Name: 【TED】馬西爾斯 · 貝斯納: 為什麼噪音對健康有害，和你可以採取什麼措施 (Why noise is bad for your health -- and what you can do about it | Mathias Basner)
Uploaded: 2019-02-26T19:56:40.000Z
Duration: 10 min 5 s

譯者: Lilian Chiu 審譯者: Helen Chang

Simon and Garfunkel wrote a song about it.

But silence is a pretty rare commodity these days,

賽門與葛芬柯 以它為主題寫了一首歌。

and we're all paying a price for it in terms of our health --

a surprisingly big price, as it turns out.

我們也都要為此付出 健康方面的代價，

Luckily, there are things we can do right now,

結果發現，這個代價大得驚人。

幸運的是，有一些行動 是我們現在就可以採取的，

包括個人的行動和社會的行動，

and give us more of the benefits of the sounds of silence.

I assume that most of you know that too much noise is bad for your hearing.

讓我們從寂靜的聲音 得到更多的益處。

Whenever you leave a concert or a bar and you have that ringing in your ears,

我猜想大部分人都知道， 太多噪音對你的聽覺有害。

you can be certain that you have done some damage to your hearing,

若你離開音樂會或是酒吧時， 耳朵會聽見鳴聲，

那就可以確定你的聽力已經受損，

However, noise affects our health in many different ways beyond hearing.

然而，除了聽力之外，噪音還會以 許多其他的方式影響我們的健康。

but they're just as dangerous as the auditory effects.

So what do we mean when we talk about noise?

Well, noise is defined as unwanted sound,

所以，我們說的「噪音」 是什麼意思？

and as such, both has a physical component, the sound,

噪音的定義，是不想聽到的聲音，

就這定義來說， 它有實體的成分，即聲音，

the circumstances that make the sound unwanted.

即讓造成聲音 「不想被聽到」的情境。

A person attending the rock concert, being exposed to 100 decibels,

一個非常好的例子 就是搖滾演唱會。

一個人去聽搖滾演唱會， 暴露在一百分貝的音量下，

This person likes the band, and even paid a hundred dollars for the ticket,

so no matter how loud the music, this person doesn't think of it as noise.

這個人喜歡這個樂團， 甚至花了一百美金買票，

In contrast, think of a person living three blocks away from the concert hall.

所以不論音樂有多大聲， 這個人都不會將之視為噪音。

相對的，想想看住家離 音樂會場只有三個街區的人。

but cannot concentrate because of the music.

And although the sound pressure levels are much lower in this situation,

this person still thinks of the music as noise,

雖然在這個情況中， 聲音壓力的程度低很多，

and it may trigger reactions that can, in the long run, have health consequences.

這個人仍然會認為這音樂是噪音，

Because noise affects our health in so many ways beyond hearing.

However, it's becoming increasingly difficult to find quiet spaces

所以，為什麼安靜的 空間如此重要？

in times of constantly increasing traffic,

因為噪音對我們健康的影響 絕對不只是聽力方面而已。

然而，要找到安靜的 空間越來越困難了，

construction sites, air-conditioning units,

outdoor concerts and bars, personal music players,

戶外音樂會和酒吧、 個人的音樂播放裝置，

In 2011, the World Health Organization estimated

還有你的鄰居家 派對開到半夜三點。

that 1.6 million healthy life years are lost every year

in the Western European member states alone.

每年會損失 一百六十萬年的健康生命，

One important effect of noise is that it disturbs communication.

You may have to raise your voice to be understood.

In extreme cases, you may even have to pause the conversation.

噪音有一項重大的影響， 就是它會打擾溝通。

It's also more likely to be misunderstood in a noisy environment.

你得要拉高聲音， 你說的話才能被聽懂。

These are all likely reasons why studies have found

在極端的情況下， 你甚至可能得要暫停對話。

that children who attend schools in noisy areas

在噪音大的環境中， 溝通也有可能被誤解。

are more likely to lag behind their peers in academic performance.

可能就是因為這些原因， 導致許多研究都發現

Another very important health effect of noise

is the increased risk for cardiovascular disease

在學校課業的表現 比較有可能會落後同儕。

in those who are exposed to relevant noise levels

噪音對健康還有一項 非常重要的影響，

那就是得到 心血管疾病的風險會上升，

especially if we have little or no control over it.

且持續很長的時間，風險就較高。

Our body excretes stress hormones like adrenaline and cortisol

that lead to changes in the composition of our blood

特別是在我們很難 或無法控制它的時候。

and in the structure of our blood vessels,

我們的身體會分泌壓力荷爾蒙， 如腎上腺素和可體松，

which have been shown to be stiffer after a single night of noise exposure.

Epidemiological studies show associations between the noise exposure

and an increased risk for high blood pressure,

已經證明暴露在噪音中一個晚上， 血管就會變比較僵硬。

流行病學研究顯示， 暴露在噪音下的人

and although the overall risk increases are relatively small,

會有比較高的風險得到高血壓、

this still constitutes a major public health problem

雖然整體的風險 增加程度相對很小，

and so many people are exposed to relevant noise levels.

這仍然會造成重大的公共健康問題，

且好多人都暴露在 相當高的噪音之下。

by lowering environmental noise exposure by five decibels,

一篇近期的研究發現，美國社會

just by saving costs for treating cardiovascular disease.

There are other diseases like cancer, diabetes and obesity

只要將環境噪音暴露降低五分貝，

省下的心血管疾病 治療成本就有這麼多。

還有其他的疾病， 如癌症、糖尿病，和肥胖，

to, in fact, conclude that these diseases are caused by the noise.

Yet another important effect of noise is sleep disturbance.

Sleep is a very active mechanism that recuperates us

能夠下結論說這些疾病 其實就是噪音造成的。

and prepares us for the next wake period.

噪音還有一項重大的影響， 就是睡眠干擾。

A quiet bedroom is a cornerstone of what sleep researchers call

睡眠是一種非常正面的恢復機制，

讓我們為下一個清醒時段做好準備。

And our auditory system has a watchman function.

It's constantly monitoring our environment for threats,

被睡眠研究者稱為 「好的睡眠衛生」。

我們的聽覺系統 有一種夜間看守的功能。

So noise in the bedroom can cause a delay in the time it takes us to fall asleep,

它經常在監控 我們的環境有沒有威脅，

and it can prevent our blood pressure from going down during the night.

所以，臥室中的噪音可能 會讓我們延遲進入熟睡。

We have the hypothesis that if these noise-induced sleep disturbances

噪音可能會在大半夜吵醒我們，

也可能會制止 我們的血壓在夜間下降。

then an increased risk for cardiovascular disease is likely the consequence.

我們的假設是， 如果這些由噪音造成的打擾

However, we are often not aware of these noise-induced sleep disturbances,

because we are unconscious while we're sleeping.

後果可能就是 心血管疾病的風險增加。

In the past, we've done studies on the effects of traffic noise on sleep,

然而，我們通常沒注意到 這些由噪音造成的睡眠干擾，

and research subjects would often wake up in the morning and say,

因為我們在睡覺時是沒有意識的。