In a new study, researchers find that sleep deprivation¹ can cause noticeable changes in the heart.

在一项新的研究中，研究人员发现，睡眠不足可导致心脏发生明显的变化。

In the new study, presented at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA), researchers from the University of Bonn in Germany looked at professionals in emergency medical care, who often work erratic² hours and late-night shifts while enduring significant stress.

在北美放射学会年会上提出的这项新研究中，来自德国波恩大学的研究人员对从事紧急医疗护理的专业人员进行了研究，他们经常没有稳定的工作时间且需要值夜班，同时承受着巨大的压力。

About twenty healthy radiologists had their hearts imaged before and after a 24-hour shift where they got an average of three hours of sleep.

研究对大约二十位健康的放射科医生在24小时轮班前后进行心脏成像，他们平均睡眠是时间为三小时。

The study also had their blood pressure and heart rate measured, and they provided blood samples.

研究还测量了他们的血压和心率，并且让他们提供血液样品。

Comparing the two images showed increases in heart strain, which can be a precursor³ for heart problems.

比较前后两个图像，可以看出心脏压力的增加，这可能是心脏问题的前兆。

The doctors also showed increases in blood pressure, heart rate and thyroid hormones⁴, which are released in response to stress.

这些医生还出现血压升高、心率加快和甲状腺激素增加的情况，这些是由于压力而表现出来的。

The study size was very small, and more research is needed to fully understand the relationship between sleep and heart health.

该研究的规模非常小，需要更多的研究来充分了解睡眠和心脏健康之间的关系。

But the researchers point out that their study is one of the first to look at the real effects of sleep deprivation on the heart, and since there are many people who do regular shift-work, continued research could provide meaningful insight into the health effects of working on little sleep.

但是研究人员指出，他们的研究是最先观察睡眠不足对心脏的真实影响的研究之一，而且由于有很多人经常倒班工作，持续的研究可以对睡眠不足时进行工作的健康影响提供有意义的见解。