经济学人262:身心医学 要相信你的身体很棒

 　　Science and technology - Psychosomatic medicine

　　科学技术
　　Psychosomatic medicine
　　身心医学
　　Think yourself well
　　要相信，你的身体很棒
　　You can. But it helps to think well of yourself in the first place
　　你可以拥有很好的体魄。但首先，你要自我感觉好，这会有帮助的。
　　THE link between mind and body is terrain 1 into which many medical researchers, fearing ridicule 2, dare not tread.
　　许多医学研究者都不敢探究躯体和心理的关系，因为他们害怕，踏进这一领域会受人嘲笑。
　　But perhaps more should do so.
　　但也许，研究这方面的人应该多一些才好。
　　For centuries, doctors have recognised the placebo 3 effect, in which the illusion of treatment, such as pills without an active ingredient, produces real medical benefits.
　　几个世纪以来，医生已逐渐认可了安慰剂效应。因为患者会产生错觉，认为自己在接受治疗。比如，服用无活性成分的药片也能产生实际疗效。
　　More recently, respectable research has demonstrated that those who frequently experience positive emotions live longer and healthier lives.
　　根据最近的可靠的研究表明，平时积极乐观的人会活得更长久、更健康。
　　They have fewer heart attacks, for example, and fewer colds too.
　　比如，他们心脏病发作的次数更少，也很少感冒。
　　Why this happens, though, is only slowly becoming understood.
　　然而，人们才开始慢慢了解这种情况发生的原因。
　　What is needed is an experiment that points out specific and measurable ways in which such emotions alter an individual's biology.
　　人们需要的是做一场实验，明确这样的情绪是通过怎样具体的、可测量的方式来改变人的生理状况。
　　And a study published in Psychological Science, by Barbara Fredrickson and Bethany Kok at the University of North Carolina at Chapel 4 Hill, does precisely 5 that.
　　北卡罗来纳大学教堂山分校的芭芭拉·弗雷德里克松和贝瑟尼·可可就是按照这个思路做了一项研究，并在《心理科学》上发表了相关论文。
　　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 6 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经上。这对神经起于颅腔，通过无数分支与胸腔、腹腔的几个脏器相连。
　　Among its jobs is to send signals telling that organ to slow down during moments of calm and safety.
　　它的其中一项工作就是为器官发送信号，让它们在躯体平静、安宁的状态下放缓节奏。
　　How effectively the vagus nerve is working can be tracked by monitoring someone's heart rate as he breathes in and out.
　　他们通过监测一个人吸气、呼气时的心率，追踪记录迷走神经如何有效地工作。
　　Healthy vagal function is reflected in a subtle increase in heart rate while breathing in and a subtle decrease while breathing out.
　　如果吸气时心率略微增加，呼气时略微下降，则说明迷走神经工作正常。
　　The difference yields an index of vagal tone, and the value of this index is known to be connected with health.
　　两次心率之差构成迷走神经张力指数。人们都知道该指数与健康程度有关。
　　Low values are, for example, linked to inflammation and heart attacks.
　　例如，低指数就与炎症、心脏病发作几率有联系。
　　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.
　　让弗雷德里克松博士和可可博士特别感兴趣的是最近的研究，因为它显示了迷走神经张力指数的另一个性质：与张力指数低的人相比，指数高的人能更好地防止不良情绪失控。
　　They also show more positive emotions in general.
　　研究也显示，指数高的人大体上情绪更乐观。
　　This may provide the missing link between emotional well-being 7 and physical health.
　　这也许弥补了心理健康与生理健康之间缺失的环节。
　　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，两位研究人员在2010年的初步探究中发现，人们如果体验一段时间的积极情绪，迷走神经张力指数会就增加。
　　This left them wondering whether positive emotions and vagal tone drive one another in a virtuous 8 spiral.
　　这为他们留下了疑念，积极情绪与迷走神经张力是否处于一个良性循环之中，互相促进？
　　They therefore conducted an experiment on 65 of the university's staff, to try to find out.
　　因此，他们对本校的65名员工展开实验，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.
　　他们在实验开始时测量了所有志愿者的迷走神经张力指数，九周后实验结束时又再次测量。
　　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.
　　在实验期间，他们要求志愿者每天晚上登录一家专门为此设计的网站，为当天所经历的各种最强烈情绪评定等级。
　　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 9 and disgust.
　　弗雷德里克松博士和可可博士为志愿者提供了九种可供考虑的积极情绪选项，如期待、开心、热爱，还有十一种消极情绪，包括愤怒、疲倦、厌恶。
　　They were asked to rate, on a five-point scale, whether—and how strongly—they had felt each emotion.
　　两位博士要求他们以五分制一一打分：是否有这样的情绪、情绪有多强烈。
　　One point meant not at all; five meant extremely.
　　1分代表完全没有，5分代表非常强烈。
　　In addition, half the participants, chosen at random 10, were invited to a series of workshops run by a licensed 11 therapist, to learn a meditation 12 technique intended to engender 13 in the meditator 14 a feeling of goodwill 15 towards both himself and others.
　　此外，他们还随机邀请了一半志愿者到一个注册治疗师开的一系列工作坊中，学习冥想的技巧，旨在让冥想者产生一种善待自己、善待他人的情绪。
　　This group was encouraged to meditate 16 daily, and to report the time they spent doing so.
　　他们鼓励这组人每天冥想，并向他们报告冥想用的时间。
　　Dr Fredrickson and Dr Kok discovered that vagal tone increased significantly in people who meditated 17, and hardly at all in those who did not.
　　弗雷德里克松博士和可可博士发现，冥想的人的迷走神经张力显著增加，而那些不冥想的人几乎没有任何变化。
　　Among meditators, those who started the experiment with the highest vagal-tone scores reported the biggest increases in positive emotions.
　　在众多冥想者之中，那些实验一开始就拥有最高指数的人，积极情绪增加的幅度最大；
　　Meditators who started with particularly low scores showed virtually no such boost.
　　而一开始指数就很低的人，几乎没有这样的奇效。
　　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.
　　作为一个整体来看，这些发现意味着，这迷走神经张力指数越高，越容易产生积极情绪；反过来，积极情绪又能促进指数的提升。
　　That is both literally 18 and metaphorically 19 a positive feedback loop.
　　无论是从直观还是隐含的角度看，这都是一个正反馈循环。
　　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 20 of generating one.
　　对于情绪乐观的人来说，这是个好消息；但对于消极的人来说，情况正好相反，因为它意味着，那些最需要振作精神的人却往往无法产生积极情绪。
　　A further experiment by Dr Kok suggests, however, that the grumpy need not give up all hope.
　　然而可可博士的进一步研究表明，脾气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.
　　有一种比冥想简单的方法，即每天晚上对白天的社交活动进行反思，似乎能在一定程度上提高迷走神经张力指数。
　　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.
　　就算是对生活不抱希望的人，也可能通过这种方式自我解脱，达到另一种精神状态，然后他们可以进一步使用效果更好的冥想技巧。
　　Whether, besides improving general health, the mechanism 21 Dr Fredrickson and Dr Kok have discovered helps explain the placebo effect remains 22 to be investigated.
　　除了提高综合健康水平，弗雷德里克松博士和可可博士发现的机制是否有助于解释安慰剂效应，还有待进一步研究。
　　But it might, because part of that effect seems to be the good feeling engendered 23 by the fact of being treated.
　　但这的确有可能，因为安慰剂效应就包括实验中因治疗产生的良好情绪。
　　More generally, doctors in the ancient world had a saying: a healthy mind in a healthy body.
　　更为普遍的是，古代的医生就有个说法：身体好，精气儿足。
　　This sort of work suggests that though this proverb is true, a better one might be, a healthy mind for a healthy body.
　　而这个实验则启发人们，尽管谚语说得有理，但精气儿足，身体好可能才更准确。
　　1.think well of 对…有好感
　　He always thinks of others. People think well of him.
　　他总是为别人着想。人们对他看法很好。
　　All the teachers think well of yang pei.
　　所有老师都对杨蓓印象很好。
　　2.placebo effect 安慰剂效应
　　The placebo effect's been well-documented.
　　安慰剂效果证据充分。
　　Molassiotis says that the improvements were not down to the placebo effect.
　　莫拉修迪斯说这一改善无法归为安慰剂效应。
　　3.heart attacks 心脏病发作
　　Deaths from heart attacks also declined.
　　因心脏病而死亡的人数也已大大的降低。
　　The end result may be heart attacks or internal blood clots 24.
　　最终的结果可能是心脏病发作或体内血块。
　　4.in particular 尤其， 特别
　　Progress is needed in three areas in particular.
　　尤其需要在三个方面取得进展。
　　Unemployment in particular has risen less than once seemed likely.
　　特别是失业率的增速似乎可能有所放缓。