An increasing body of 越来越多的evidence suggests that the time we spend on our smartphones is interfering with 干扰我们的睡眠our sleep, relationships, memory, attention spans专注力时长, creativity, productivity and problem-solving and decision-making skills解决问题和做决策的能力. 

越来越多的证据表明，我们在我们的智能手机上花费的时间正在干扰我们的睡眠、人际关系、记忆力、专注力时长、创造力、工作学习效率以及解决问题和做决策的能力。

But there is another reason for us to rethink our relationships with our devices. By chronically raising levels of cortisol--the  body's main stress hormone, our phones may be threatening our personal health威胁我们的健康 and shortening our lives缩短我们的寿命. 

但是还有另外一个原因值得我们重新思考与这些电子设备的关系。通过长期提高身体主要的应激激素——皮质醇的水平，我们的手机可能会威胁我们的健康，并缩短我们的寿命。

Until now, most discussions of phone's biochemical effects have focused on dophmine多巴胺, a brain chemical that helps us form habits and addictions形成习惯并上瘾的大脑化学物质. Like slot machines, smartphones and Apps are explicitly designed to trigger dopamine's release触发多巴胺的释放, with the goal of making our devices difficult to put down让我们难以放下手中的设备. 

到目前为止，大多数关于手机生化反应的讨论都集中在多巴胺上，这是一种帮助我们形成习惯并上瘾的大脑化学物质。就像老虎机一样，智能手机和应用程序明显是为了触发多巴胺的释放而设计的，目的就是让我们难以放下手中的设备。

This manipulation of our dopamine systems is why many experts believe that we are developing behavioural addictions对手机产生上瘾行为 to our phones. But our phones' effects on cortisol are potentially even more alarming. Cirtisol is our primary fight-or-flight战斗或逃跑 hormone. Its release triggers physiological changes such as spikes in blood pressure, heart rate and blood sugar that help us react and survive to acute physical threats对紧急的人身威胁做出及时反应以存活下来. The effects can be life-saving if you are actually in physical danger--like, say, you are being charged by a bull. But our bodies also release cortisol in response to emotional stressors应对情绪压力where an increased heart rate isn't going to do much good, such as checking your phone to find an angry email from your boss. 

这种对我们大脑多巴胺系统的操纵控制，正是许多专家认为使我们在对手机产生上瘾行为的原因。但我们的手机对皮质醇的影响可能更应该令人担忧。皮质醇是影响我们战斗或逃跑应激反应的主要激素。它的释放会引起一些生理变化，比如血压、心率和血糖的飙升，这些变化会帮助我们对紧急的人身威胁做出及时反应以存活下来。这些反应在我们遇到险境时会拯救我们的生命，比如一头公牛正在向我们冲来。但同时我们的身体也会释放皮质醇以应对情绪压力，在这种情况下，心率加快不会给我们带来多大好处，比如查看手机时发现老板发来的一封愤怒的邮件。

The average American spends four hours a day staring at their phone花四个小时查看自己的智能手机 and keeps it within their arm's reach nearly all the time几乎时时刻刻都把它放在触手可及的地方.

美国人平均每天要花四个小时查看自己的智能手机，而且几乎时时刻刻都把它放在触手可及的地方。

The result, as Google has noted in a report, is that 'mobile devices loaded with social media, email amd news Apps' create 'a constant sense of obligation, generating unintended personal stress装有社交媒体、电子邮件和新闻应用的移动设备会使我们产生“一种持续的责任感，进而带给人们意想不到的个人压力'. Your cortisol are elevated when your phone is in sight or nearby, or when you hear it or even think you hear it. It's a stress response, and it feels unpleasant, and the body's natural response is to want to check the phone to make the stress go away.

结果就是，正如谷歌在一份报告中所指出的那样，“装有社交媒体、电子邮件和新闻应用的移动设备会使我们产生“一种持续的责任感，进而带给人们意想不到的个人压力。” 当手机在我们的视线内或在我们旁边，又或者当我们听到它，甚至认为我们可能听到它时，我们的皮质醇水平就会升高。这是一种压力反应，它让人感到不舒服，而我们身体的自然反应是想要查看手机以消除这种压力。

But while doing so might soothe you for a second暂时平静下来, it probably will make things worse in the long run长远来看，它可能会让事情变得更糟. Any time you check your phone, you are likely to find something else stressful waiting for you, leading to another spike in cortisol and another craving to check your phone to make your anxiety go away另一种想要查看手机以让我们的焦虑消失的渴望. This cycle, when contiuously reinforced, leads to chronically elevated cortisol levels. And chronically elevated cortisol levels have been tied to an increased to risk of serious health problems, including depression, obesity, metabolic syndrome, Type 2 diabetes, fertility issues, high blood pressure, heart attack, dementia and stroke.

虽然这样做可能会让我们暂时平静下来，但从长远来看，它可能会让事情变得更糟。每次我们查看手机的时候，很可能发现一些其他的压力正在等着我们，这会导致皮质醇再次飙升，并产生另一种想要查看手机以让我们的焦虑消失的渴望。如果这种循环不断加强，将导致皮质醇水平长期升高。而皮质醇水平的长期升高已被发现会提升多多种严重健康问题的患病风险，包括抑郁、肥胖、代谢综合征、乙型糖尿病、生育问题、高血压、心脏病、老人痴呆和中风。

Every chronic disease we know of is exacerbated by stress各种慢性病都会因压力而恶化, and our phones are absolutely contributing to this. 

我们所知的各种慢性病都会因压力而恶化，而我们的手机无疑正在加剧这种风险。

In addition to this potential long-term health consequences, smartphone-induced stress affects us in more immediately life-threatening ways智能手机引起的压力还会以更直接的方式威胁我们的生命健康. 

除了这种潜在的长期健康问题，智能手机引起的压力还会以更直接的方式威胁我们的生命健康。

Elevated cortisol levels impair the prefrontal cortex, an area of the brain critical for decision-making and rational thought做出决策与理性思考. Impairment of the prefrontal cortex decreases self-control. When coupled with a powerful desire to allay our anxiety减轻焦虑, this can leads us to do things that may be stress-relieving in the moment but are potentially fatal当前或许能减缓压力，但却有潜在致命风险, such as texting while driving. 

皮质醇水平的升高会损伤前额皮质，这一大脑区域对我们做出决策与理性思考至关重要。前额皮质受损会降低我们的自控制力。若同时伴有减轻焦虑的强烈欲望，这会导致我们做一些当前或许能减缓压力，但却有潜在致命风险的事情，比如边开车边发信息。

The effects of stress can be amplified even further if we are constantly worrying that something bad is about to happen, whether it's a physical attack or an infuriating comment on social media.(In the case of phones, this state of hypervigilance somestimes manifests as "phantom vibrations," in which people feel their phone vibrating in the pocket when their phone isn't even there.)

如果我们时常都在担心有坏事要发生，那由此带来的压力造成的影响可能会被放大，不管是我们是人身受到攻击还是社交媒体上令人发怒的评论。（就手机而言，这种过度警觉有时表现为“幻觉震动”，即人们感觉手机在口袋里震动，而其实口袋里根本没有手机。）

Everything that we do, everything we experience, can influence our physiology and change circuits in our brain我们所做的，所经历的每件事，都会影响我们的生理机能并改变我们的脑回路 in ways that make us more or less reactive to stress. 

我们所做的，所经历的每件事，都会影响我们的生理机能并改变我们的脑回路，增强或减弱我们对压力的应激反应。

Dr. McEven also notes that our baseline cortisol levels ebb and flow上下起伏 in a regular 24-hour cycle that is thrown out of whack带来混乱 if we get less than 7 to 8 hours of sleep a night, which is all to easy to do if you're in the habit of checking your phone before bed. This in turn leaves our bodies less resilient to stress身体的抗压能力减弱and increases our risk of all the stress-related health conditions mentioned above. 

麦克尤恩还指出，在规律的24小时周期中，我们基准线皮质醇水平上下起伏。如果夜间睡眠不足7至8小时，这一运行节奏可能会带来混乱，而如果有睡前查看手机的习惯，这种情况极易发生。反过来，这会导致身体的抗压能力减弱，并增加所有上述与压力相关的各种健康状况的患病风险。

Put this all together综合来看, and the hours we spend compulsively checking our phones may add up to much more than a waste of time.

综合来看，我们花许多时间不由自主地查看手机，最终可能远不仅仅是浪费了时间。