TED | 运动为大脑带来的益处

演讲精彩片段（节选）欣赏

Better mood, better energy, better memory, better attention. And the more I learned, the more I realized how powerful exercise was. Which eventually led me to the big decision to completely shift my research focus. And so now, after several years of really focusing on this question, I’ve come to the following conclusion: that exercise is the most transformative thing that you can do for your brain today for the following three reasons.

更好的心情、更高的能量、更好的记忆、更佳的注意力。我学得越多，我就越能了解运动有多强大。最终，这导致了我做出重大决定，完全转变我的研究重心。所以，在真正投入这个问题几年后，我得到了下列的结论：在现今你能做的所有事情当中，运动最能改变你的大脑，理由是以下三个。

Number one: it has immediate effects on your brain. A single workout that you do will immediately increase levels of neurotransmitters like dopamine, serotonin and noradrenaline. That is going to increase your mood right after that workout, exactly what I was feeling. My lab showed, that a single workout can improve your ability to shift and focus attention, and that focus improvement will last for at least two hours. And finally, studies have shown that a single workout will improve your reaction times which basically means that you are going to be faster at catching that cup of Starbucks that falls off the counter, which is very, very important.

第一：运动对你的大脑有立即的效应。你做的每一次运动，都会立即增加神经传递质的量，如多巴胺、血清素、正肾上腺素。这会在你运动之后马上提升你的心情，那正是我的感受。我的实验室显示，单一次运动就能改善你转移和聚焦的能力，而那专注的改善会持续至少两个小时。最后，研究显示，单一次运动就会改善你的反应时间，基本上，那就表示如果一杯星巴克咖啡从柜台滑落，你能更快速接住它，这点是非常非常重要的。

But these immediate effects are transient,they help you right after. What you have to do is do what I did, that is change your exercise regime, increase your cardiorespiratory function, to get the long-lasting effects. And these effects are long-lasting because exercise actually changes the brain’s anatomy, physiology and function. Let’s start with my favorite brain area, the hippocampus. The hippocampus - or exercise actually produces brand new brain cells, new brain cells in the hippocampus, that actually increase its volume, as well as improve your long-term memory,OK? And that including in you and me.

但这些立即的效应很短暂，在运动刚结束时帮助你。你们得要做我所做的，也就是改变你的运动规律，增加你的心肺功能，才能得到持久的效应。这些效应之所以能持久，是因为运动确实能改变大脑的结构、生理机能，以及功能。我们从我最爱的大脑区域海马体开始。海马体──运动确实能制造出全新的脑细胞，海马体中新的脑细胞能增加容积，还能改善你的长期记忆。对你我皆是如此。

Number two: the most common finding in neuroscience studies, looking at effects of long-term exercise, is improved attention function dependent or your prefrontal cortex. You not only get better focus and attention, but the volume of the hippocampus increases as well. And finally, you not only get immediate effects of mood with exercise but those last for a long time. So you get long-lasting increases in those good mood neurotransmitters.

第二：在神经科学研究中最常见的研究发现，在长期运动的效应这方面，就是改善注意力功能，而这功能取决于你的前额叶皮质。你不但会有更佳的专注和注意力，海马体的容量也会增加。最后，你做运动会得到的不只是心情上的立即效应，还会有长期的效应。所以，你的好心情神经传递质就能得持续增加。

But really, the most transformative thing that exercise will do is its protective effects on your brain. Here you can think about the brain like a muscle. The more you're working out, the bigger and stronger your hippocampus and prefrontal cortex gets. Why is that important? Because the prefrontal cortex and the hippocampus are the two areas that are most susceptible to neurodegenerative diseases and normal cognitive decline in aging.

但其实，运动能带来最大的转变，就是对大脑产生保护效应。可以把大脑想成是肌肉。你运动得越多，你的海马体和前额叶皮质就会更大、更强壮。为什么那很重要？因为前额叶皮质和海马体这两个区域最容易因神经退化性疾病和老化而使得正常认知退化。

So with increased exercise over your lifetime, you’ re not going to cure dementia or Alzheimer’s disease, but what you’re going to do is you’re going to create the strongest, biggest hippocampus and prefrontal cortex so it takes longer for these diseases to actually have an effect. You can think of exercise, therefore, as a supercharged 401K for your brain, OK? And it’s even better, because it’s free.

在你的一生中增加运动并不能治愈失智症或阿兹海默症，但能创造出最强壮、最大的海马体和前额叶皮质，所以这些疾病要更长的时间才会对你产生实际的影响。因此，你可以把运动想成是大脑的加强版401K退休福利计划。它还更好，因为它是免费的。