手機版
Robin Nixon, LiveScience Staff Writer
作者：羅賓•尼克松（Robin Nixon），《生活科學》的特約撰稿人
Date: 18 February 2011 Time: 11:56 AM ET
日期：2011年2月18日，時間：美國東部時間上午11:56
We expect the prowess of our joints and lungs to slowly decline as we age, but the thought of our minds doing the same is intolerable. Here are some top prevention tips worth their weight in wits, plus a few to forget.
當我們的年齡變老時，都希望自己的關節和肺部的功能衰退得慢一些，可是我們頭腦思維的功能如果也隨著年齡一樣衰老，那是我們所無法忍受的。這里有一些最重要的預防頭腦衰老、理智上值得重視的訣竅，常被我們所忽略。
Do something! 做些事情!
Scientists are starting to think that regular aerobic exercise may be the single most important thing you can do for the long-term health of your brain. While the heart and lungs respond loudly to a sprint on the treadmill, the brain is quietly getting fitter with each step, too. For mental fitness, aim for at least 30 minutes of physical activity every other day.
科學家們正在開始認為，有規律的有氧運動可能是你使頭腦長期健康要做的最重要事情。當你的心臟和肺在為跑步等沖刺作出強烈的反應時，大腦也在平靜地適應著每一步的動作。對精神病患者，要力爭每天有30分鐘以上的體育活動。
Eat, eat, eat 吃，吃，吃
Too much or too little energy throws a kink in the brain’s delicate machinery. A low glycemic diet — high fiber, with moderate amounts of fat and protein — is broken down more slowly in the body than high glycemic foods, such as sweets and white starches. A steady pace of digestion in the gut gives a more reliable flow of energy to the brain, likely optimizing the organ’s long-term health and performance.
攝入過多或過少的能量會在大腦中形成一個結構微妙的扭結。低血糖飲食（ 高纖維、適量的脂肪和蛋白質） 在體內的分解速度低于高血糖的食物，如甜食和白色淀粉質食物等。腸道里穩健和緩慢的消化步伐，會對大腦提供一個比較可靠的能量流動，它有可能優化身體各器官的長期健康和功能。
Watch that diet 監視那些飲食
While overindulging can make the brain sluggish and lead to long-term detriments to your brain, too few calories can also impair brain function. Extreme dieting can cause some diehards to feel stretches of calm — a feeling that may underlie the addiction of anorexia — but many studies have also linked dieting with distraction, confusion and memory impairment.
盡管進食過量會使得大腦呆滯，導致你頭腦長期的損傷，可是攝入的卡路里太少，也可以損害大腦的功能。極端的節食減肥可使一些倔強的人感覺到綿延的平靜，是一種構成厭食成癮基礎的一種感覺，也有許多研究把節食與注意力分散、思維混亂和記憶障礙聯系在一起。
Take care of your body 照顧好你的身體
Largely preventable diseases — such as Type II diabetes, obesity and hypertension — all affect your brain, too. System-wide health concerns have been linked to an increased risk of cognitive decline and memory impairments. Keeping your circulatory system in working order, by, say, avoiding cigarettes and saturated fat, lessens the onslaught of age-related damage to the brain.
有許多疾病在很大程度上是可以預防的。這些疾病， 如II型糖尿病，肥胖和高血壓等，它們也都會影響你的大腦。對身體整個系統健康的關注與認知能力衰退和記憶障礙所冒的風險有著一定的聯系。保持你循環系統的正常運轉，比方說，避開香煙和飽和脂肪，減少與年齡有關的損害大腦的刺激。
Get your beauty rest 要有美好的休息
When we rest and dream, memories are sifted through, some discarded, others consolidated and saved. When we don't sleep, a recent study found, proteins build up on synapses, possibly making it hard to think and learn new things. Furthermore, chronically sleeping poorly (in contrast to not enough) is linked to cognitive decline in old age, although the relationship may not be causal.
當我們在睡眠和做夢的時候，頭腦里的記憶會通過篩選，一些被丟棄，而另外一些得到了鞏固和保存。最近的一項研究發現，如果我們不睡覺，在神經元突觸上蛋白質會有所增加，使它難于去思考問題和學習新事物。此外，長期的睡眠不佳（與“不夠”形成對照）與老年認知能力的衰退有關，盡管還可能沒有一定的因果關系。
Enjoy your coffee 享用咖啡
Growing evidence suggests a caffeine habit may protect the brain. According to large longitudinal studies, two to four perk-me-ups a day may stave off normal cognitive decline and decrease the incidence of Alzheimer's by 30 to 60 percent. It is unclear whether the benefits come from caffeine or the antioxidants found in coffee and tea, but that latte may improve cognition this afternoon and several decades from now
越來越多的證據表明，飲食咖啡因的習慣可以保護大腦。根據大型的縱向研究，每天2到4次飲用咖啡來振作精神可以延緩正常認知能力的衰退，并減少阿茲海默癥（即老年癡呆癥）30％至60％的發病率。目前還不清楚是否是于咖啡因，或者是咖啡和茶中的抗氧化劑所帶來的好處，但拿鐵咖啡（latte） 可能改善當天下午和從現在開始幾十年認知能力。
Eat fish 吃魚
Some theories credit the introduction of fish into the human diet with the evolution of our tremendous cognitive prowess. Essential fatty acids, such as Omega 3s, are critical to brain function and are proving beneficial for treating such as depression. Studies on the efficacy of Omega 3 supplements, however, have had mixed results, so get doses from food sources, such as flax seeds, fatty fish and grass-fed animals.
有些理論把人類由進化而來的巨大認知能力歸功于在人類的食物中引進了魚類。魚類具有人類所必需的脂肪酸，如歐米茄3S，它對大腦的功能是至關重要的，并正在證明它有利于治療像抑郁癥那樣的腦耗盡型的疾病(brain-sapping ailments) 。人們對歐米茄3補充劑功效進行了研究，然而，其結果有好有壞，所以要從食物來源中來攝歐米茄3，如亞麻種子，多脂肪的魚類和吃草動物等。
Chill out 放松
Stress takes a toll on the brain by washing harmful chemicals over the hippocampus and other brain areas involved in memory. Some scientists suspect that living a balanced lifestyle and pursuing relaxing activities such as yoga, socializing and crafting may delay memory impairment by reducing stress.
緊張會通過使頭腦里的海馬體以及與記憶有關的頭腦其他區域受到有害化學物質的沖蝕而產生負面的影響。某些科學家認為，和諧的生活方式和從事輕松的活動，如瑜伽，社交活動和工藝制作活動，可能會因減少緊張而延遲記憶障礙。
Skip the supplements 不要去服用補充品
Supplements have been getting a bad rap recently, with even the familiar multivitamin now looking like a waste of money — or worse. Brain pills, such as ginkgo and melatonin, likely belong in the trash as well. Despite their "natural" origins, they are not free of potential side effects, such as high blood pressure, digestion trouble, fertility problems and depression. And among healthy individuals, ginkgo offers no brain benefits beyond that of a placebo. (In some cases, the placebo worked better.)
補充品最近聲名狼藉，即使是我們所熟悉的多種維生素，現在看起來也是在浪費金錢或者更糟。腦丸，如銀杏、褪黑激素(melatonin，松果體素俗稱為腦白金) 可能也屬于此類垃圾。盡管它們來源于“自然界”，但它們不能擺脫潛在的副作用，如高血壓，消化麻煩，生育問題和抑郁癥等。在健康的人群中，銀杏對大腦不能提供比安慰劑有更多的好處。（在某些情況下，安慰劑甚至還更有效一些。）
Tease your brain 梳理你的大腦
Whether crossword puzzles, sudokus and other brain teasers actually keep your brain in shape, has not been well-established. However, lack of education is a strong predictor of cognitive decline. The more you've tried to learn, the better you'll be at mental sit-ups in old age. The key may be tackling something new; the challenge of the unknown is likely more beneficial than putting together the same jigsaw puzzle over and over again.
無論是填字游戲、九宮格游戲和使其他使腦筋急轉彎的活動，其實是在保持你的大腦處于良好的狀態，可是一直沒有很好地建立起來。然而，缺乏教育會強有力地預示著認知功能的衰退。你越是努力學習，就會更好地幫助你在年老時，精神上的“仰臥起坐”。關鍵在于盡可能去處理一些新問題; 挑戰未知的事物，很可能比一遍又一遍地做相同的拼圖游戲更為有益。
