评论
打印
It's chilly out, which means it's time to cuddle!
外面很冷，到了拥抱的时候了！
No, I mean it.
不，我没开玩笑。
We're in the thick of what's known as cuffing season.
我们正处于一个被称为“拷问”的季节。
It's the time of year when we're more likely to want to settle down with a romantic partner ...at least for a little while.
每年的这个时候，我们都更想和一个浪漫的伴侣安定下来……至少是暂时性的。
It runs from approximately October through February for those of us in the northern hemisphere,
对于我们北半球的人来说，这段时间大约从10月持续到2月，
and the phrase comes from the idea of being literally tied down or "cuffed" to a romantic partner.
这个短语来源于被一个浪漫的伴侣束缚或“铐住”的想法。
Charming.
很迷人。
Anyways, as cliche as this sounds, it does seem to be a real phenomenon.
不管怎么说，尽管这听起来很老套，但却似乎是个真实存在的现象。
And even though I don't want to quote that rather troubling holiday song… it turns out that the reason cuffing season is a thing may be because it's cold outside.
尽管我不想引用那首令人不安的节日歌曲，但事实证明，“拷问”的季节之所以重要可能是因为外面很冷。
While the phrase "cuffing season" is a gift from pop culture rather than a technical term scientists coined, there's plenty of reason to believe it's a real thing.
虽然“拷问季节”这个词是流行文化的一种馈赠，而不是科学家们创造的一个技术性术语，但有很多理由相信这是真实的。
While humans don't have what you'd typically think of as a mating season, if, when you were growing up, it felt like everyone had birthday parties in the summer or the first few weeks of school... well, you weren't wrong.
虽然人类没有通常认为的交配季节，但如果你在成长过程中，感觉每个人都在夏天或上学的头几周举行生日派对的话，你并没有错。
And you can do the math.
你可以做数学题。
I was born at the end of September - thanks New Years Eve party!
我出生在九月底，感谢新年前夜的聚会！
Also, thanks to social media, dating apps, and the Google machine, we actually have a lot of data on when people are most couple-y.
另外，多亏了社交媒体、约会应用和谷歌机器，我们实际上掌握了很多关于人们何时最适合和他人结为伴侣的数据。
Facebook has found we're more likely to change our relationship status to "in a relationship" when it's chillier, especially in late December and mid-February.
脸书发现，当天气更冷时，尤其是在12月底和2月中旬，我们更有可能将自己的关系状态改为“恋爱中”。
Or at least, we were in 2010 and 2011.
或者至少，我们在2010年和2011年。
Back when people actually cared about being "Facebook official"...
当人们真正关心成为在“脸书官宣”的时候......
I don't even know where that setting is.
我甚至不知道那个场景在哪里。
Am I in a relationship?
我在恋爱吗？
Can someone let me know?
有人能告诉我吗？
And dating app usage also goes up in the winter.
而约会应用的使用率在冬季也会上升。
For instance, a 2015 survey of Hinge users found that they were more interested in settling down in the wintertime than in other seasons.
例如，2015年对Hinge用户的一项调查发现，与其他季节相比，他们更喜欢在冬季定下心来。
So cuffing season is real.
所以，真的有“拷问”季节。
But, like, why?
但是，为什么呢？
Evolution is probably playing a pretty big role.
进化可能扮演着相当重要的角色。
Lots of animals evolved to have their offspring in the spring and summer, when there are more resources to take care of them.
许多动物经过进化后在春天和夏天生育后代，那时有更多的资源来照顾它们。
But there's also pretty good evidence that there's a lot going on psychologically which drives this yearning to settle down by the fire, drink some hot cocoa, and cuddle.
但也有很好证据表明，在心理方面也有很多东西驱使着人们安定下来，坐在炉火边、喝点热可可，再拥抱一下。
Like, winter is… kind of tough on us.
冬天对我们来说有点难熬。
We're a lot more likely to be sick, and there are all those holidays to stress over.
我们生病的可能性很大，而且还有很多假期。
We also produce less serotonin, a neurotransmitter known to play a role in mood regulation.
我们也产生较少的5-羟色胺，这是一种在情绪调节中起作用的神经递质。
And that can lead to the so-called "winter blues," and their clinically-diagnosable cousin, seasonal affective disorder.
这可能导致所谓的“冬季忧郁”，以及临床上可诊断一种类似的疾病，季节性情感障碍。
But what can help us combat this stress?
但有什么能帮我们克服这种压力呢？
Why, cuddling!
拥抱啊！
Cuddling and other forms of consensual social touch release oxytocin, a hormone known to be linked to social bonding.
拥抱和其他形式的社会接触释放催产素，这是一种与社会关系有关的激素。
And oxytocin causes the release of dopamine and serotonin in key areas of the brain to help counteract all those lousy, stressful feelings and make us feel less alone.
催产素会在大脑的关键区域释放多巴胺和5-羟色胺，帮助抵消所有这些恶心、紧张的感觉，让我们感觉不那么孤独。
But aside from this pretty intuitive and sensible idea that social touch and bonding can alleviate stress, there's also something else that might be at work.
但除了这种相当直观和明智的想法，即社会接触和联系可以缓解压力，还有一些其他因素可能也在发挥作用。
We might just be literally cold.
我们可能真的感觉很冷。
You see, there are lots of studies that show we mix up social and physical warmth, or substitute them for each other.
很多研究表明，我们把社交和身体上的温暖感混为一谈，或者把它们互相替代。
For example, one 2014 study found that after watching a video where someone was ostracized, participants were less likely to feel lonely if they were able to touch something warm.
例如，2014年的一项研究发现，在观看一段某人被排斥的视频后，如果参与者能够触摸到温暖的东西，他们就不太可能感到孤独。
And a study from 2012 found that warm and fuzzy TV ads tug on our heartstrings less when we're warm and cozy ourselves.
2012年的一项研究发现，当我们感觉温暖舒适的时候，温馨的电视广告不会对我们的心弦产生太大的影响。
Another looked at people eating alone in the food courts of shopping malls.
另一个研究对象是考察在购物中心的美食区独自用餐的人。
Because that's what everyone wants while eating slightly wilted French fries by themselves in a mall: to be approached by a stranger running a study.
因为这是每个人在商场里自己吃着微蔫的薯条时想要的：让一个正在做研究的陌生人接近。
Yes, I'm cold, Jeff.
是的，我真的很冷。
Let me eat this stupid wilted fry.
让我吃这个烂煎饼。
Anyways, they found that people who were eating with one other person estimated the temperature to be about 2.5 degrees Celsius warmer than the people who were eating alone.
不管怎样，他们发现和另一个人一起吃饭的人，体温估计值比单独吃饭的人高2.5摄氏度。
Additional experiments in the same study got even wackier.
在同一项研究中的其他实验变得更加古怪。
In one, students were given warm or cool tea and then asked to suggest features for a robot-maid they were told was being developed in Japan.
在其中一个实验中，学生们喝了热茶或凉茶，然后要求他们为一个机器人女佣提供一些功能，他们被告知这个机器人女佣是日本开发的。
Totally casual.
完全随意性的。
Those who got the cooler tea were more likely to ask for more social features, like talking, or going for walks together, or… other activities… presumably because they yearned for emotional warmth from their robot-maid.
那些喝了凉茶的人更有可能要求更多的社交功能，比如聊天，或者一起散步，或者其他活动，大概是因为他们渴望从机器人女佣那里得到情感上的温暖。
This is all part of what's known as social thermoregulation theory.
这是所谓的社会体温调节理论的一部分。
The idea is that temperature regulation is super important to animals, and one of the ways to warm up is to huddle close to others.
他们的观点是温度调节对动物来说是非常重要，而热身的方法之一就是和其他动物挤在一起。
So, given our already-social nature, we may have evolved to seek out others as a way to regulate our body temperature.
因此，考虑到我们已经具有社会性，我们可能已经进化到寻找他人来调节我们的体温。
And somewhere along the way, we ended up conflating physical and emotional warmth.
在这一过程中，我们最终融合了身体和情感的温暖。
Of course, this all could apply to platonic social bonding.
当然，这一切都适用于柏拉图式的社会关系。
And hey, definitely don't underestimate platonic cuddling.
嘿，绝对不要低估柏拉图式的拥抱。
We're equal opportunity cuddlers.
我们是平等机会的拥抱者。
But there's also reason to believe that the cold makes us want romance too.
但也有理由相信，寒冷也让我们想要浪漫。
A 2012 study of 53 undergrads found that iced tea and chilly ambient temperatures both made viewers enjoy romance movies more.
2012年一项针对53名大学生的研究发现，冰茶和寒冷的环境温度都让观众更喜欢浪漫电影。
The same wasn't true for action, comedies, or thrillers.
对于动作片、喜剧片或惊悚片，情况则并非如此。
And people were also more likely to rent romance movies during the coldest months, which makes our collective obsession with ridiculous Christmas romcoms make a bit more sense.
而且人们在最冷的几个月里，也更倾向于租借浪漫电影。这使得我们对可笑的圣诞连续剧的集体痴迷更富有意义。
In the Northern Hemisphere.
在北半球。
So, if you find yourself wishing you could settle down with someone this winter, there are probably a lot of reasons you're feeling that way.
所以，如果你发现自己希望能在这个冬天和某人安定下来，那么你这种感觉的原因可能有很多。
Winter messes with our heads in all sorts of ways.
冬天以各种方式扰乱我们的头脑。
But the good news is, you're probably not alone.
但好消息是，你可能并不孤单。
And if you're looking for the perfect gift for that special someone,
如果你在为那个特别之人寻找完美的礼物，
or just want to impress everyone with your keen fashion sense, might I suggest SciShow's Pin of the Month.
或者只是想用自己敏锐的时尚感给大家留下深刻印象，我可以推荐《科学秀》本月的最佳别针。
It's the lovely Mariner 9 probe on its mission to Mars a stylish addition to any winter wardrobe.
这是前往火星的可爱的水手9号探测器，它是任何冬季衣橱的时尚补充。
But you can only get it for a few more days!
但是，你只能用几天！
Once December hits, this baby will be gone.
十二月到来时，这个宝贝就不见了。
So if you want to get your hands on this beautiful pin, you better head over to DFTBA.com soon!
所以如果你想得到这个漂亮的别针，最好马上登陆DFTBA.com！
