Jun. 08, 2017 #The World Says# Circadian Rhythms

节目组: The World Says 世界说 节目名称: Circadian Rhythms 开头曲 Gemini 引语 V: Hello everyone, welcome to the world says from the VOE foreign languages station. I'm Vincent J:Hello everybody, I'm Jotta. And I feel terrible! F:Hi my dear audience, I'm Friances. J:I feel terrible! F:You really look terrible, Jotta，if you don't mind me saying so! J:It's because I had to get up really early this morning. V:Oh dear! What time did you have to get up? J:Eight o'clock. F:Oh, Jotta! That isn't early! V:Yeah! It's not early at all. I get up at six every day. It's so peaceful early in the morning. J:Hmm. Well, some people are morning people and others… aren't! V:Well,yes. Today we're talking about the biological reason for this – it's all about circadian rhythms. 早起的生理原因，和昼夜节律有关。 插曲1 Gemini J:Right!They are produced by a so-called body clock in our brains that regulates our body functions:our body temperature, sleepiness and alertness, hunger, and hormone levels.Plants, animals, and many microbes have circadian rhythms. 昼夜节律由大脑中所谓的生物钟产生，控制着我们的躯体功能，如我们身体温度、睡眠、警觉、饥饿和荷尔蒙水平。植物、动物和许多微生物都有昼夜节律。 F:You know a lot about circadian rhythms.昼夜节律方面你懂很多嘛~Jotta J:Ha Ha, yeah. Now let's talk about circadian rhythms and our internal clock. V:I want to say why do our bodies need an internal clock to tell us where we are in the day? Isn't it obvious? J:No, it isn't – take jet lag, for example.We rely on the predictable cycle of light or dark in a 24-hour period to synchronise – or adjust – our body clocks to the environment – and if we mess about with the light and dark cycle by flying into a new time zone, it makes us feel really bad!如果你飞越一个新的时区，白天黑夜的循环就会紊乱，这会让我们感觉非常糟糕！ V:Good point – jet lag is the disruption of our circadian rhythms caused by high-speed travel across different time zones,which can cause tiredness and sleep problems. But Jotta, if we rely on day turning to night to adjust our body clocks, what happens to blind people? Because I assume their body clocks can't do this. J:Blind people who have some light perception are able to synchronise their circadian rhythms to the light-dark cycle, and about those who have no light perception at all, a professor have explained that totally blind people – they've lost that connection between the light-dark circle and the clock, so there isn't anything wrong with the clockbut the clock ticks and oscillates at its own endogenous period. V:Oh I get this. So if you're totally blind – or able to see but living in a dark cave – you have a ticking clock but with no connection to the outside world.The clock oscillates at its own endogenous, or internal, period. J:Do you think my endogenous clock ticks faster than yours, Vincent? V:It isn't a competition, Jotta .And actually, mine probably ticks faster than yours since I'm a morning person. Anyway, the normal range in humans is between 23.8 to 24.8 hours.And this is also true for totally blind people. J:But their clocks are free-running – they don't get cues from the outside environment telling them when to wake up, when to eat, when to feel sleepy.So that means they might feel sleepy at the wrong time of day – for example, when they’re at work.Or alert in the middle of the night when they should be asleep. F:I think it's worth talking about people who do shift work– which means work that takes place outside the traditional 9 to 5 day.也就是工作时间并非传统的朝九晚五的人。 J:Yeah ,shift workers may suffer similar problems to blind people because they are trying to sleep against the clock. They might sleep in the day and work at night for example – which goes against the light-dark pattern. V:There are indeed some long-term health problems associated with shift work – certain cancers, heart disease, and obesity. 插曲 2 Despacito F:所以人们应该怎么做使昼夜节律适应夜班的节奏？ V:We do think that exercise and food, caffeine, may be able to modulate in some way,so has some influence on circadian timing, but not as strongly as the light-dark cycle.So the strongest influence over our circadian rhythm is the light-dark cycle. We can't alter night and day, after all! J:And other cues such as food and exercise will modulate – or adjust – the body clock. So eating three well-balanced meals at regular times each day can help your body clock adapt to an unusual schedule. V:Such as taking naps – or short sleeps – just before you start a night shift can help you feel more alert. And keeping to the same sleep schedule every day will also help. And don't forget caffeine – my old friend! A cup of coffee works wonders for me in the morning. J:Yeah! 早上一杯咖啡让我感觉非常好! V: So, that's the end of today's show, thank you for your listening.如果你喜欢我们的节目，欢迎关注voe外语广播电台的新浪微博和voe外语广播电台的微信公众号voe radio. F:感谢制作苏鑫。 J:See you next time~ 结束曲 Despacito 节目监制：周宸聿 编辑：杨晏直 夏茂航 朱子业 播音：杨晏直 夏茂航 朱子业 制作：苏鑫