也会影响他们的思维能力。
This finding comes from Harvard University's T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Researchers there looked at 24 students before, during and after a Boston-area heat wave. Of the 24 students, four slept in rooms with air-conditioning, also called "AC" for short. And 20 slept in rooms without AC.
该研究结果出自哈佛陈曾熙公共卫生学院。该学院的研究人员调查了24名学生，在波士顿地区高温前后以及高温期间的情况。在24名学生中，有4人在有空调的房内睡觉，简称“空调房”。其余20人在没有空调的房间睡觉。
The experiment lasted 12 days. The temperature of the room without air conditioning, or AC, averaged 26 degrees Celsius (78.8 F). The temperature in the rooms with AC averaged 21 degrees Celsius (70.5 F).
该实验持续了12天。没有空调的房间平均室温为26摄氏度(78.8华氏度)。有空调的房间平均室温为21摄氏度(70.5华氏度)。
Jose Guillermo Cedeno-Laurent led the study. He is a professor and researcher at Harvard's School of Public Health. He says he and his team considered several conditions in the rooms.
何塞·吉列尔莫·瑟丹诺劳伦(Jose Guillermo Cedeno-Laurent)主导了这项研究。他是哈佛大学公共卫生学院的教授和研究员。他说，他和团队考虑到了房间的几种情况。
We measured very intensively, every five minutes, several environmental factors, which include temperature, relative humidity, carbon dioxide and noise, in each of the bedrooms of the participants throughout the duration of the study.
“在整个研究过程中，我们每隔5分钟就会对参与者卧室的温度、相对湿度、二氧化碳和噪音水平等环境因素进行一次密集的测量。”
He said they also used devices that recorded physical activity, including heart rate, perspiration, or sweat, and some sleep conditions. The researchers also noted how much water and caffeine the students drank and how much time they spent outside.
他表示，他们还用设备记录下参与者的身体活动，包括心率、出汗情况和某些睡眠情况。研究员还记录了学生饮用水和咖啡因的情况以及户外活动的时长。
Surprising findings
惊人的发现
The results were unexpected.
研究的结果出人意料。
To our surprise, we found very significant effect of detrimental cognitive function among those students that we included in our study that didn't have air conditioning during this heat wave period.
“令人吃惊的是，我们发现，在我们的研究中，在高温期间没有空调的学生，其认知功能损害十分显著。”
Basically, they found great harm to the thinking ability of the study participants in rooms without air conditioning.
基本上，他们发现在没有空调的房间里，研究参与者的思维能力会受到极大的伤害。
During the heatwave, students in buildings without AC performed on average 13 percent worse at these tests than those in cooler rooms. Specifically, the students who slept without AC during a heat wave were slower to respond and had difficulty making quick decisions.
在高温期间，房间没有空调的学生在测试中的表现比空调房内的学生差13%。具体地说，高温期间，在没有空调的房间睡觉的学生反应更为迟钝，而且很难快速做出决定。
Daisy Chang (who was not part of this study) is psychologist at Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan. She says there could be other reasons for their poor performance.
美国密歇根州东兰辛密歇根州立大学的心理学家黛西·张(Daisy Chang)并未参与这次研究。她认为，学生表现不佳可能还有其他原因。
A whole host of reasons could potentially explain this kind of exposure effect. It's not necessarily directly exposure to heat. It [the heat] could have affected their sleep quality so they're less rested, they have less energy, or mental resources, or ability to focus.
“很多原因都可能解释这种暴露效应。这不一定是因身处高温环境所致。高温或许影响到他们的睡眠质量，因此他们休息不好，进而导致精力下降、或者精神不济、或者难以集中注意力。”
The rooms without AC had fans and open windows. So, they were louder at night. This could have made sleeping difficult.
没有空调的房间有电风扇，而且开窗通风，因此他们晚上会受到较大的噪音干扰，可能会导致他们入睡困难。
On the other hand, air-conditioned rooms can hold higher levels of carbon dioxide. This can also affect a person's ability to think.
另一方面，空调房间的二氧化碳含量较高。也会影响一个人的思考能力。
However, the students slept better in a cooler room.
然而，学生们在更凉爽的房间睡得更好。
We find that heatwaves are impacting us all. These impacts extend to populations like ]young and healthy university students. And we find significant effect in the way they think -- in their cognitive functions.
“我们发现，高温正在影响着所有人。这些影响甚至延伸到年轻、健康的大学生等人群。我们发现这对他们的思维方式、认知功能有显著影响。”
Health experts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say that the body temperature of humans should stay close to 37 degrees Celsius (98.6 degrees F). At higher inner temperatures, body operations can start to fail. If the body's temperature rises enough, it shuts down completely and the person dies.
疾病控制与预防中心的健康专家表示：人类正常体温应保持在37摄氏度(98.6华氏度)。体温较高时，身体机能可能会失调。如果体温上升到一定程度，身体机能会完全失效，人也会死亡。
Earlier research centered on how hot weather affects at-risk populations. The CDC says older adults, the very young, and sick people are most at risk.
早期的研究集中于高温天气对高危人群的影响。疾病控制与预防中心表示，老年人、幼儿以及病人面临的风险最大。
On its website, the CDC lists other conditions that could put you in a high-risk group for getting sick in hot weather. They include:
疾病控制与预防中心的网站上列出了其它因素，这些可能会让你成为在高温天气出现不适的高危人群。
-Being overweight
超重
-Having a fever
发烧
-Not drinking enough water
饮水不足
-Having heart disease or poor circulation
患心脏病或血液循环不良
-Having mental health problems
有心理健康问题
-Having a sunburn
晒伤
-Using prescription drugs
服用处方药
-Using alcohol
饮酒
(For tips on staying healthy during a heat wave, please read this VOA Learning English story.)
(有关在高温天气保持健康的贴士，请参阅VOA英语学习的报道。)
And that's the Health & Lifestyle report.
以上就是《健康与生活方式报道》的全部内容。
I'm Anna Matteo.
安娜·马特奥报道。
From VOA Learning English, this is the Health & Lifestyle report.
Is your bedroom really hot? If it is, it may be affecting your memory and other thinking skills.
Heat waves sometimes kill people who are very old, very young or in poor health.
But new research shows that sleeping in a hot room can affect the thinking ability of even healthy young adults.
This finding comes from Harvard University's T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Researchers there looked at 24 students before, during and after a Boston-area heat wave. Of the 24 students, four slept in rooms with air-conditioning, also called "AC" for short. And 20 slept in rooms without AC.
The experiment lasted 12 days. The temperature of the room without air conditioning, or AC, averaged 26 degrees Celsius (78.8 F). The temperature in the rooms with AC averaged 21 degrees Celsius (70.5 F).
Jose Guillermo Cedeno-Laurent led the study. He is a professor and researcher at Harvard's School of Public Health. He says he and his team considered several conditions in the rooms.
"We measured very intensively, every five minutes, several environmental factors, which include temperature, relative humidity, carbon dioxide and noise, in each of the bedrooms of the participants throughout the duration of the study."
He said they also used devices that recorded physical activity, including heart rate, perspiration, or sweat, and some sleep conditions. The researchers also noted how much water and caffeine the students drank and how much time they spent outside.
Surprising findings
The results were unexpected.
"To our surprise, we found very significant effect of detrimental cognitive function among those students that we included in our study that didn't have air conditioning during this heat wave period."
Basically, they found great harm to the thinking ability of the study participants in rooms without air conditioning.
During the heatwave, students in buildings without AC performed on average 13 percent worse at these tests than those in cooler rooms. Specifically, the students who slept without AC during a heat wave were slower to respond and had difficulty making quick decisions.
Daisy Chang (who was not part of this study) is psychologist at Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan. She says there could be other reasons for their poor performance.
"A whole host of reasons could potentially explain this kind of exposure effect. It's not necessarily directly exposure to heat. It [the heat] could have affected their sleep quality so they're less rested, they have less energy, or mental resources, or ability to focus."
The rooms without AC had fans and open windows. So, they were louder at night. This could have made sleeping difficult.
On the other hand, air-conditioned rooms can hold higher levels of carbon dioxide. This can also affect a person's ability to think.
However, the students slept better in a cooler room.
"We find that heatwaves are impacting us all. These impacts extend to populations like ]young and healthy university students. And we find significant effect in the way they think -- in their cognitive functions."
Health experts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say that the body temperature of humans should stay close to 37 degrees Celsius (98.6 degrees F). At higher inner temperatures, body operations can start to fail. If the body's temperature rises enough, it shuts down completely and the person dies.
Earlier research centered on how hot weather affects at-risk populations. The CDC says older adults, the very young, and sick people are most at risk.
On its website, the CDC lists other conditions that could put you in a high-risk group for getting sick in hot weather. They include:
-Being overweight
-Having a fever
-Not drinking enough water
-Having heart disease or poor circulation
-Having mental health problems
-Having a sunburn
-Using prescription drugs
-Using alcohol
(For tips on staying healthy during a heat wave, please read this VOA Learning English story.)
And that's the Health & Lifestyle report.
I'm Anna Matteo.
Sadie Witkowski reported on this story for VOA News. Anna Matteo adapted it and added additional information from several health-related websites. Caty Weaver was the editor.
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Words in This Story
relative humidity - n. the ratio of the amount of water vapor actually present in the air to the greatest amount possible at the same temperature
participant - n. a person who is involved in an activity or event : a person who participates in an activity or event - often + in
perspiration - n. he clear liquid that forms on your skin when you are hot or nervous
significant - adj. large enough to be noticed or have an effect
detrimental - adj. causing damage or injury
cognitive function - n. thinking activities that lead to knowledge, including all means and mechanisms of acquiring information, such as reasoning, memory, attention, and language
host - n. a great amount or number
potential - adj. capable of becoming real : potentially - adv.
exposure - n. the fact or condition of being affected by something or experiencing something
focus - n. a main purpose or interest
impact - v. to have a strong and often bad effect on (something or someone) : - n. a powerful or major influence or effect
内容来自 VOA英语学习网：https://www.chinavoa.com/show-8840-243464-1.html
