英语听力文摘 English Digest 352、尴尬的鼾声

Snoring and Cognition

鼾声和认知能力

Snoring can be pretty disturbing to people who sleep in the company of snorers, as well as to the snorer himself or herself, though she may not realize it. For instance, some snorers have a condition called obstructive sleep apnea. Their airways¹ become obstructed² various times while they’re sleeping, and each time this happens the snorerbriefly stops breathing.

What’s more, obstructive sleep apnea has been shown to affect the cognitive³ abilities and behavior of children with the condition. They demonstrate difficulties with language and attentiveness⁴, and they score lower on overall tests of intelligence.

Until now it has not been known whether children who snore, but do not have obstructive sleep apnea, are at risk, too, for these cognitive and behavioral problems. However, recent research shows that many children without this particular condition, but who nonetheless snore, do test significantly lower than do non-snorers in these same areas of cognition and behavior. Which children who snore are at risk and which are not is not clear yet and will require further research.

In the meantime, if your child snores frequently and he or she seems to experience learning and/or behavioral problems, you might consult a sleep specialist to find out whether or not your child has obstructive sleep apnea. There are various causes of frequent snoring and obstructive sleep apnea, but the most common causes are enlarged tonsils and an enlarged adenoids. In these cases the removal of the tonsils or adenoids can be an effective treatment.

在鼾声中，彻夜难眠，然而打鼾对于打鼾者自己也有始料未及的困扰。比如，有些人患有阻塞性睡眠呼吸暂停综合症。睡觉时，他们的呼吸道时而受阻，而患者也暂时停止呼吸。

更糟糕的是，阻塞性睡眠呼吸暂停综合症会影响患者的认知能力和儿童行为能力。据显示，儿童语言沟通有障碍，注意力不易集中，整体智力测试得分更低。

至今我们尚不知打鼾的儿童（未患阻塞性睡眠呼吸暂停综合症）是否也有认知和行为问题。但是，最新研究显示，相比不打鼾的儿童而言，一些未患阻塞性睡眠呼吸暂停综合症而打鼾的儿童在同领域认知和行为能力确实略逊一筹。而研究结果是否是普遍现象尚待进一步研究。

如果你的孩子经常打鼾，同时成绩不佳，有行为问题，最好咨询睡眠专家诊断是否患有阻塞性睡眠呼吸暂停综合症。造成经常打鼾和阻塞性睡眠呼吸暂停综合症的原因很多。而普遍因素是扁桃体和腺样体肿大，扁桃体切除和 (或 )腺样体刮除是治疗的有效方法。

 

1 AIRWAYS   

航空公司

参考例句：

• The giant jets that increasingly dominate the world's airways. 越来越称雄于世界航线的巨型喷气机。
• At one point the company bought from Nippon Airways a 727 jet. 有一次公司从日本航空公司买了一架727型喷气机。

2 obstructed   

阻塞( obstruct的过去式和过去分词 )； 堵塞； 阻碍； 阻止

参考例句：

• Tall trees obstructed his view of the road. 有大树挡着，他看不到道路。
• The Irish and Bristol Channels were closed or grievously obstructed. 爱尔兰海峡和布里斯托尔海峡或遭受封锁，或受到了严重阻碍。

3 cognitive   

adj.认知的，认识的，有感知的

参考例句：

• As children grow older,their cognitive processes become sharper.孩子们越长越大，他们的认知过程变得更为敏锐。
• The cognitive psychologist is like the tinker who wants to know how a clock works.认知心理学者倒很像一个需要通晓钟表如何运转的钟表修理匠。

4 attentiveness   

[医]注意

参考例句：

• They all helped one another with humourous attentiveness. 他们带着近于滑稽的殷勤互相周旋。 来自辞典例句
• Is not attentiveness the nature of, even the function of, Conscious? 专注不正是大我意识的本质甚或活动吗？ 来自互联网