‘When we dream, we have the perfect chemical canvas for intense visions’ “入梦时，我们就拥有了能够呈现强烈幻象的完美化学画布”

‘When we dream, we have the perfect chemical canvas for intense visions’
“入梦时，我们就拥有了能够呈现强烈幻象的完美化学画布”

Alice Robb is an American science journalist who has written for the Washington Post and the New Republic. Her new book, Why We Dream, encourages us to rethink the importance of dreams and to become dream interpreters ourselves.
爱丽丝·罗伯是一名美国科学记者，曾为《华盛顿邮报》和《新共和》撰稿。她的新书《我们为什么做梦》激发我们去重新考量梦的重要性，并鼓励我们也成为梦境的解读者。
Recently there’s been a massive interest in the science of sleep. Sleep plays a role in maintaining our mental health. Are dreams part of that process?
Dreams play a big role in helping us cope with stress, grief and trauma. Dreams are an opportunity to work through things that frighten us in real life, to play out worst-case scenarios in an environment where they have no consequences.
睡眠科学近来备受关注。睡眠能够帮助维持我们的心理健康。那睡梦是这个过程的一部分吗？
睡梦能很好地帮助我们去应对精神压力、悲伤和心理创伤。在睡梦当中，我们有机会去设法解决那些在现实生活中让我们害怕的事情，可以借助这个不会产生任何现实后果的环境，去经历可能出现的最坏结果。
Has anyone explained why dreams contain such surreal elements, weird collages of time, people, geography and so on?
When we dream, the logic centres of our brain — the frontal lobes — go dark, and chemicals associated with self-control, like serotonin and norepinephrine, drop. At the same time, the emotion centres light up: we have a perfect chemical canvas for dramatic, psychologically intense visions.
有人解释过为什么梦里会有这样的超现实因素和关于时间、人物、地点等方面奇怪的“大杂烩”吗？
当我们做梦时，我们大脑的逻辑中枢——大脑的前额叶——会进入休眠状态，像血清素和去甲肾上腺素等与自制力相关的化学物质水平呈下降趋势。同时，情绪中枢激活，让我们拥有能够呈现激动而强烈的心理幻象的完美化学画布。
You say neglecting to consider our dreams is like “throwing away a gift from our brains without bothering to open it.” What is the gift?
When we’re dreaming, we’re thinking in a state we never have access to by day. Dreams offer the opportunity to think in a different way and show new answers to problems. They show us blind spots, help us home in on things we might be neglecting in our personal lives.
你提到如果不重视研究我们的梦，就像是“连看都懒得看，就直接扔掉来自我们大脑的礼物”。所以这份礼物是什么呢？
当我们处在梦境中，我们的思绪进入了一种白天无法企及的状态。梦境给我们提供了一种机会，让我们能够以另外一种方式来思考，并且向我们展示解决问题的新方法。梦境让我们看到盲点，使我们集中注意力于个人生活里可能忽视了的东西。

keywords：

1. canvas 画布
2. interpreter 解读者
3. encourage sb to do sth and to do sth 激励某人去做某事，鼓励某人去做某事
4. recently there’s been a manssive interest in sth 某事近来备受关注
5. A plays a role in doing sth A 有助于做某事
6. A plays a big role in doing sth A非常有助于，很好的帮助做某事
7. trauma 心理创伤
8. worst-case scenarios 最坏的可能，可能出现的最坏结果
9. dreams are an opportunity to work through…, to play out 做梦提供了机会去做。。。，去做什么
10. surreal 超现实的，离奇的，荒诞的
11. weird 奇怪的
12. collage大杂烩
13. weird collages of time, people, geography and so on 时间，人物，地点等方面奇怪的大杂烩
14. the frontal lobes大脑前叶
15. go dark 进入休眠状态
16. serotonin 血清素
17. norepinephrine 去甲状上腺素
18. drop下降
19. light up,激活，the emotion centres light up情绪中枢激活
20. we have a perfect chemical canvas for dramatic, psychologically intense visions, 我们拥有能够呈现激动而强烈的心理幻想的完美化学画布
21. throw away 扔掉
22. without bothering to open it 懒得去打开它
23. dream offer the opportunity to do sth 做梦提供我们机会去做某事
24. show new answers to problem 展示解决问题的新方法
25. blind spot 盲点
26. home in on sth 集中注意力于某事 =focus on ，concentrate on ， pay attention to,be lost in 沉迷于… lose oneself in, put one’s heart into 专心于