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Being sick sucks.

不舒服很討厭

But you might have noticed it often sucks more at night.

但你可能有注意到，不舒服的情況常常在晚上時變得更糟

Maybe you can push through the day feeling just a little toasty

也許你可以撐過白天，感覺微熱跟不舒服而已

and gross, but after sunset, you're on a one-way bus to Fever Town.

.但過了傍晚，你就會坐上往發燒鎮的單程巴士

And that wasn't your imagination.

這並不是你的想像

Fevers do often rise at night, and that's largely because

發燒確實很常在晚上變嚴重，很大部分是因為

that's when our bodies naturally stoke their internal furnaces.

我們的身體自然刺激他們的內部熔爐

Your body temperature is controlled by your hypothalamus,

你的體溫由下視丘所控制

a small region at the base of your brain.

它是大腦底部的一個小區域

It can sense the temperature of the blood that passes through it,

它可以感測通過它的血液溫度

and receives temperature information from your skin, too.

也可以從皮膚接收溫度資訊

And it uses all this info, as well as chemical signals from your body,

它使用這些所有資訊，還有身體裡的化學信號

to calibrate your internal temperature to a cozy 37 degrees C.

將你的體溫調整到舒適的 37°C

But even when you're totally healthy, it doesn't keep your body temperature completely stable throughout the day.

但即使你完全健康，它也不會讓你的體溫一整天都完全保持穩定

Instead, you fluctuate by up to half a degree Celsius in either direction

相反地，你的溫度會上升攝氏 0.5 度左右

thanks to your body's circadian rhythm — essentially your body's internal clock.

因為晝夜節律的關係—— 基本上是體內的時鐘

That rhythm is controlled by a tiny region of the hypothalamus

這個節律是由下視丘的一個小區域所控制

called the Suprachiasmatic Nucleus, or SCN for short,

叫做視交叉上核，簡稱 SCN

which receives light and dark signals from nerve cells in your eyes as well as input from other parts of your brain.

它接收來自眼神經細胞的光暗信號，以及大腦其他部分的輸入

Usually, these rhythms cause our body's temperature to dip

通常，這些節律導致我們的身體溫度

to its lowest point around 4 in the morning,

在早上 4 點左右降至最低點

and then to the high end of the normal range around 6 at night.

然後在晚上 6 點左右達到正常範圍的高端

And this daily cycle doesn't stop when you're sick.

這些日常周期在生病時不會停下來

So during fever, not only is your temperature elevated,

所以發燒的時候，不只體溫會升高

it's still subject to that upward swing in the evening.

它仍會在晚上往上升

And that's not all.

還不只如此

Circadian rhythms also influence your immune system.

晝夜節律也會影響你的免疫系統

You see, fevers are triggered by substances called pyrogens.

發燒是由叫熱源的物質所引發

These can come from a few places.

這些東西來自一些地方

White blood cells can release them into the bloodstream when they sense an intruder.

白血球在感知到入侵者時會釋放到血液中

Or, might be emitted more directly by infected tissue or the pathogens themselves.

或者，可能由受感染組織或病原體本身直接釋放

But wherever they're from, the effect is the same:

但不論它們來自哪裡，效果是一樣的

they tell the hypothalamus to ramp your thermostat up.

它們會告訴下視丘使你的恆溫器上升

And because of that, the daily cycles of your immune system

因此，免疫系統每天的循環

could add to your nightly temperature spike.

可能會使夜間的體溫飆升

You literally have more white blood cells at night, for example,

例如，你在夜間確實有更多白血球

and studies have found some pyrogen levels also tend to spike in the evening.

研究發現，一些熱原標準也會在晚上飆升

Now, there are exceptions to this nightly fever pattern, of course.

當然，這種夜間發燒模式也有例外

Bacterial pneumonia and typhoid fever, for instance,

例如，細菌性肺炎和傷寒

typically cause fevers that stay elevated all day

通常導致發燒整天持續升高

and night without that daily fluctuation.

而晚上沒有日常變動

And some kinds of malaria lead to fever spikes that occur on 2 or 3 day cycles instead of daily.

某些種類的瘧疾會導致發燒更嚴重，發生週期在 2 到 3 天，而不是每天

So keeping track of how your temperature changes over time

因此，追蹤溫度如何隨時間變化

could help your doctor figure out what's got you feeling so crummy.

有助於醫生了解什麼導致你感覺這麼糟

And in general, you should probably check your temperature at the same time every day

一般來說，你應該每天在同一時間檢查體溫

if you really want to know if you're getting better or worse.

如果你真的想知道自己的情況變好或變壞

The best time is probably somewhere between 6 and 8 pm,

最佳時間可能是下午 6 點到 8 點之間

since that's when your temp will likely be the highest.

因為這是你體溫可能最高的時候

Of course, I am not a doctor, so if you have

當然，我不是醫生，如果你

any concerns about a fever at any time of day,

隨時有任何關於發燒的問題

you should definitely consult a healthcare professional.

那你一定要諮詢醫療專業人士

And if you do find yourself stuck at home thanks to a particularly nasty bug, you might

如果你因為特別令人討厭的小毛病，而只能乖乖待在家裡，你可能

as well do something fun with your downtime.

在休養期需要做些有趣的事

Like, take a course or two from Brilliant.org!

像是在 Brilliant.org 上個 1、2 堂課

You see, learning doesn't have to be dull.

學習不一定很沉悶

Brilliant offers a variety of engaging courses in math, science, and computer science that

Brilliant 提供數學、科學、電腦科學等吸引人的各式課程

are designed for ambitious, curious people.

專為有野心、充滿好奇心的人設計

For example, their puzzle science course teaches physics the fun way by getting you to solve

例如，他們的益智科學課程以有趣的方式教導物理學

puzzles about mirror reflections, laser tag, and making the perfect shot in a game of pool.

透過讓你解決鏡像反射、雷射槍戰，以及在撞球中做出完美出桿

Right now, the first 200 people to sign up at Brilliant.org/SciShow will get 20% off the annual Premium subscription.

現在起，前 200 名在 Brilliant.org/SciShow 註冊的人，將獲得年度高級訂閱的 20％ 折扣

And if you do, you'll also be supporting SciShow—so thanks!

如果你註冊的話，也是在支持 SciShow，非常感謝！