特别广播英语第 163 课：Jet Lag: Prevention and Cure 时差综合症的预防和治疗-3

One easily monitored rhythm is palm sweating. A man flown to a time zone different by 10 hours will take eight days to readjust his palm sweat. Blood pressure, which is also rhythmical, takes four days to readjust. 一个容易监测的节律是手掌出汗的节律。血压也是有节律的，需要四天时间才能得到重新调整。

One reason for this discrepancy is that different bodily events are controlled by different factors. 形成这种差异的百不同的身体活动由不同因素的支配。

The hormone cortisol, which controls salt and water excretion, is made in the morning, wherever the body is. 不管身在何处，控制盐和水分排泄的皮质醇激素是早上产生的。

But the growth hormone is released during sleep, whenever in the day that sleep occurs. 但不论何时睡眠，生长激素是在睡眠中释放的。

Normally these two hormones are separated by seven or eight hours, but if the body arrives at a destination in the early morning (local) and goes to sleep as soon as possible, the two hormones will be released simultaneously.通常这两种激素相隔七、八个小时释放，但如果人体在一大早到达目的地，并且尽快入睡，这两种激素将同时释放。

What can we do about it? It is not feasible to wait four days until the body is used to the new time zone. 关于这点我们能做些什么呢？等待几天直到身体适应新的时区是不可取的。

Fortunately there is a short cut. It relies on two things - the power of the stomach to regulate the timing of other events, and the pharmacological actions of coffee. 幸好，有一条捷径。它依靠两点――胃调节其他活动定时的能力和咖啡的药物作用。

The basic assumptions are: 基本的道理是：

Coffee delays the body clock in the morning, and advances it at night. Coffee at mid-afternoon is neutral. 咖啡在早上可以延迟人体时钟，在晚间可以提早人体时钟。咖啡在下午三点左右是中性的。

Protein in meals stimulates wakefulness, while carbohydrates promote sleep. 食物中的蛋白质使人不眠，而碳水化合物却使人易于入睡。

Putting food into an empty stomach helps synchronize the body clock. 空腹吃食物帮助人体时钟准时。