You can never have enough of it, it seems.

感覺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 hardly seems advantageous or smart.

畢竟當狩獵者伺機而動時，你卻毫不知情地酣睡數小時看起來並不是個有太多好處且明智的行為。

But we have discovered a few correlations.

但我們確實發現了一些與睡眠有關的好處。

For example, adults who sleep between six to eight hours a night tend to live longer.

比如說，睡眠時間介於六到八小時之間的人往往較為長壽。

Excessive sleep, however, can lead to medical problems, including cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

但睡太久反而會導致健康問題，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, obesity, depression, and even brain damage.

同樣地，長期睡眠不足也與心血管疾病、肥胖、憂鬱，甚至腦部損傷有關。

But what if you stopped sleeping right now?

那如果你從現在開始都完全不睡覺呢？

Well, after your first sleepless night, your mesolimbic system becomes stimulated, and Dopamine runs rampant.

這個嘛，一天沒睡覺就足以刺激你的中腦邊緣系統開始瘋狂分泌多巴胺。

And 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.

乍聽之下很吸引人，但情況會急轉直下。

Your brain slowly begins to shut off the regions responsible for planning and evaluating decisions, leading to more impulsive behavior.

大腦中掌管規劃及評估能力的區域會逐漸停止運作，導致不經思考的衝動行為。

Once exhaustion sets in, you'll find yourself with slower reaction times and reduced perceptual and cognitive functions.

一旦精疲力竭，你會發現自己的反應時間變長，而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 glucose and the immune system stops working as well.

如果一、兩天沒睡覺，身體將喪失代謝葡萄糖的能力，免疫系統也會停止運作。

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

在某些案例中，三天持續沒睡覺的情況下會讓人開始出現幻覺。

Care about how you look?

在意自己的外表嗎？

Studies have shown a direct correlation between sleep deprivation and a person's perceived beauty.

研究指出一個人的外貌與睡眠不足有直接相關。

That is to say, sleep-deprived individuals appeared less healthy and less attractive than when they were well-rested.

也就是說，與睡眠充足的狀況相比，睡不飽時人看起來較憔悴，並且較沒有吸引力。

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，也就是整整十一天都沒睡。

And while they did develop problems with concentration, perception, and irritability, the surprising truth is that they suffered no serious long-term health effects.

雖然精神渙散、感官遲緩及易怒的症狀隨之產生，但奇怪的是，這種經歷並沒有在當事人身上留下嚴重的長期後遺症。

In fact, no individuals under these documented conditions experienced medical, physiological, neurological, or psychiatric problems.

調查顯示，這些受試者並沒有因而產生腦神經、精神或生理上的病症。

But there are limited studies and this doesn't mean permanent damage couldn't be inflicted with more time.

但這些都只是有限的樣本，也許有些永久性的傷害需要更長久的觀察才會被發現。

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便會死亡。

But scientists aren't totally sure if they're dying from the lack of sleep or from the stress of constantly being woken up.

但科學家也不確定牠們究竟是因缺乏睡眠而死，還是因為持續被叫醒所造成的壓力而死。

Perhaps we should look at 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, or sleeplessness, leading to hallucinations, dementia, and ultimately death.

這是一種罕見的腦部遺傳疾病，會導致失眠日益嚴重，接著在出現幻覺、癡呆的症狀後最終招致死亡。

This disease has only affected around 100 people in the world, but their average survival span was around eighteen months.

世界上僅有約一百人患有此種疾病，而患者發病至死亡的平均存活時間大約是十八個月。

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, continual sleep deprivation will have a negative effect on your body.

所以雖然睡眠不足不至於一刀斃命，但若長期持續性地缺乏睡眠仍會對身體造成負面效果。

Sleep tight! But not too much.

所以好好地睡個覺吧！但可別睡太久。

Got a burning question you want answered? Ask it in the comments or on Facebook and Twitter.

你有十萬火急想知道答案的問題嗎？那就在我們的 Facebook 或 Twitter 留言吧 。

And if you can't get enough science in your life, check out the Science Alert Facebook page, which is one of the best out there to keep you up-to-date and entertained with the latest news and breakthroughs.

如果你還想知道更多生活上的科學知識，那就來造訪我們的 Facebook 專頁，提供給你最新的資訊，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片喔。