纽约时报褪黑素能当安眠药用吗？
导读：大多数人都认为褪黑素就是一种天然助眠剂，就好比做成了药片的甘菊茶。但褪黑素也是我们大脑自然产生的一种激素，只要是激素，哪怕极少量，也可能会对人体产生巨大的影响。
无注释原文：
Melatonin Isn’t a Sleeping Pill.
Here’s How to Use It.
Most people think of melatonin as a natural nod-off aid, kind of like chamomile tea in pill form. Even the name of the popular dietary supplement sounds sleepy — that long o sound almost makes you yawn mid-word. But melatonin is also a hormone that our brains naturally produce, and hormones, even in minuscule amounts, can have potent effects throughout the body.
Experts strongly urge people to consult their doctor or a sleep specialist before taking melatonin, in part because the supplement does not address many underlying health problems that may be disrupting sleep. Anxiety can cause insomnia, as can a host of other potentially serious ailments, such as sleep apnea, restless legs syndrome or mood disorders like depression, that may require medical treatment.
During the day, the brain’s pea-sized pineal gland remains inactive. A few hours before our natural sleep time, as it starts to get dark outside and the light entering our retina fades, the gland switches on to flood the brain with melatonin.
Melatonin is sometimes called the ‘hormone of darkness’ or ‘vampire hormone,’ because it comes out at night, said Matthew Walker, a professor of neuroscience and psychology at the University of California, Berkeley, and the author of the book Why We Sleep. As levels of melatonin rise, levels of cortisol, the stress hormone, fall. Respiration slows. Soon, our eyelids begin to droop.
Instead of a lights-out trigger, melatonin acts more like a dimmer switch, turning the day functions off and switching night functions on. So taking a melatonin supplement is sort of like taking a dose of sunset, tricking your body into feeling like it’s nighttime. It doesn’t put you to sleep as much as it tells the body that it’s time to sleep.
Melatonin may make you feel a little drowsier when you take it, but it has a bigger impact on regulating the timing of your overall sleep-wake cycle and helping to set the circadian clock, the roughly 24-hour internal timekeeper that tells your body what time of day it is and syncs it with the outside world.
带注释全文：
Melatonin Isn’t a Sleeping Pill.
褪黑素不是安眠药
Here’s How to Use It.
告诉你该如何使用它
Most people think ofmelatoninas a natural nod-off aid, kind of like chamomile tea in pill form. Even the name of the popular dietary supplement sounds sleepy — that long o sound almost makes you yawn mid-word. But melatonin is also a hormone that our brains naturally produce, and hormones, even inminusculeamounts, can have potent effects throughout the body.
大多数人都认为褪黑素就是一种天然助眠剂，就好比做成了药片的甘菊茶。这种流行膳食补充剂连名字都听起来让人犯困——长长的o音几乎让人在说到一半的时候就想打哈欠。但褪黑素也是我们大脑自然产生的一种激素，只要是激素，哪怕极少量，也可能会对人体产生巨大的影响。
melatonin[ˌmeləˈtoʊnɪn]
n. 褪黑素，褪黑激素
[例句]Researchers have discovered that "night milk" contains more melatonin, which has been proven to help people feel sleepy and reduce anxiety.
研究人员发现，"夜间牛奶"中含有更多的褪黑素，它已被证实有助于人们感到困倦和减少焦虑。
minuscule[ˈmɪnəskjuːl]
adj.微小的，极小的
[例句]The Museum Project was based on this combination of basic forces and primeval elements which move slowly and majestically, with us as minuscule witnesses.
这个博物馆项目是基于这些基本的力量和最原始的元素，它们缓慢大气地运动，而我们则是微小的见证者。
Experts strongly urge people to consult their doctor or a sleep specialist before taking melatonin, in part because the supplement does not address many underlying health problems that may be disrupting sleep. Anxiety can causeinsomnia, as can a host of other potentially serious ailments, such as sleep apnea, restless legs syndrome or mood disorders like depression, that may require medical treatment.
专家强烈建议在服用褪黑素之前咨询自己的医生或睡眠专家，部分原因是这种补充剂不能解决很多可能影响睡眠的潜在健康问题。焦虑和其他许多可能变得非常严重的疾病都会导致失眠，包括睡眠呼吸中止症、不宁腿综合征或抑郁症等情绪障碍，而这些问题可能都需要就医。
insomnia[ɪnˈsɑːmniə]
n. 失眠症，失眠(症)
[例句]Though hes suffering the full effects of insomnia, his sleep difficulty is short-term, and should resolve quickly.
尽管他饱受失眠症困扰，但他的睡眠困难是短期的，很快就能解决。
During the day, the brain’s pea-sizedpinealgland remains inactive. A few hours before our natural sleep time, as it starts to get dark outside and the light entering our retina fades, the gland switches on to flood the brain with melatonin.
白天，人脑中豌豆大小的松果体处于不活跃状态。在自然睡眠时间的前几个小时，天色开始变黑，进入视网膜的光线逐渐减弱，松果体就会开始分泌大量褪黑素。
pineal[paɪˈniːəl]
n. 松果腺，松果体
[例句]The pineal gland secretes melanin during times of relaxation and visualization.
松果体在放松时分泌黑色素是明白无误的。
Melatonin is sometimes called the ‘hormone of darkness’ or ‘vampire hormone,’ because it comes out at night, said Matthew Walker, a professor of neuroscience and psychology at the University of California, Berkeley, and the author of the book Why We Sleep. As levels of melatonin rise, levels ofcortisol, the stress hormone, fall. Respiration slows. Soon, our eyelids begin to droop.
因为在夜间出现，褪黑素有时被称为‘黑暗激素’或‘吸血鬼激素’，加州大学伯克利分校的神经科学兼心理学教授马修·沃克表示，他是《我们为何要睡觉》一书的作者。随着褪黑素水平的上升，应激激素皮质醇的水平会下降。呼吸放缓。很快，我们的眼皮开始打架。
cortisol[ˈkɔrtɪˌsɔl]
n. 皮质醇
[例句]The principal adrenocortical products are aldosterone, cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate.
肾上腺皮质的主要产物为醛固酮、皮质醇和脱氢异雄酮硫酸盐。
Instead of a lights-out trigger, melatonin acts more like a dimmer switch, turning the day functions off and switching night functions on. So taking a melatonin supplement is sort of like taking a dose of sunset, tricking your body into feeling like it’s nighttime. It doesn’t put you to sleep as much as it tells the body that it’s time to sleep.
与其说是熄灯按钮，不如说褪黑素更像一个灯光调暗器，关闭了白天功能，打开了夜间功能。因此，服用褪黑素补剂就像是吸收了一点夕阳，帮助你的身体感觉到夜晚。它并不会让你入睡，而是会告诉身体该睡觉了。
Melatonin may make you feel a littledrowsierwhen you take it, but it has a bigger impact on regulating the timing of your overall sleep-wake cycle and helping to set the circadian clock, the roughly 24-hour internal timekeeper that tells your body what time of day it is andsyncsit with the outside world.
服用褪黑激素可能会让你感觉有点昏昏欲睡，但它在调节整体睡眠-觉醒周期和帮助设定生物钟方面有更大的影响。生物钟是一个大约24小时的内部计时器，它告诉你的身体现在是什么时间，并与外界同步。
drowsy[ˈdraʊzi]
adj. 昏昏欲睡，困倦的
[例句]The tablets may make you feel drowsy.
这药片可能会使你昏昏欲睡。
sync[sɪŋk]
v. synchronize 的缩略词，（使）同步
[例句]Otherwise, your phone and its software would take longer to sync.
否则，手机和软件同步会耗费更长的时间。
推荐阅读：
关注微信公众号：英语期刊精读
英语学习的路上，伴你一起不孤独，
点个「在看」吧，再忙也要坚持学习！