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A cup of coffee in the evening may be keeping you awake for more reasons than you realise, scientists say.

科學家說，晚間1杯咖啡讓你保持清醒的原因，或許遠超過你所能理解。

Their study, in Science Translation Medicine, showed caffeine was more than just a stimulant and actually slowed down the body’s internal clock. A double espresso three hours before bedtime delayed the production of the sleep hormone melatonin by about 40 minutes, making it harder to nod off.

他們發表在「科學轉譯醫學」期刊的研究成果顯示，咖啡因不只是興奮劑，事實上還可以減緩生理時鐘。睡前3小時來杯雙份濃縮咖啡（espresso），會讓睡眠荷爾蒙褪黑素的製造延後約40分鐘，讓人比較難打瞌睡。

Experts said our own actions had a huge influence on sleep and the body clock.

專家說，我們自己的行動，大幅影響睡眠與生理時鐘。

One of the researchers, Dr John O’Neill, from the Medical Research Council’s Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, told the BBC News website："If you’re tired and having a coffee at night to stay awake, then that is a bad idea, you’ll find it harder to go to sleep and get enough sleep."

研究人員之一的劍橋醫學研究委員會分子生物學研究室的歐尼爾，告訴英國廣播公司新聞網：「如果你很累，晚上喝杯咖啡保持清醒，那是很糟糕的想法，你會發現更難入睡，獲得足夠睡眠。」

新聞辭典

stimulant︰名詞，刺激物。例句：Tourism has acted as a stimulant to the country’s economy.（旅遊業成為振興該國經濟發展的因素之一。）

slow down︰片語，使減慢。例句：If I run with Christina she tends to slow me down.（如果我和克莉絲蒂娜一起跑，她會拖慢我的速度。）

nod off︰片語，打瞌睡。After our busy day we both sat and nodded off in front of the TV.（忙碌了一天，我們兩人都坐在電視機前打瞌睡。）