Why Do Some People Need Less Sleep?
为什么有些人需要的睡眠少？
源: https://www.scientificamerican.com/
官方翻译
We all wish we could get by on less sleep, but one father and son actually can —
我们都希望可以减少睡眠，而有一对父子确实能做到。
without suffering any health consequences and while actually performing on memory tests as well as, or better than, most people.
他们没有任何健康问题，并且在记忆力测试中表现得和大多数人一样好，甚至更好。
To understand this rare ability, researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, first identified a genetic mutation —in both individuals —that they thought might deserve the credit.
为了弄清楚这种罕见的能力，加州大学旧金山分校的研究人员首次在他们身上发现了一种突变基因 —— 两人身上都有 —— 对此，他们很是惊讶。
Then the scientists intentionally made the same small genetic spelling mistake in mice.
然后，科学家们专门在老鼠身上编写了相同的变异基因。
The mice also needed less sleep, remembered better and suffered no other ill effects, according to a study published in Science Translational Medicine.
根据《科学转化医学》杂志上的一项研究，这些老鼠也睡得更少、记忆力更好，没有其他不良反应。
Although a medication with the same benefits will not be available anytime soon —and might never materialize —the idea is incredibly appealing:
尽管具有同样效果的药物不会很快面世，也可能永远不会出现，但这个想法还是非常有吸引力:
take a pill that replicates whatever the father and son's body does and sleep less, with no negative repercussions.
吃一片这种药，就可以获得那对父子的能力，睡得更少，也不会有任何负作用。
"I find the concept of a gene product that might potentially provide protection against comorbid disorders of restricted sleep tantalizing," says Patrick Fuller, an associate professor of neurology.
神经学副教授帕特里克·富勒说: “我设想了一种基因产品，它可能有助于预防睡眠缺乏引起的共性疾病。”
"If true, this would indeed have 'potential therapeutic implications,' as well as provide another point of entry for exploring and answering the question 'Why do we sleep?' which remains one of the greatest mysteries in neuroscience."
“如果这真能实现，确实会有 ‘潜在的治疗效果’，也为探索和回答 ‘人为什么要睡觉?’ 这个问题提供了另一个切入点。毕竟这仍然是神经科学最大的谜团之一。”
But as Jamie Zeitzer, an associate professor in the department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford University, notes, "There often are trade-offs."
但正如斯坦福大学精神病学和行为科学系副教授杰米·泽策所指出的那样，“ 事物存在两面性，需要权衡取舍。”
Zeitzer says he worries that even if a drug like this could be produced without causing significant side effects, it would still have social consequences.
泽策说，他担心即使这种药物生产出来不会造成明显的副作用，但仍然会产生一些社会后果。
Some individuals might be forced or pressured to take medication so they could work more hours.
一些人可能会被迫服药以延长工作时间。
Even if people will not need as much sleep, they will still need downtime, he insists.
他坚持认为，即使人们不需要那么多的睡眠，但也需要休息时间。
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