我們睡覺(jué)時(shí),舌頭在干嘛

While we're busy catching some zs, our body is still working around the clock all hours of the night to keep our essential organs functioning as needed. While many systems slow down during the course of the night, our brain is still busy consolidating information, while our body is busy regulating hormone production, digesting food, and boosting immunity, amongst other tasks (via Sleep Foundation). As it turns out, another organ is also hard at work while we're snoozing away and it's an organ that you probably never would've guessed — the tongue.

當(dāng)我們忙于打盹的時(shí)候，我們的身體仍在夜以繼日地工作，以保證我們的重要器官正常運(yùn)轉(zhuǎn)。雖然很多系統(tǒng)在夜間會(huì)減慢速度，但我們的大腦仍在忙于鞏固信息，而我們的身體則在忙于調(diào)節(jié)荷爾蒙的產(chǎn)生、消化食物、增強(qiáng)免疫力以及其他任務(wù)。事實(shí)證明，在我們睡覺(jué)的時(shí)候，另一個(gè)器官也在努力工作，這是一個(gè)你可能永遠(yuǎn)不會(huì)猜到的器官——舌頭。

The tongue serves many different functions such as swallowing, the formation of speech, and taste detection (via Journal of the South African Dental Association). Kept moist by a mucous membrane, the surface of the tongue is covered in papillae, which are the bumps that contain our taste buds (via WebMD). The nerves that run from the tongue to the brain are able to communicate which of the main taste categories are being detected — sour, sweet, salty, or bitter.

舌頭具有許多不同的功能，如吞咽、言語(yǔ)形成和味覺(jué)檢測(cè)(《南非牙科協(xié)會(huì)雜志》)。舌頭的表面由粘膜保持濕潤(rùn)，覆蓋著乳頭，這是包含我們味蕾的突起。從舌頭到大腦的神經(jīng)能夠傳達(dá)被檢測(cè)到的主要味覺(jué)類別——酸、甜、咸或苦。

It's safe to assume that you're probably not eating in your sleep. So if your tongue isn't busy detecting flavors, what is it doing instead during the nighttime?

可以肯定的是，你可能不會(huì)在睡覺(jué)時(shí)吃東西。那么，如果你的舌頭沒(méi)有忙于品嘗味道，那么在夜間它在做什么呢?

While asleep, our salivary glands slow down their levels of saliva production (via LêDowns Dentistry). Our tongues then work the saliva still being produced towards the back of the throat for swallowing (via Kids Health). Not only does this help avoid excessive drooling while sleeping, but it also betters our quality of rest by preventing sleep disturbances from constant swallowing.

睡覺(jué)時(shí)，我們的唾液腺會(huì)降低唾液分泌水平(LêDowns牙科)。然后，我們的舌頭將唾液分泌到喉嚨后部用于吞咽(兒童健康)。這不僅有助于避免睡覺(jué)時(shí)過(guò)度流口水，而且還可以通過(guò)防止不停的吞咽而影響睡眠，從而提高我們的休息質(zhì)量。

On the other hand, your tongue can also hinder your quality of sleep. According to The Joint Chiropractic, your tongue's positioning in your mouth while sleeping can influence just how restful your night's sleep will be. To prevent airway blockage, the tongue should sit at the roof of your mouth behind your top front teeth. Assuming this relaxed position will trigger the release of hormones including dopamine and serotonin, which can enhance your quality of sleep. The key is to keep the muscle loose rather than tense. Should your tongue drift away from the roof of the mouth while sleeping, this can lead to teeth grinding and open mouth breathing, as well as shoulder and mouth tension.

另一方面，舌頭也會(huì)影響你的睡眠質(zhì)量。根據(jù)聯(lián)合脊骨療法，睡覺(jué)時(shí)舌頭在嘴里的位置會(huì)影響你晚上的睡眠。為了防止呼吸道堵塞，舌頭應(yīng)該位于上門牙后面的上顎。假設(shè)這種放松的姿勢(shì)會(huì)觸發(fā)包括多巴胺和血清素在內(nèi)的激素的釋放，這可以提高你的睡眠質(zhì)量。關(guān)鍵是保持肌肉放松而不是緊張。如果你的舌頭在睡覺(jué)時(shí)偏離了上腭，這可能會(huì)導(dǎo)致磨牙和口呼吸，以及肩膀和嘴的緊張。

Who would have thought that our tongue could play such an important role in our sleep cycle? By keeping your tongue properly positioned and letting it do its job, you may find your night's sleep to be all the more restful.

誰(shuí)會(huì)想到我們的舌頭會(huì)在我們的睡眠周期中扮演如此重要的角色?通過(guò)保持舌頭的正確位置并讓它發(fā)揮作用，你可能會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)晚上的睡眠更加安靜。