What the Sleeping Brain Does
睡眠中的大腦在做什麼
— English reading, TOEFL
文章
For centuries, sleep was seen as a time when the brain simply rested. Modern research has shown that this view is wrong.
幾個世紀以來，睡眠一直被視為大腦單純休息的時間。現代研究已證明這種看法是錯的。
During sleep, the brain is busy sorting and storing the information gathered during the day. Important memories are strengthened, while unimportant details are allowed to fade.
睡眠期間，大腦忙著整理並儲存白天收集到的資訊。重要的記憶會被強化，不重要的細節則任其淡去。
In experiments, people who slept after learning a task performed better the next day than those who stayed awake.
實驗中，學完一項任務後去睡覺的人，隔天的表現比整晚沒睡的人好。
Sleep also appears to clear waste products from the brain. This may explain why long-term lack of sleep is linked to memory problems and illness.
睡眠似乎也能清除大腦中的廢物。這或許能解釋為什麼長期睡眠不足會和記憶問題及疾病有關。
生詞
century 世紀
sort 整理；分類
store 儲存
gather 收集
strengthen 強化
fade 淡去
experiment 實驗
waste product 廢物