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It seems like some people can regale you with every last detail of the dream they had last night
似乎有些人昨晚做梦的每个细节都能让你感到愉悦，
while others can't remember whether or not they even had a dream.
而另一些人却不记得他们是否做过梦。
No matter which camp you fall in, everybody does have dreams; it's just that some people are better at remembering them than others.
不管你属于哪种人，每个人都会做梦，只是有些人比其他人更善于记住自己的梦。
And whether or not you remember those surreal, unconscious experiences
你是否记得那些超现实、无意识的经历与大脑活动，
has a lot to do with the activity in your brain, and with how well you sleep.
以及睡眠质量有很大关系。
Scientists still aren't totally clear on why we dream in the first place,
科学家们还不完全清楚我们为什么会做梦，
but they have a decent idea of what our brains are up to when we do.
但他们对做梦时大脑在做什么了解得更清晰。
We dream the most when we're in a stage of sleep called REM.
当我们处于REM睡眠阶段时，所做的梦最多。
REM stands for Rapid Eye Movement, and it's a stage of deep sleep
REM的意思是快速眼动，这是一个深度睡眠的阶段，
that gets its name from the way our eyes move back and forth while we're in it.
其名字来自于当我们处于该阶段时，眼睛会来回移动。
We typically have a few REM cycles through the night, beginning around ninety minutes
我们通常在晚上出现几个快速眼动周期，
after we fall asleep, and each cycle can last between a minute and an hour.
大约在入睡后90分钟开始，每个周期可以持续一分钟到一小时。
Even though you're sleeping deeply during your REM cycles,
即使在快速眼动周期中睡得很深，
your brain actually acts a lot like it does when you're awake.
大脑实际上和清醒时一样。
For instance, while you're awake, there's lots of blood flowing to the cerebral cortex,
例如，当你醒着时，会有大量血液流向大脑皮层，
the thin layer that surrounds the largest part of your brain, which plays a role in making decisions and thinking creatively.
大脑皮层是包裹大脑最大部分的薄薄的一层物质，它在做决策和创造性思维方面起着重要作用。
Blood is also flowing to the limbic system, a set of structures that control your emotional response to the things you experience.
血液也流向边缘系统，这是一套控制人们对所经历事情的情绪反应的结构。
During REM sleep, those same parts of the brain are active.
在快速眼动睡眠期间，大脑中同样的部分是活跃的。
Even your heart rate and blood pressure are similar to what they are when you're awake.
甚至心率和血压也和清醒情况下相似。
So you're having lively, emotional experiences a lot like the ones you'd have when you're awake.
所以你会体会到活泼、情绪化的经历，就像清醒时一样。
The main difference is that, while you're asleep, your brain kindly paralyzes you so that you don't act your experiences out.
主要的区别在于，当你睡着时，大脑会善意地麻痹你，这样你就不会把自己的体验表现出来。
They can still feel very real, though.
不过，仍然可以非常真实地感受到这些体验。
So, during REM, almost everyone is having dreams, and often vivid ones!
所以，在快速眼动期，几乎每个人都在做梦，而且常常是生动的梦！
But not everyone remembers them.
但不是每个人都记得这些梦。
In part, that's because some people just have more brain activity during REM sleep.
在某种程度上，这是因为有些人在快速眼动睡眠期间大脑活动更频繁。
The more blood you have flowing to the cerebral cortex, the more active that part of the brain will be.
流到大脑皮层的血液越多，大脑的那部分就越活跃。
More brain activity creates more vivid dreams, and more vivid dreams tend to be more memorable.
大脑活动越多，梦就越生动，梦境越生动，就越容易记住。
But another big reason you either remember your dreams
但是，能否记住梦境的另一个重要的原因，
or don't has to do with your levels of a hormone called norepinephrine.
与去甲肾上腺素这种激素水平有关。
Whether you're awake or asleep, norepinephrine helps you remember things.
无论清醒状态下还是睡着了，去甲肾上腺素都能帮助人们记住各种事情。
Whenever you have an emotionally stimulating experience, your brain releases this hormone.
你在经历情绪刺激体验时，大脑就释放这种激素。
As it rushes through your brain, it binds to the nerve cells that help us learn new information, creating pathways between them.
当它穿过大脑时，会与帮助我们学习新信息的神经细胞结合，在它们之间建立通路。
Later on, electric signals in your brain can travel back down those pathways to help you recall the experience you were having when they formed.
稍后，大脑中的电信号能沿着这些路径传播回去，帮助回忆起它们形成时的经历。
Norepinephrine is always present at some level while you're awake.
你在清醒时，去甲肾上腺素总保持在一定程度上。
When you fall asleep though, your norepinephrine levels drop.
当你入睡时，去甲肾上腺素水平会下降。
That's true for everyone, and it's especially true during REM cycles.
每个人的情况都是这样，尤其是在快速眼动期间。
But from then on, the amount of norepinephrine in your brain has a lot to do with how well you sleep.
但从那时起，大脑中去甲肾上腺素的含量与睡眠质量有很大关系。
If you knock right out and don't wake up till morning,
如果你一觉睡到早晨，
your norepinephrine levels probably rarely rise to the point where you start creating memories.
去甲肾上腺素水平可能很少上升到开始创造记忆的程度。
But if you're a light sleeper, you likely get a little rise in norepinephrine every time you stir awake.
但如果你睡得很轻，可能每次醒来时，去甲肾上腺素的含量会有所上升。
And that norepinephrine helps your brain cells create connections
去甲肾上腺素能帮助脑细胞建立联系，
that make you more likely to form a memory of the dream you were having.
使你更可能形成对梦的记忆。
So being able to remember your dreams isn't exactly the superpower it might seem like;
因此，能够记住梦境并不像拥有了超能力；
the truth is you probably just don't sleep very soundly.
事实是你可能只是睡得不太香。
And if you've never been great at remembering your dreams, that's not a bad thing.
如果你从来都不擅长回忆自己的梦，那也不是坏事。
But if you're really curious about the places your subconscious mind wanders while you sleep,
但是如果你真的很好奇，睡觉时潜意识游荡到哪去了，
there are things you can do to get better at remembering.
可以做一些事情来更好地记住梦境。
For instance, right when you wake up, you can keep your eyes closed
例如，醒来时，可以闭上眼睛。当你的意识逐渐恢复时，
and attempt to think back on what you've dreamt as you gradually become more conscious.
试着回想自己的梦境。
Since you're slowly entering awake mode, you'll be more likely to retain the memory.
因为你正在慢慢进入清醒状态，更有可能保留住记忆。
That's because when you wake up abruptly, your levels of cortisol, the body's stress hormone,
这是因为你突然醒来时，体内一种称为皮质醇的应激激素水平会控制你，
tend to take over and focus you on the day ahead, which gets in the way of your brain forming memories.
让你专注于当前的时间，这会阻碍大脑形成记忆。
So when you wake up more slowly, you have a better shot.
所以醒来慢一点，你会有更好的机会记住梦境。
And then, you can also do this trick, you can just drink a lot of water before bed.
你也可以这样做，在睡前多饮水。
If you keep having to go to the bathroom, you will get the benefit of the norepinephrine rise each time you drag your foggy-brained self out of bed.
如果你一直要上厕所，每次你把头晕脑转的自己从床上拽起来，都能感受到去甲肾上腺素升高的好处。
And if you do manage to remember something from a dream,
如果你想记住睡梦中的事情，
you might want to write it down before you fall back asleep!
可以在再次睡着前把梦记下它！
But if even you never remember anything, you can be pretty sure that your subconscious self is still having lively adventures while you sleep.
但如果你什么都不记得，可以很肯定，潜意识在你睡觉时仍然做着生动的冒险经历。
You might not remember your dreams, but if you're interested in a lively story that will take you all over the place and surprise you at every turn,
你可能记不住自己的梦，但如果你对生动的故事感兴趣，而这个故事会把你带到各个地方，让你在每次转机之际都感到惊喜的话，
I just finished Blake Crouch's Recursion on Audible. It was very good!
我推荐一本书，是我刚看完的布莱克·克劳奇的《听觉递归》，这本书非常好！
I was on the edge of my seat, I was terrified for a lot of it, I didn't know what was going on
我当时坐在椅子边上，被吓了一大跳，不知道发生了什么事。
and then when you do, you're like, 'This is happening?!'. It's wonderful.
这时你会说，“这是真的吗？！”。真是太棒了。
Blake Crouch is a master, and the Audiobook was very well done.
布莱克·克劳奇是位大师，这本有声书写得很好。
With an Audible membership, you can get access to one free audiobook every month,
有了Audible会员卡，每月都可以获得一本免费有声读物，
easy exchanges, and 30% off all regularly priced audiobooks.
能轻松进行交换，还能从所有正价的有声读物中获得30％的折扣。
Audible's library can help you achieve your goals,
Audible的图书馆能帮助你实现自己的目标，
like being a more empathic leader or finishing more stories or trying out a guided meditation program.
比如成为更具同理心的领导者，完成更多的故事，或尝试进行有指导的冥想方案。
If you try Audible for 30 days, you can get your first audiobook for free plus two Audible Originals.
如果你尝试使用Audible 30天，可以免费得到第一本有声读物，外加两本Audible的有声原创书。
Visit audible.com/scishowpsych or text "scishowpsych" to 500 500.
登陆audible.com/scishowpsych或发送短信scishowpsych到500500.
That's "scishowpsych", P-S-Y-C-H.
scishowpsych，P-S-Y-C-H。
