第1448期:How safe is your bed？

Do you consider your bed a safe haven of rest and calm? 

你认为你的床是休息和平静的避风港吗？

Do you sink into a mattress after a hard day's work and feel tension and stress drain away as you rest your weary head on a soft pillow? 

一天辛苦工作后，您是否沉入床垫，当您将疲倦的头靠在柔软的枕头上时，是否会感到紧张和压力消失？

Well, you might not feel so relaxed if you knew that microscopic pests were lurking there! 

好吧，如果您知道那里潜伏着微小的害虫，您可能不会感到如此放松！

It seems that beds may not be such a good place for our well-being – they could actually be making us ill!

看起来床对于我们的健康来说可能不是一个好地方——它们实际上可能会让我们生病！

Recent studies have shown that bacteria, fungi and dust mites, some smaller than the diameter of a hair, live in our bedding. 

最近的研究表明，细菌、真菌和尘螨，有些比头发的直径还小，生活在我们的床上用品中。

When we move around in our sleep, we disturb them and they are propelled into the air – which we then breathe in as we sleep.

当我们在睡眠中四处走动时，我们会打扰它们，它们会被推到空气中——然后我们在睡觉时吸入空气。

 According to the American Lung Association, four out of five households in the United States now have high levels of dust mites, although it's not the mites themselves that cause the problems, but their droppings. 

根据美国肺脏协会的数据，现在美国五分之四的家庭都有高水平的尘螨，尽管引起问题的不是螨虫本身，而是它们的粪便。

These are "highly allergenic" according to Dr William Berger, a fellow with the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology.

根据美国过敏、哮喘和免疫学学会研究员威廉伯杰博士的说法，这些都是“高度过敏的”。

 "Even if you aren't allergic… they can still irritate you, the way pepper would if it blew into your nose and eyes."
 “即使你没有过敏……它们仍然会刺激你，就像胡椒吹进你的鼻子和眼睛一样。”

Brendan Boor, Assistant Professor of Civil Engineering, who carries out bed research, also found that bed dust in the air triggers allergies – causing watery eyes, sneezing, coughs and asthma. 

进行床研究的土木工程助理教授布伦丹·布尔（Brendan Boor）也发现空气中的床尘会引发过敏——导致眼睛流泪、打喷嚏、咳嗽和哮喘。

He has recommended ways to limit our exposure to these unsavoury allergens:

他推荐了一些方法来限制我们接触这些令人讨厌的过敏原：

Firstly, he suggests vacuuming your mattress regularly – weekly, or even daily. 

首先，他建议定期对床垫进行吸尘——每周，甚至每天。

He also recommends doing away with carpets and washing floors.

他还建议取消地毯和洗地板。

 Using allergen-proof bed covers, he says, can reduce the risk of getting allergies.

他说，使用防过敏床罩可以降低过敏的风险。 

In addition, washing bedding and pillows frequently can help, as can a portable air cleaner placed near the bed.

此外，经常清洗床上用品和枕头也会有所帮助，放在床边的便携式空气净化器也有帮助。

If you do as Brendan Boor suggests, you will breathe in cleaner air as you sleep… or will you? 

如果你按照 Brendan Boor 的建议去做，你会在睡觉时呼吸到更清洁的空气……或者你会吗？

Is it really safe for you to go back in your bed…?

回到床上真的安全吗……？

词汇表

haven 安全的地方，安乐窝
weary 疲倦的、疲惫不堪的
microscopic 微小的、细微的
pests 害虫
to lurk 潜藏，悄悄移动
well-being 幸福健康的状态
mites 螨虫、小虫
bedding 床上用品（包括床单、被罩、枕头罩等）
propelled 被弹出，被弹起
allergenic 引起过敏的
asthma 哮喘
to trigger 引发、引起
exposure 接触
-proof 抗…的，能防护…的