For a lot of people, sleeping is a time of rest, and the most movement you do is the

對很多人來說，睡覺是休息的時間，所以你們頂多

normal tossing and turning.

正常翻個身而已。

But for others, sleep can be a time to aimlessly walk around the house, drive a car, or cook

但有些人卻會在睡覺時於屋內漫無目的走動、開車或烹飪，

a meal, all without them being consciously aware.

當然這些動作都是在無意識的情況下發生。

This is called sleepwalking, or somnambulism, and scientists are still trying to figure

它被稱作夢遊症，而科學家仍在嘗試釐清

out exactly why it occurs.

它發生的原因。

But what they do know is that it most frequently happens to children and occurs during the

目前我們知道兒童最常出現夢遊，

deepest stages of sleep, stages 3 and 4.

並發生在深度睡眠階段，亦即階段三和階段四。

This is your deepest sleep where your brain waves are the slowest.

此時你睡得最熟且腦波十分緩慢。

In contrast, during REM sleep, or rapid-eye movement, your brain activity is much active

相反的，在 REM ，也就是快速動眼期時，你的腦部活動比較活躍，

and this is the stage in which most of your dreams occur.

也是大多數夢境發生時所在的階段。

And to keep you from acting out those dreams, your body's muscles become temporarily paralyzed.

為了不要在做夢時實際做出動作，你的身體肌肉會暫時麻痺。

So, it makes sense that most sleep walking occurs in a stage other than REM sleep, since,

所以夢遊最常發生在非快速動眼期是很合理的，

ya know, you can't really walk when your muscles are not able to move.

畢竟你不能在你的肌肉無法活動時起身行走。

And by the same logic, sleep talking also occurs mostly during deeper stages of sleep.

依據同樣的邏輯，夢囈也常發生在深度睡眠階段。

Now, since the sleepwalker is in a deep stage of sleep, it will be quite difficult to wake

因為夢遊發生在深度睡眠時，所以你很難

them up if you try and they probably will be really confused about why they're not in their bed.

叫醒他們，而且他們也會對自己不在床上感到困惑。

It's not dangerous to do this, but be prepared to explain the situation if you do.

這麼做並不危險，但如果你要叫醒他們，記得先想好怎麼解釋。

But with all that said, why does sleepwalking occur in the first place?

不過為何夢遊會發生呢？

Well, one hypothesis is that people rise from their beds when their brain attempts to go

一項假設認為人們夢遊是由於大腦試圖

straight from non-REM sleep to being awake, rather than going through the rest of the sleep cycle.

從非快速動眼期中醒來，而不是進到下一個睡眠階段。

And it's thought that something triggered this transition.

一般認為有某種原因觸發了它。

This is the part that scientists are still not sure on, but they have a few ideas.

科學家還沒有很了解確切原因，但對此他們有一些想法。

As mentioned before, sleepwalking mostly occurs in children.

如同前面所提，夢遊最常發生在兒童身上。

So some scientists think that children are more prone to sleepwalking because their brains

所以有些科學家認為小孩比較容易夢遊是因為他們的腦部

aren't yet fully developed.

還未發展完全。

It may be that all the growth hormones are triggering the kid to rise.

或許是生長激素造成孩子們夢遊。

But it may also have to do with inhibitory neurotransmitters.

但它也可能跟抑制型傳導物質有關。

See, there is a neurotransmitter called GABA that stifles the brain's motor system.

你看，有種叫 GABA (γ-氨基丁酸)的傳導物質，它會抑制腦部的神經活動。

For adults, this neurotransmitter usually does a good job to inhibit the body's motion.

對成人來說，這種傳導物質通常有效地抑制身體動作。

But for kids, the neurons that release that neurotransmitter aren't fully developed

但對孩童而言，他們釋放此傳導物質的神經元尚未發展完全，

yet, so their motor systems may still be active.

所以他們的神經活動可能維持在活躍的狀態。

And voila!

因此你們瞧！

This can then lead to that kid walking around the house in their sleep.

這導致孩子於睡眠時在家中四處走動。

Now, don't worry, children usually grow out of sleepwalking as they age and their brains fully develop.

不過別擔心，隨著兒童年齡增長以及腦部發育完全，他們通常不會再發生夢遊。

But if sleepwalking persists into adulthood, it may be linked to a mental disorder like

但如果成人後還會夢遊，就可能與精神疾病有關，

alcoholism or clinical depression.

例如酗酒或臨床憂鬱症。

Most of the time it's not dangerous, but if it gets to be, you may want to seek out

多數時候並不危險，但如果你出現夢遊，不妨去

a doctor for help.

看醫生尋求協助吧。

So have you ever sleepwalked before?

所以你曾經夢遊嗎？

And if so, what did you end up doing?

有的話，你醒來時在做什麼呢？

Knowing me, I'd probably end up eating leftover pizza out of the fridge, but that's assuming

如果是我，我應該在冰箱前吃著剩下的披薩吧，但前提是

I can sleep at all.

我能睡覺的話。

Anyway, make sure you come back every Monday for a brand new video.

無論如何，記得每週一來頻道查看新影片。

As always, I'm Blocko and this has been Life Noggin.

還是老樣子，我是 Blocko ，這裡是 Life Noggin 頻道。

Don't forget to keep on thinking!

別忘了持續思考！