有聲英語閱讀 | 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.

我敢打賭大多數人都沒有意識到，當你呼吸時，你只用其中一個鼻孔呼吸的次數會比另一個多，而且你的身體知道每隔幾個小時就要換另一個鼻孔呼吸。

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

我完全不知道。只有在鼻塞的時候才會感覺到鼻孔有什么不同。

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.

這個鼻腔循環(huán)是由自主神經系統(tǒng)控制的，自主神經系統(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鼻孔之間的勃起組織，通過變化增加它的大小，引導空氣通過其中一個鼻孔。幾個小時后，氣流切換到另一個鼻孔。

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.

為什么會這樣呢?一些科學家認為，交替的氣流可以讓每個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.

另一些人認為它與我們的嗅覺有關?？赡苁敲總€鼻孔內的快氣流和慢氣流使我們對各種各樣的氣味有了最佳的適應能力。有些氣味需要更長的時間來探測和傳遞到大腦。

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左鼻孔呼吸。這個周期也可能與心率、血壓、血糖水平、眨眼次數、自閉癥、發(fā)燒等等有關。

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.

當我們生病時，我們會意識到有一個鼻孔會堵的原因是，當我們鼻塞時，氣流較少的那一側會感覺明顯。實際上，這個功能的很多部分都是一個謎。

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.

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