You can never have enough of it, it seems.

好像睡多久都嫌不夠

In fact, sometimes it literally feels like you aren't getting enough.

事實上，身體狀況有時反應你真的沒睡飽

But what if you stopped sleeping altogether?

那如果乾脆不睡覺呢?

Strangely, science understands relatively little about why we sleep or how it evolved in the first place.

說也奇怪，科學對於睡眠的成因及演變解釋得很少

After all, laying unconscious and dormant for hours on end while predators lurk...

畢竟當狩獵者伺機而動時，你卻毫不知情地酣睡數小時

..hardly seems advantageous or smart.

明顯是很不明智的行為啊！

But we have discovered a few correlations.

但有一些與睡眠相關的發現

For example: Adults who sleep between six to eight hours a night tend to live longer.

比如說，睡眠時間介於6到8小時的人往往較長壽

Excessive sleep, however, can lead to medical problems,

睡太久反而會導致健康問題

including cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

諸如心血管疾病與糖尿病等等

Similarly, chronic sleep deprivation has been linked to aspects of cardiovascular disease,

同樣地，長期睡眠不足也與心血管疾病、

obesity, depression, and even brain damage.

肥胖、憂鬱，甚至腦部損傷有關

But what if you stopped sleeping right now?

那如果你現在開始都不睡覺呢?

Well, after your first sleepless night, your mesolimbic system becomes stimulated...

這個嘛，一天沒睡覺就足以刺激你的中腦邊緣系統

..and Dopamine runs rampant.

開始瘋狂分泌多巴胺

This may actually trigger some actual energy, motivation, positivity, and even sex drive.

多巴胺可能使你活力充沛、充滿鬥志、積極樂觀，甚至性慾高漲

Sounds appealing, but it's a slippery slope.

聽起來很吸引人吧，但情況會急轉直下

Your brain slowly begins to shut off the regions responsible for planning...

大腦中掌管規劃及評估能力的區域，逐漸停止運作

..and evaluating decisions, leading to more impulsive behavior.

導致不經思考的衝動行為

Once exhaustion sets in, you'll find yourself with slower reaction times...

一旦精疲力竭，你會發現自己反應時間變長

and reduced perceptual and cognitive functions.

知覺及認知功能都變得遲緩

After a day or two of no sleep, the body loses its ability to properly metabolize

如果一兩天沒睡覺，身體將喪失代謝葡萄糖的能力

glucose and the immune system stops working as well.

免疫系統也停止運作

In some cases, three days of no sleep has led to hallucinations.

三天沒睡覺的情況下，就會開始出現幻覺

Care about how you look?

那外表呢?

Studies have shown a direct correlation between

研究指出一個人的外貌與睡眠不足

sleep deprivation and a person's perceived beauty.

有直接相關

That is to say, sleep-deprived individuals appeared less healthy...

也就是說，與睡眠充足的狀況相比

..and less attractive than when they were well rested.

睡不飽時人看起來較憔悴，也失去吸引力

The longest scientifically documented case of being awake was 264 hours, or eleven days.

科學紀錄最久不睡覺的案例長達264小時，也就是11天都沒睡

And while they did develop problems with concentration, perception, and irritability,

雖然精神渙散、感官遲緩及易怒的症狀隨之產生

the surprising truth is that they suffered no serious long term health effects.

但奇怪的是，這並不會留下嚴重的長期後遺症

In fact, no individuals under these documented conditions...

調查顯示，這些受試者並沒有

.. experienced medical, physiological, neurological, or psychiatric problems.

因而產生腦神經、精神或生理上的病症

But these are limited studies and this doesn't mean permanent damage...

但這些都只是有限的樣本，也許有些永久性的傷害

..couldn't be inflicted with more time.

需要更長久的觀察才會發現

Sleep deprivation experiments on rats, for example, generally lead to death after about two weeks.

舉例來說，睡眠不足的白老鼠通常在實驗兩周後死亡

But scientists aren't totally sure if they're dying from the lack of sleep...

但科學家也不確信它們是因缺乏睡眠而死

..or from the stress of constantly being woken up.

還是因持續被叫醒所造成的壓力而死

Perhaps we should look Fatal Familial Insomnia for an answer:

或許我們應該從致命性家族失眠症中尋找答案

A rare genetic disease of the brain which causes progressively worsening insomnia,

有種罕見的腦部遺傳疾病，會導致失眠日益嚴重

or sleeplessness, leading to hallucinations, dementia, and ultimately death.

接著出現幻覺、癡呆的現象，最終招致死亡

This disease has only affected around 100 people in world,

世界上僅約100人患有此種疾病

but their average survival span was around eighteen months.

患者平均存活率大約是18個月

Over time, the lack of sleep becomes worse and the body's organs begin to shut down.

失眠的問題會隨著時間日益嚴重，還會導致身體器官機能衰弱

So, while lack of sleep won't necessarily kill you quickly,

所以囉，雖然睡眠不足不至於一刀斃命

continuous sleep deprivation will have a negative effect on your body.

但若長期缺乏睡眠，身體勢必會出現警訊

Sleep tight!

好好睡個覺吧！

But not too much.

但可別睡太久

Got a burning question you want answered?

你有十萬火急想知道答案的問題嗎?

Ask it in the comments or on Facebook and Twitter.

那就在我們的Facebook或Twitter留言吧

And if you can't get enough science in your life,

如果你還想知道更多生活上的科學知識

check out the Science Alert Facebook page, which is one of the best out there to keep you

那就來造訪我們的網頁，提供給你最新的資訊

up-to-date and entertained with the latest news and breakthroughs.

讓你獲得最近期的科學發現與相關報導

And subscribe to ASAP Science for more weekly Science videos.

訂閱我們的網站還能看到更多每周影音喔