新奇事件簿 吹电扇或不利身体健康

Many people cannot sleep without using a fan, but scientists say this could be bad for us. This is unwelcome news for those of us struggling to nod off during the current scorching¹ hot weather. According to sleep experts at the website Sleep Advisor², there are many reasons why the use of a fan could be detrimental³ to our health. Fans can cause problems for people with asthma⁴ or hay fever. The rotating blades of fans cause dust and pollen⁵ to circulate around the room and add to an asthmatic's sleeplessness⁶. Sleep Advisor says circulating air can dry out and irritate your eyes, mouth and sinuses, which also makes it difficult to sleep. Fans also cool the air and can make muscles tense up and cramp⁷.

很多人没风扇睡不了觉，但是科学家表示吹着电扇睡觉对身体不好。对于我们这些在炎炎夏日无法入睡的人来说，这是一条不受欢迎的消息。Sleep Advisor网站的睡眠专家表示，风扇不利健康的原因有很多。对于患有哮喘和枯草热的人而言，电扇会引发一些问题。风扇旋转的叶片会导致灰层和花粉在房间内回旋并增加哮喘者的失眠困扰。Sleep Advisor网站表示循环空气会刺激眼睛、嘴巴和鼻窦并使这些部位变得干涩，这也会造成失眠。风扇也会降低温度并使肌肉紧张痉挛。

Other sleep experts disagree and say there are no dangers to health from using a fan. Dr Len Horovitz, a specialist on the health of the respiratory system, said: "There's nothing about a fan that's toxic⁸. There's nothing wrong with circulating air." He told the Live Science website that if a fan stops us sweating, it will help us to sleep. He said people should keep fans at a safe distance from their bed and not have them blowing directly at their body. He also recommended keeping an air filter in the bedroom to reduce the levels of dust in the room. Sleeping with a fan may be preferable to using an air conditioner, which can chill any sweat on our body and possibly cause us to wake up with a cold.

其他睡眠专家表示不同意，他们称使用风扇对健康无害。呼吸系统健康专家伦恩.霍罗维茨说道：“风扇无害。循环空气也无害。”他告诉生活科学网，如果风扇能不让我们流汗，那么这也将帮助我们入睡。他说在使用风扇时，风扇和床之间应该保持安全距离，也不能让风扇直接对着身体吹。他还建议在卧室放一个空气过滤器，减少房间的灰层。吹着风扇睡觉或许比吹空调更好，空调会让身上的汗变成冷汗，可能会导致感冒。

1 scorching   

adj. 灼热的

参考例句：

• a scorching, pitiless sun 灼热的骄阳
• a scorching critique of the government's economic policy 对政府经济政策的严厉批评

2 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

3 detrimental   

adj.损害的，造成伤害的

参考例句：

• We know that heat treatment is detrimental to milk.我们知道加热对牛奶是不利的。
• He wouldn't accept that smoking was detrimental to health.他不相信吸烟有害健康。

4 asthma   

n.气喘病，哮喘病

参考例句：

• I think he's having an asthma attack.我想他现在是哮喘病发作了。
• Its presence in allergic asthma is well known.它在过敏性气喘中的存在是大家很熟悉的。

5 pollen   

n.[植]花粉

参考例句：

• Hummingbirds have discovered that nectar and pollen are very nutritious.蜂鸟发现花蜜和花粉是很有营养的。
• He developed an allergy to pollen.他对花粉过敏。

6 sleeplessness   

n.失眠，警觉

参考例句：

• Modern pharmacy has solved the problem of sleeplessness. 现代制药学已经解决了失眠问题。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The doctors were puzzled by this strange continuous sleeplessness. 医生们对他的奇异的不眠感到疑惑。 来自英语晨读30分（高三）

7 cramp   

n.痉挛；[pl.](腹)绞痛；vt.限制，束缚

参考例句：

• Winston stopped writing,partly because he was suffering from cramp.温斯顿驻了笔，手指也写麻了。
• The swimmer was seized with a cramp and had to be helped out of the water.那个在游泳的人突然抽起筋来，让别人帮着上了岸。

8 toxic   

adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的

参考例句：

• The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
• There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。