有聲英語(yǔ)閱讀 | 為什么鼻子每次只堵一邊?

I’ll bet most people don’t realize that when you breathe through your nose, you do so more from one nostril than the other and your body knows to switch to the other nostril every few hours.

我敢打賭大多數(shù)人都沒(méi)有意識(shí)到，當(dāng)你呼吸時(shí)，你只用其中一個(gè)鼻孔呼吸的次數(shù)會(huì)比另一個(gè)多，而且你的身體知道每隔幾個(gè)小時(shí)就要換另一個(gè)鼻孔呼吸。

I had no idea. I’m only aware of any difference in my nostrils when I’m congested!

我完全不知道。只有在鼻塞的時(shí)候才會(huì)感覺(jué)到鼻孔有什么不同。

This nasal cycle is controlled by the autonomic nervous system which also controls things we don’t think about like heart rate and breathing. Our bodies deliberately send more blood to an erectile tissue between the two nostrils to increase its size and direct the air flowing through one of the nostrils. After a few hours, the airflow switches to the other nostril.

這個(gè)鼻腔循環(huán)是由自主神經(jīng)系統(tǒng)控制的，自主神經(jīng)系統(tǒng)也控制著許多不需要我們思考的事情，比如心率和呼吸。我們的身體故意將更多的血液輸送到兩個(gè)鼻孔之間的勃起組織，通過(guò)變化增加它的大小，引導(dǎo)空氣通過(guò)其中一個(gè)鼻孔。幾個(gè)小時(shí)后，氣流切換到另一個(gè)鼻孔。

Why do we do this? Some scientists believe the alternating airflow allows each nostril to maintain optimal moisture levels so no one side gets dried out. It may also protect against respiratory infections or allergies.

為什么會(huì)這樣呢?一些科學(xué)家認(rèn)為，交替的氣流可以讓每個(gè)鼻孔都保持最佳的濕度，這樣就不至于使某邊的鼻孔變干。它還可以防止呼吸道感染或過(guò)敏。

Others believe it’s tied to our olfaction or sense of smell. It’s possible that the quicker and slower airflow in each nostril optimizes us to the vast range of smells. Some smells take longer to detect and transmit to the brain.

另一些人認(rèn)為它與我們的嗅覺(jué)有關(guān)?？赡苁敲總€(gè)鼻孔內(nèi)的快氣流和慢氣流使我們對(duì)各種各樣的氣味有了最佳的適應(yīng)能力。有些氣味需要更長(zhǎng)的時(shí)間來(lái)探測(cè)和傳遞到大腦。

But there’s no easy answer because our nasal cycle changes with our body’s position and age. Right handed people appear to breathe more through their left nostril. The cycle may also be related to heart rate, blood pressure, blood glucose levels, how much we blink, autism, fever, and much more.

但是，隨著身體的位置和年齡的變化，鼻子的循環(huán)也會(huì)發(fā)生變化，因此很難找到答案。右撇子的人似乎更多地通過(guò)左鼻孔呼吸。這個(gè)周期也可能與心率、血壓、血糖水平、眨眼次數(shù)、自閉癥、發(fā)燒等等有關(guān)。

The reason we’re aware of breathing more through one nostril when we’re sick is that when we’re congested, the side with less airflow just feels more blocked. Really, so much of this function is a mystery.

當(dāng)我們生病時(shí)，我們會(huì)意識(shí)到有一個(gè)鼻孔會(huì)堵的原因是，當(dāng)我們鼻塞時(shí)，氣流較少的那一側(cè)會(huì)感覺(jué)明顯。實(shí)際上，這個(gè)功能的很多部分都是一個(gè)謎。

The next time you have nothing else to think about, see which nostril you are using more. Maybe one day we’ll know why this happens and it’ll lead to some pretty useful treatments.

下次你沒(méi)有其他事情可想的時(shí)候，你可以看看你更多用哪個(gè)鼻孔呼吸。也許有一天我們會(huì)知道為什么會(huì)發(fā)生這種情況，這將引導(dǎo)我們發(fā)現(xiàn)一些非常有用的治療方法。