做夢也能增強記憶力？
導讀：過去人們常常認爲做夢會影響睡眠質量，從而使記憶力減弱。而最新研究卻顯示，做夢可使人的記憶力增強，並幫助人們更好地解決問題。科學家發現，人如果睡覺時夢境連連（dream-filled），那麼醒後的記事能力和關聯事物的能力都會顯著增強。
People who enjoy a dream-filled sleep are significantly better at recalling information and making links between facts when they wake, scientists found.
科學家發現，那些睡覺時夢境連連的人們，醒來時記憶力和關聯事物的能力都會顯著增強。
But recharging with a shallow nap offers no such mental boost, the research suggests.
但同時該研究顯示，如果僅僅是打個小盹，不會對腦力產生如此奇效。
The results of the study add to the growing body of evidence that Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep is crucial to the brain’s ability to lay down and consolidate memories.
此前不斷有證據表明，快速眼動睡眠對大腦鞏固記憶的能力至關重要，而這一研究結果再次印證了該說法。
An average night’s repose includes four or five spells of REM sleep, but these bursts tend to be lengthier towards the end of the night.
夜間睡眠通常包括四到五個週期的快速眼動睡眠，但直到天亮之前，快速眼動睡眠間隔週期呈逐漸延長的趨勢。
This means that adults who get less than the recommended seven to eight hours a night – and therefore insufficient REM sleep – may be damaging their mind’s ability to form strong memories.
這意味着，睡眠時間不足7-8小時的成年人形成牢固記憶的能力受到嚴重影響，因爲他們無法保障充分的快速眼動睡眠時間。
Although REM sleep is not classified as a type of deep sleep, it is only reached after the brain has passed through deep sleep stages.
儘管快速眼動睡眠並不屬於深度睡眠的範疇，但只有在經過深度睡眠後，大腦才能進入快速眼動睡眠狀態。
For the most recent study, participants were shown groups of three words – such as “cookie”, “heart” and “sixteen” – and asked to find another word that can be associated with all three words.
在最新研究中，研究人員向參與者展示三個單詞——譬如“cookie（曲奇）”、“heart（愛心）”以及“sixteen(16)”，同時他們需要找到與這三個詞語相關的一個詞。
In this example, the answer would have been "sweet”.
在這個例子中，正確答案應該是“sweet（甜蜜）”這個詞。
Participants were tested once in the morning and then given the same task again in the afternoon. In between, some were allowed a nap with REM sleep, some a nap without REM sleep, while the others had a quiet rest period.
參與者在早上和下午各進行了同樣的測試。而在兩次測試的中間，一些人進行了短暫的快速眼動睡眠；一些人雖然小睡但並未進入快速眼動睡眠狀態；還有一部分人只是安靜地休息了一會兒。
The quiet rest and non-REM sleep groups showed no improvement in their test results, but the REM sleep group improved on their morning performance by an average of almost 40 per cent.
對於分別進行簡單休息和無快速眼動睡眠小憩的兩組參與者，他們實驗結果並沒有任何進步；而進入快速眼動睡眠的一組測試者，他們早上的測試成績提高了近40%。
Dr Sara Mednick, a sleep researcher at the University of California in San Diego who led the study, believes that the formation of connections between previously unassociated information in the brain – which leads to creative problem-solving – is encouraged by neurological changes which occur during REM sleep.
該研究負責人，加州大學聖地亞哥分校睡眠研究員薩拉•梅德尼克認爲，大腦把之前儲存的信息聯繫在一起，並最終形成創造性的解決問題的方案，這整個過程的催化劑便是快速眼動睡眠中發生的神經變化。
Scientists have been working on connections between sleep, dreams and brain activity since the REM state was first identified in 1953 by US researchers.
自1953年美國研究人員首次確認快速眼動睡眠狀態以來，科學家一直致力於研究睡眠、夢境以及大腦活動三者之間的聯繫。
They found that people woken while their closed eyes made jerking movements recalled much more colourful and elaborate dreams than people woken during other stages of sleep.
他們發現相對那些從其它睡眠狀態中醒來的人，從快速眼動睡眠狀態中醒來的人更善於記住那些豐富多彩的夢境。
It is now believed that sleep acts as a sort of mental filing system, enabling the brain to sort relevant information that needs to be retained from useless information which can be discarded. This process may take place as memories are shifted from one part of the brain to others.
現在人們堅信，睡眠過程就像是一種記憶的歸檔系統。隨着儲存的記憶在大腦中進行位置轉移，大腦從而對相關信息進行區分——摒棄無用信息，保留有用信息。
