常年喝咖啡，老了睡不著

For many of us, a cup of strong coffee is just the thing to jolt us into action in the morning.

對(duì)于許多人來說，早上喝一杯濃咖啡會(huì)令人提神醒腦。

And with Britons drinking 95million cups a day, it has never been more popular.

現(xiàn)如今，英國人每天要喝9500萬杯咖啡，以前從未如此流行。

But now scientists have discovered that a lifetime of daily coffees may shrink a part of the brain that controls sleep patterns.

科學(xué)家們最近發(fā)現(xiàn)，每天喝上一杯咖啡，可能會(huì)造成控制睡眠模式的大腦區(qū)域萎縮。

They think the findings may partly explain why some older people struggle to drop off.

他們認(rèn)為這一發(fā)現(xiàn)或許可以解釋一些老年人為什么睡不著覺。

Brain scans carried out by researchers at Seoul University in South Korea found moderate to heavy consumers – those drinking two cups a day for 30 years or more – had smaller pineal glands than those who rarely drank coffee.

韓國首爾大學(xué)的研究人員對(duì)一些老年人進(jìn)行腦部掃描后發(fā)現(xiàn)，中度至重度消費(fèi)者(每天飲用兩杯，連喝30年過更久)的松果體，比那些很少喝咖啡的人更小。

The pineal gland is a pea-sized organ in the middle of the brain that releases a hormone called melatonin when it is time for the body to rest and sleep.

松果體是大腦中部一個(gè)如豌豆大小的器官，會(huì)在身體休息與睡眠時(shí)釋放出一種叫做褪黑素的激素。

The smaller the gland is, the less melatonin it produces.

松果體越小，所分泌的褪黑素也就越少。

Although caffeine is well known as a short-term stimulant, this is thought to be one of the first studies to suggest it could have long-term effects on the brain.

雖然咖啡是一種眾所周知的短期興奮劑，但一項(xiàng)最新研究卻提出它可能對(duì)大腦產(chǎn)生長期影響。

Researchers tracked 162 elderly healthy men and women and quizzed them on how much coffee they drank and how long they slept.

研究人員們追蹤了162名健康老年男性與女性，并詢問他們喝了多少咖啡以及睡了多長時(shí)間。

They then performed MRI brain scans to measure the volume of the pineal gland.

隨后，研究人員對(duì)他們進(jìn)行了顱腦MRI掃描，以測(cè)量其松果體的體積。

They found that coffee-lovers had pineal glands 20 per cent smaller than non-drinkers and experienced more problems sleeping.

他們發(fā)現(xiàn)，咖啡愛好者的松果體比不喝咖啡者要小20%，并且會(huì)遭遇更多睡眠問題。

In their report, published in the journal Sleep, the scientists warned: ‘Given the large amount of coffee consumption across the world and the rapid increase in the use of caffeine in children and adolescents over the past 30 years, we should be concerned with the potential adverse effects of lifetime coffee consumption.’

在發(fā)表于《Sleep》雜志上的報(bào)告中，科學(xué)家們警告稱：「鑒于過去30年全世界咖啡量的巨大消耗，以及兒童與青少年咖啡因使用量的急劇增加，我們應(yīng)該開始關(guān)注終生消耗咖啡所帶來的潛在不利影響?！?/p>

However, Dr Neil Stanley, an independent sleep expert, said the research did not prove caffeine in coffee was harming sleep quality among the elderly.

然而，獨(dú)立睡眠專家Neil Stanley博士卻表示，該研究并未證明咖啡中的咖啡因會(huì)損害老年人的睡眠質(zhì)量。

He added: ‘Different cups of coffee can have different levels of caffeine in them. But the study did not take this into account, nor any other sources of caffeine that they may have consumed over the years.’

他還補(bǔ)充道： 「不同的咖啡可能含有不同濃度的咖啡因。但該研究并沒有考慮到這一點(diǎn)，也沒有考慮到他們多年來可能消耗咖啡因的任何其他來源?！?/p>