Having a glowing smartphone in your bedroom at night could do more than interrupt your beauty sleep – it could also make you fat, researchers have warned.新的研究表明，晚上睡觉时在卧室里给手机充电不仅会干扰美容觉，还有可能会使人变胖。
They say that our bodies need pitch-black dark to produce the right levels of a hormone involved in regulating the conversion of food and drink into energy.
我们的身体会分泌一种参与调节食物和饮料转换成能量的激素，而只有在黑暗环境下，这种激素的分泌才会达到正常水平。
It means ambient light from street lamps can disrupt the release of melatonin and prevent us burning food as efficiently.
也就是说，连周围的路灯灯光都会扰乱褪黑激素的分泌，影响身体燃烧食物能量的效果。
But scientists say short-wavelength blue light, which is emitted by some devices when they are charging, is the most disruptive to sleep – and consequently our meta bolism.
而科学家说，一些设备充电时发出的短波蓝光则对睡眠最具破坏性，也会进而影响到我们的新陈代谢。
Although it is not bright enough to light up a room, it still disrupts our bodies, they said. A team at the University of Granada in Spain discovered that injections of melatonin helped combat obesity and diabetes in rats by helping to regulate their systems.
虽然这样的光线不足以照亮房间，但还是会影响我们的身体状况。西班牙格拉纳达大学的一个研究小组发现，给小鼠注射褪黑激素有助于调节体内系统，从而对抗肥胖症和糖尿病。
Now experts at Manchester University are investigating how regulating sleep patterns might help patients who already have diabetes, a disease often link ed with obesity.
目前，曼彻斯特大学的专家们正在研究如何通过调节睡眠模式来治疗糖尿病，而糖尿病往往与肥胖相关。
Dr Simon Kyle, a sleep researcher at the university, said: ‘A lot of people are interested in this at the moment given that as a 24-hour society, sleep deprivation is increasing and we are exposing ourselves to artificial light at night.
该大学的睡眠研究员西蒙·凯尔博士说：“很多人都对这个问题感兴趣。因为在这个24小时不停运转的社会，睡眠剥夺问题日益严重，而且在夜晚，我们把身体暴露在人造光下。”
‘We are interested in how an alteration in the sleep-wake pattern may be involved in the onset of diabetes and obesity and if, when you improve the timing of sleep you can also have a positive effect on conditions like diabetes and obesity.
“我们感兴趣的是，睡眠的改变对于糖尿病和肥胖症的发病有何影响，以及睡眠时间的改善是否对糖尿病和肥胖症等情况有积极作用。”
There is a lot of research showing we are meant to be asleep at night when darkness falls and melatonin rises and when the sun rises the melatonin is blocked by the sun. This light-dark cycle is good for our bodies to predict changes in the environment.
“有很多研究证实，当夜幕降临后，褪黑激素的分泌量在升高；而当太阳升起时，身体的新陈代谢随之停止。这种光暗周期有利于身体预测周围环境的变化。”
‘So if you start sleeping shorter, or receive light at the wrong time late into night, it disrupts melatonin secretion and that could contribute to alterations in meta bolism.’
“所以，如果你缩短睡眠时间，或在深夜这段错误的时间让身体接收光线，就会扰乱褪黑激素的分泌，进而导致代谢的改变。”
Blue light is the most damaging because it keeps the mind buzzing, he added.
凯尔博士说，蓝光是最具破坏性的，因为蓝光会使头脑嗡嗡作响。
Earlier this year, leading scientists from universities including Oxford, Cambridge and Harvard, warned that a lack of sleep can cause severe health problems, such as cancer, heart disease, Type 2 diabetes and obesity, because it upsets the body clock.
今年年初，来自牛津、剑桥和哈佛大学的科学家们警告称，睡眠不足会导致严重的健康问题，比如癌症、心脏病、二型糖尿病和肥胖症等，因为睡眠不足会打乱身体的生物钟。
They said the modern phenomenon was being fuelled by our use of devices late at night which emit blue light.
他们说，我们在深夜使用发射蓝光的设备，这已经是现代社会的普遍现象了。
Dr Kyle advised turning off smartphones, tablets and desktop computers a couple of hours before going to bed to reduce exposure to artificial light.
凯尔博士建议，在睡觉前的几个小时就关掉智能手机、平板电脑和台式电脑，减少接触人造光。
He added: ‘There is strong basic science and data to show the association between sleep interference and disease.
他补充说：“有确凿的基础科学和数据证实，睡眠干扰和疾病有所联系。
‘If you can have complete darkness at night time you might be able to recreate time’s pre-industrial period and have a stab at improving the obesity epidemic.’
“如果你能在晚上处于完全黑暗的环境中，就像回到了工业化之前，就能对控制肥胖症的流行了。”
查看更多关于【双语新闻】的文章
