你是早起的鸟还是夜猫子？如果答案是夜猫子，那么你可能会遭受“社交时差”的折磨。如果你是每天早上为了上班不得不痛苦的从被窝里爬起来，而利用周末补觉的人，那么我们找到了可能帮助你调整睡眠的好方法。《随身英语》说说现代人的“社交时差”。

课文内容

Vocabulary: synchronicity and rhythm 词汇: 同步性和节奏

From Monday to Friday, many of us have an early start and a long day. By the time we've gone to bed and managed to fall asleep, we've been woken up by the alarm to do it all again. Come the weekend, and we're totally exhausted. We sleep in way past our usual wake-up time just to stay in sync enough to start again on Monday.

Welcome to social jet lag. That's the term for the disparity between our working-week sleeping pattern, when our sleep times relate to our responsibilities, and the weekend, when we can wake when we choose. And depending on what type of person you are, the difference can be significant.

For night owls - those whose natural rhythm is to wake and go to bed later - there can be significant health-related issues, according to a recent study published by Taylor and Francis Group online. The study concludes the further the divergence between working-week and weekend sleep times, the greater the health issues – including a higher risk of heart disease and other metabolic problems. And because so many jobs and tasks start early, night owls are effectively forced into harmonising with the early birds.

So what can night owls do: force themselves to integrate by sacrificing their lie in? 'It's the worst thing you can do' says Professor Till Roenneberg, professor of chronobiology at the Institute of Medical Psychology at Ludwig-Maximilian University in Munich. This is because people's sleep pattern is half determined by genetics. The other half correlates with their age and environment. Getting less sleep is unlikely to realign your genetic tendencies.

Our bodies evolved to coordinate with the rise and fall of the Sun. We should feel sleepy as the light dissipates. But modern life, with its artificial light and modern devices, such as computers and smartphones, means we have deviated. Now we are exposed to more light for longer periods of time, keeping our bodies awake longer. For night owls, who already tend to sleep later, this delays things even further.

One solution, beyond changing society's early-start tendencies, is to reorient our body clock by manipulating our exposure to light By taking more sunlight in the morning and minimising the amount of artificial light we are exposed to in the evening – particularly on electronic devices - we can rebalance our bodies to feel sleepy earlier. It's far from easy, but better that than losing your whole weekend to sleep. 

词汇表

in sync 同步的
disparity 差异
pattern 模式，习惯
relate 联系，与…一致
rhythm 规律
divergence 差异
harmonise 和…保持一致
integrate 融入（某群体）
correlate 与…相关，相互关联
realign 重新排列，改组
coordinate 配合
deviate 违背规则，偏离
reorient 重新适应，再调整
rebalance 再平衡

测验与练习

1. 阅读课文并回答问题。

1. What is a night owl?

2. What kind of health issues can occur as a result of social jet lag?

3. True or false: A person's sleep pattern is all to do with genetics.

4. How can a person reorient their body clock?

5. Which word in the text means 'gradually become less and disappear'?

2. 请在不参考课文的情况下完成下列练习。选择一个意思合适的单词填入句子的空格处。

1. It didn't take long for John to ______ into the team in his new role.

divergence       coordinate       realign       integrate

2. Do not ______ from the plan at all. People could get hurt.

divergence       deviate       disparity       harmonise

3. Minister, it is important you change your stance on this issue. You need to ______ with public opinion or lose the election.

rebalance       correlate       realign       in sync

4. It will be a team effort. Our two departments will ______ on the project until its completion. 

attune       correlate       reorient       coordinate

5. My wife and I are very ______. We tend to wake up, eat and feel tired at the same times.

in sync       on sync       with sync        out of sync

答案

1. 阅读课文并回答问题。

1. What is a night owl?
A person whose natural rhythm is to wake and go to bed later.

2. What kind of health issues can occur as a result of social jet lag?
Social jet lag can cause a higher risk of heart disease and other metabolic problems

3. True or false: A person's sleep pattern is all to do with genetics.
False. Peoples sleep patterns are half determined by genetics and half by their age and environment.

4. How can a person reorient their body clock?
Manipulate their exposure to light. Take more sunlight in the morning and minimise artificial light in the evening.

5. Which word in the text means 'gradually become less and disappear'?
Dissipate. (We should feel sleepy as the light dissipates.)

2.  请在不参考课文的情况下完成下列练习。选择一个意思合适的单词填入句子的空格处。

1. It didn't take long for John to integrate into the team in his new role.

2. Do not deviate from the plan at all. People could get hurt

3. Minister, it is important you change your stance on this issue. You need to realign with public opinion or lose the election.

4. It will be a team effort. Our two departments will coordinate on the project until its completion

5. My wife and I are very in sync. We tend to wake up, eat and feel tired at the same times.