US researchers are a step closer to discovering why some people can sleep peacefully despite the noise of modern life. A process in the brain plays a key role in blocking out sound during sleep, they say, and it appears to be more effective in certain individuals. It may be possible to boost this effect using therapy, drugs or electronic devices, says a Harvard team.
美國研究人員即將發現為什麼現代生活充滿噪音，人類還能安睡的原因。他們說，腦中一種過程扮演在睡夢中隔絕聲音的重要角色，在某些人身上，這種過程似乎特別有效。一個哈佛團隊說，或許可以用療法、藥物或電子器材來促進這種效果。
US researchers studied 12 healthy volunteers at a sleep clinic over the course of three nights. The first night was quiet but during the second and third nights, volunteers were confronted with the sounds of telephones ringing, road and air traffic noises and the beep of hospital equipment.
美國研究人員在3個晚上的研究過程中，在睡眠診所觀察12名健康的志願者。第1晚很安靜，不過第2與第3晚，志願者就會聽到電話鈴聲、路上與空中的噪音，以及醫院儀器的嗶嗶聲。
They were monitored each night using an electroencephalograph（EEG）, which records the electrical activity of the brain. The team, led by Dr Jeffrey Ellenbogen of Harvard Medical School, Boston, detected patterns known as sleep spindles which are thought to block out the effects of sound and other sensory information passing through the brain.
他們每晚接受腦電圖（EEG）監控，記錄受試者大腦的電子活動。由波士頓哈佛醫學院艾倫波根博士領導的團隊，偵測被稱為睡眠紡錘波的模式。紡錘波被認為會封鎖聲音與感官訊息通過大腦。
Individuals with the highest rates of spindles on the quiet night were less likely to be woken by noises on the second and third nights, and some were not even aware their sleep had been disrupted, he said.
在安靜的夜晚紡錘波速最高的人，第2第3晚比較不會被噪音吵醒，有些人甚至不知道睡眠曾被干擾。
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