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Science and technology - Psychosomatic medicine
科學(xué)技術(shù)
Psychosomatic medicine
身心醫(yī)學(xué)
Think yourself well
要相信，你的身體很棒
You can. But it helps to think well of yourself in the first place
你可以擁有很好的體魄。但首先，你要自我感覺好，這會(huì)有幫助的。
THE link between mind and body is terrain into which many medical researchers, fearing ridicule, dare not tread.
許多醫(yī)學(xué)研究者都不敢探究軀體和心理的關(guān)系，因?yàn)樗麄兒ε?，踏進(jìn)這一領(lǐng)域會(huì)受人嘲笑。
But perhaps more should do so.
但也許，研究這方面的人應(yīng)該多一些才好。
For centuries, doctors have recognised the placebo effect, in which the illusion of treatment, such as pills without an active ingredient, produces real medical benefits.
幾個(gè)世紀(jì)以來(lái)，醫(yī)生已逐漸認(rèn)可了安慰劑效應(yīng)。因?yàn)榛颊邥?huì)產(chǎn)生錯(cuò)覺，認(rèn)為自己在接受治療。比如，服用無(wú)活性成分的藥片也能產(chǎn)生實(shí)際療效。
More recently, respectable research has demonstrated that those who frequently experience positive emotions live longer and healthier lives.
根據(jù)最近的可靠的研究表明，平時(shí)積極樂觀的人會(huì)活得更長(zhǎng)久、更健康。
They have fewer heart attacks, for example, and fewer colds too.
比如，他們心臟病發(fā)作的次數(shù)更少，也很少感冒。
Why this happens, though, is only slowly becoming understood.
然而，人們才開始慢慢了解這種情況發(fā)生的原因。
What is needed is an experiment that points out specific and measurable ways in which such emotions alter an individual's biology.
人們需要的是做一場(chǎng)實(shí)驗(yàn)，明確這樣的情緒是通過怎樣具體的、可測(cè)量的方式來(lái)改變?nèi)说纳頎顩r。
And a study published in Psychological Science, by Barbara Fredrickson and Bethany Kok at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, does precisely that.
北卡羅來(lái)納大學(xué)教堂山分校的芭芭拉·弗雷德里克松和貝瑟尼·可可就是按照這個(gè)思路做了一項(xiàng)研究，并在《心理科學(xué)》上發(fā)表了相關(guān)論文。
Dr Fredrickson and Dr Kok concentrated their attentions on the vagus nerve. This nerve starts in the brain and runs, via numerous branches, to several thoracic and abdominal organs including the heart.
弗雷德里克松博士和可可博士把注意力集中在迷走神經(jīng)上。這對(duì)神經(jīng)起于顱腔，通過無(wú)數(shù)分支與胸腔、腹腔的幾個(gè)臟器相連。
Among its jobs is to send signals telling that organ to slow down during moments of calm and safety.
它的其中一項(xiàng)工作就是為器官發(fā)送信號(hào)，讓它們?cè)谲|體平靜、安寧的狀態(tài)下放緩節(jié)奏。
How effectively the vagus nerve is working can be tracked by monitoring someone's heart rate as he breathes in and out.
他們通過監(jiān)測(cè)一個(gè)人吸氣、呼氣時(shí)的心率，追蹤記錄迷走神經(jīng)如何有效地工作。
Healthy vagal function is reflected in a subtle increase in heart rate while breathing in and a subtle decrease while breathing out.
如果吸氣時(shí)心率略微增加，呼氣時(shí)略微下降，則說明迷走神經(jīng)工作正常。
The difference yields an index of vagal tone, and the value of this index is known to be connected with health.
兩次心率之差構(gòu)成迷走神經(jīng)張力指數(shù)。人們都知道該指數(shù)與健康程度有關(guān)。
Low values are, for example, linked to inflammation and heart attacks.
例如，低指數(shù)就與炎癥、心臟病發(fā)作幾率有聯(lián)系。
What particularly interested Dr Fredrickson and Dr Kok was recent work that showed something else about the vagal-tone index: people with high tone are better than those with low at stopping bad feelings getting overblown.
讓弗雷德里克松博士和可可博士特別感興趣的是最近的研究，因?yàn)樗@示了迷走神經(jīng)張力指數(shù)的另一個(gè)性質(zhì)：與張力指數(shù)低的人相比，指數(shù)高的人能更好地防止不良情緒失控。
They also show more positive emotions in general.
研究也顯示，指數(shù)高的人大體上情緒更樂觀。
This may provide the missing link between emotional well-being and physical health.
這也許彌補(bǔ)了心理健康與生理健康之間缺失的環(huán)節(jié)。
In particular, the two researchers found, during a preliminary study they carried out in 2010, that the vagal-tone values of those who experience positive emotions over a period of time go up.
尤其值得注意的是，兩位研究人員在2010年的初步探究中發(fā)現(xiàn)，人們?nèi)绻w驗(yàn)一段時(shí)間的積極情緒，迷走神經(jīng)張力指數(shù)會(huì)就增加。
This left them wondering whether positive emotions and vagal tone drive one another in a virtuous spiral.
這為他們留下了疑念，積極情緒與迷走神經(jīng)張力是否處于一個(gè)良性循環(huán)之中，互相促進(jìn)？
They therefore conducted an experiment on 65 of the university's staff, to try to find out.
因此，他們對(duì)本校的65名員工展開實(shí)驗(yàn)，一探究竟。
They measured all of their volunteers' vagal tones at the beginning of the experiment and at its conclusion nine weeks later.
他們?cè)趯?shí)驗(yàn)開始時(shí)測(cè)量了所有志愿者的迷走神經(jīng)張力指數(shù)，九周后實(shí)驗(yàn)結(jié)束時(shí)又再次測(cè)量。
In between, the volunteers were asked to go each evening to a website especially designed for the purpose, and rate their most powerful emotional experiences that day.
在實(shí)驗(yàn)期間，他們要求志愿者每天晚上登錄一家專門為此設(shè)計(jì)的網(wǎng)站，為當(dāng)天所經(jīng)歷的各種最強(qiáng)烈情緒評(píng)定等級(jí)。
Dr Fredrickson and Dr Kok asked their volunteers to consider nine positive emotions, such as hope, joy and love, and 11 negative ones, including anger, boredom and disgust.
弗雷德里克松博士和可可博士為志愿者提供了九種可供考慮的積極情緒選項(xiàng)，如期待、開心、熱愛，還有十一種消極情緒，包括憤怒、疲倦、厭惡。
They were asked to rate, on a five-point scale, whether—and how strongly—they had felt each emotion.
兩位博士要求他們以五分制一一打分：是否有這樣的情緒、情緒有多強(qiáng)烈。
One point meant not at all; five meant extremely.
1分代表完全沒有，5分代表非常強(qiáng)烈。
In addition, half the participants, chosen at random, were invited to a series of workshops run by a licensed therapist, to learn a meditation technique intended to engender in the meditator a feeling of goodwill towards both himself and others.
此外，他們還隨機(jī)邀請(qǐng)了一半志愿者到一個(gè)注冊(cè)治療師開的一系列工作坊中，學(xué)習(xí)冥想的技巧，旨在讓冥想者產(chǎn)生一種善待自己、善待他人的情緒。
This group was encouraged to meditate daily, and to report the time they spent doing so.
他們鼓勵(lì)這組人每天冥想，并向他們報(bào)告冥想用的時(shí)間。
Dr Fredrickson and Dr Kok discovered that vagal tone increased significantly in people who meditated, and hardly at all in those who did not.
弗雷德里克松博士和可可博士發(fā)現(xiàn)，冥想的人的迷走神經(jīng)張力顯著增加，而那些不冥想的人幾乎沒有任何變化。
Among meditators, those who started the experiment with the highest vagal-tone scores reported the biggest increases in positive emotions.
在眾多冥想者之中，那些實(shí)驗(yàn)一開始就擁有最高指數(shù)的人，積極情緒增加的幅度最大；
Meditators who started with particularly low scores showed virtually no such boost.
而一開始指數(shù)就很低的人，幾乎沒有這樣的奇效。
Taken as a whole, these findings suggest high vagal tone makes it easier to generate positive emotions and that this, in turn, drives vagal tone still higher.
作為一個(gè)整體來(lái)看，這些發(fā)現(xiàn)意味著，這迷走神經(jīng)張力指數(shù)越高，越容易產(chǎn)生積極情緒；反過來(lái)，積極情緒又能促進(jìn)指數(shù)的提升。
That is both literally and metaphorically a positive feedback loop.
無(wú)論是從直觀還是隱含的角度看，這都是一個(gè)正反饋循環(huán)。
Which is good news for the emotionally positive, but bad for the emotionally negative, for it implies that those who most need a psychosomatic boost are incapable of generating one.
對(duì)于情緒樂觀的人來(lái)說，這是個(gè)好消息；但對(duì)于消極的人來(lái)說，情況正好相反，因?yàn)樗馕吨切┳钚枰褡骶竦娜藚s往往無(wú)法產(chǎn)生積極情緒。
A further experiment by Dr Kok suggests, however, that the grumpy need not give up all hope.
然而可可博士的進(jìn)一步研究表明，脾氣不好的人也尚存希望。
A simpler procedure than meditation, namely reflecting at night on the day's social connections, did seem to cause some improvement to their vagal tone.
有一種比冥想簡(jiǎn)單的方法，即每天晚上對(duì)白天的社交活動(dòng)進(jìn)行反思，似乎能在一定程度上提高迷走神經(jīng)張力指數(shù)。
This might allow even those with a negative outlook on life to bootstrap their way to a mental state from which they could then advance to the more powerful technique of meditation.
就算是對(duì)生活不抱希望的人，也可能通過這種方式自我解脫，達(dá)到另一種精神狀態(tài)，然后他們可以進(jìn)一步使用效果更好的冥想技巧。
Whether, besides improving general health, the mechanism Dr Fredrickson and Dr Kok have discovered helps explain the placebo effect remains to be investigated.
除了提高綜合健康水平，弗雷德里克松博士和可可博士發(fā)現(xiàn)的機(jī)制是否有助于解釋安慰劑效應(yīng)，還有待進(jìn)一步研究。
But it might, because part of that effect seems to be the good feeling engendered by the fact of being treated.
但這的確有可能，因?yàn)榘参縿┬?yīng)就包括實(shí)驗(yàn)中因治療產(chǎn)生的良好情緒。
More generally, doctors in the ancient world had a saying: a healthy mind in a healthy body.
更為普遍的是，古代的醫(yī)生就有個(gè)說法：身體好，精氣兒足。
This sort of work suggests that though this proverb is true, a better one might be, a healthy mind for a healthy body.
而這個(gè)實(shí)驗(yàn)則啟發(fā)人們，盡管諺語(yǔ)說得有理，但精氣兒足，身體好可能才更準(zhǔn)確。
