看看你的生活习惯是健脑还是伤脑

SITTING STILL: DRAIN

坐着保持不动：让大脑变得更迟钝

“When we sit for long periods (more than three hours), our inactivity leads to reduced blood flow to the brain and less oxygenation and nutrient supply,” says Dr Jenny Brockis, author of Future Brain: The 12 Keys to Create Your High-Performance Brain.

《未来大脑：十二大方法打造高效大脑》的作者杰尼.布罗基斯博士称：“坐着不动超过三小时，就会导致流向大脑的血液减少，从而使所需的氧气和营养供应匮乏。”

“This leads to reduced brain activity in the part of the brain we use for heavy-duty thinking, planning, -organising and decision-making.”

“这会导致高压下思考、谋划、组织和决策的大脑区域的活动量下降。”

ACTION: Take brain breaks by getting up to stretch and move around every 30 minutes. The new FitBit Alta monitors your movements and prompts you to move.

建议：每半小时起身伸展身体，四处走动，让大脑得以休息调整。可以使用Fitbit Alta 智能手环监测督促自己的行动。

STAYING CURIOUS: BOOSTER

保持好奇心：让大脑变得更敏锐

Learning new skills leads to better neuroplasticity - the brain’s ability to form new connections between existing neurons, explains Dr Brockis.

布罗基斯博士对此做出了解释，学习新技能可增强神经可塑性-指大脑在现有神经元之间形成新连接的一种能力。

“It used to be thought we only had a short period of relative plasticity in early childhood.”

“人们过去认为我们只在幼儿早期的一小段时间里才有相对可塑性。”

But although our brain’s plasticity does decline with age, we don’t lose it.”

“然而，尽管随着年龄的增长，我们的可塑性有所下降，但它没有完全消失。”

ACTION : Why not take up a musical instrument or an evening class?

建议：为什么不去学习一种乐器或去夜校上课呢？

FAST FOOD: DRAIN

快餐：让大脑变得更迟钝

“The quickest way to stuff up our brains is to stuff our bodies with fast food,” says Dr Brockis.

布罗斯基说，“用快餐填满肚子是让我们大脑堵塞的最快方法。”

“Too much sugar, trans fat and salt leads to greater inflammation and brain shrinkage.”

“快餐里包含太多的糖分、反式脂肪和盐，这会导致大脑炎症和大脑萎缩。”

ACTION: Eat fresh and uNPRocessed foods as much as you can.

建议：尽可能多吃新鲜和未经加工的食品。

GOOD QUALITY SLEEP: BOOSTER

高质量睡眠：让大脑变得更敏锐

“Studies have shown being deprived of sleep for 24 hours decreases memory and concentration,” says Dr Michael Wasserman of the American Geriatric Society. “But regular, restful sleep improves memory.”

美国老年协会的迈克尔.沃瑟曼博士说，“研究表明24个小时不睡觉会降低人的记忆力和集中力，但有规律的安稳睡眠能提高记忆力。”

Scientists think that while asleep, we shift recent experiences over to more efficient storage regions in the brain where they become long-term memories.

科学家认为在睡眠中，我们会将最近的经历转移到大脑有效存储区，从而变为长期记忆。

It’s how we learn and remember facts and skills.

我们正是通过此种方式学习和记忆知识与技能。

ACTION : Try and get to bed before midnight and aim for 7-8 hours kip.

建议：争取在半夜12点前上床睡觉，保证每天7-8个小时睡眠时间。

“Minding your mind includes minding your weight,” says Dr Brockis. “Obesity shrinks the brain and is also a risk factor for cognitive decline.” Studies have shown having more fat tissue leads to a greater release of cytokines, messenger proteins that contribute to greater brain atrophy (decline) in areas linked with executive function, learning and memory.”

超重：让大脑变得更迟钝

BEING OVERWEIGHT: DRAIN

布罗基斯说，“想让大脑变得更聪明还要懂得控制自己的体重。过度肥胖会造成脑萎缩，还极有可能导致认知能力下降。”研究表明，脂肪组织越多，释放出细胞因子和蛋白质信使也越多，而这两种物质会导致与执行功能、学习和记忆能力相关的大脑区域脑萎缩。

ACTION: See your GP about losing some weight if you are obese.

建议：如果你过度肥胖，要在医生的指导下减肥。

CROSSWORDS BY THE CLOCK: BOOSTER

计时填字游戏：让大脑变得更敏锐

You’ve probably read how doing puzzles can help keep your brain young.

你或许已经阅读过如何通过益智游戏来保持大脑活力。高速运转。

But if you want to stoke up synapses, get out the stopwatch.

但如果你想建立更多的神经突触，拿出你的秒表开始计时。

“Studies have found timed tests train your brain to work quickly,” says Dr Wasserman.

沃瑟曼医生说：“研究发现，计时测试能加速大脑运转。”

ACTION : “Try timing ?yourself when you solve a crossword or Sudoku,” he adds. “You’ll get faster and even eliminate that tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon (where you can describe a word but can’t remember it).”

建议：“试着在做填字和数独游戏的时候给自己计时。”他补充道。“你会思考得更快，还可能彻底告别欲言难吐的情况，就是你可以描述这个词，但就是不记得确切说法。”

DRINKING ALCOHOL REGULARLY: DRAIN

时常饮酒：让大脑变得更迟钝

Regular drinking lowers the levels of serotonin in your brain and can lead to depression, says Dr Sarah Jarvis, GP and medical adviser to alcohol -education charity Drinkaware.

Drinkaware协会（一家传播酒精知识的慈善机构）的医学顾问、家庭医生萨拉.贾维斯认为，经常饮酒会降低大脑的血清素含量，易导致抑郁。

“Drinking heavily over a long period of time can also have long-term effects on memory,” she adds. “Even on days when you don’t drink, recalling what you did yesterday, or where you have been earlier that day, is difficult.”

她补充说：“长时间饮酒过量也会对记忆力产生长期影响，即使白天不喝酒时，也很难记起昨天干了什么，或几个小时前去过哪儿。”

ACTION: Many medical experts recommend taking regular days off from drinking to ensure you don’t become addicted. However, it’s important not to assume that taking a break means it’s OK to drink to excess the rest of the time.

建议：许多医学专家建议定期禁酒，以免上瘾。不过需要注意的是，定期禁酒并不意味着可以在其他时候无节制地喝酒。

AEOBIC EXERCISE: BOOSTER

有氧运动：让大脑变得更敏锐

Besides increasing blood flow, exercise leads to an increase in the BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor) our brain secretes, says Dr Brockis. BDNF has been dubbed Miracle-Gro for brains as it helps grow and strengthen them, allowing us to learn and remember information better.

布洛克斯医生称，运动除了可以提高血流量外，还能提高大脑分泌物中脑源性神经营养因子（BDNF）的含量。BDNF素有大脑“美乐棵”之称，它能强健大脑，提高我们的学习和记忆能力。

ACTION: The best exercise for brains? “Anything that gets your heart rate up and makes you puff a bit,” says Dr Brockis. “A 30-minute plus session of aerobic exercise is ideal. Whether it’s walking, swimming, running, cycling, table tennis, kayaking, rugby or golf, the trick is to schedule it on a regular basis, start slow and gradually increase the number of sessions each week, and their duration.”

建议：想知道益于大脑的最佳运动？布洛克斯医生表示：“任何能够让你心跳和呼吸加速的运动都可以。最理想的是进行一组30分钟的有氧运动。慢步、游泳、跑步、骑车，划皮艇，或是打乒乓球、橄榄球、高尔夫，这些都可以，关键是要有规律，开始先慢慢来，之后逐渐增加每周的运动次数和时长。”

EATING SUGAR: DRAIN

吃糖：让大脑变得更迟钝

It’s tempting to reach for a can of cola or a bar of choc when your body and brain is flagging, but excess sugar is associated with obesity and Type 2 diabetes, both risk factors for cognitive decline and dementia, says Dr Brockis.

布洛克斯医生称，当身体和大脑感到疲惫时，人们常常想来听可乐，或吃块巧克力，但是过多摄入糖分容易诱发肥胖症和II型糖尿病，这两者都易导致认知能力下降和痴呆。

“Plus, animal studies have shown that adolescents who drink sugar-sweetened drinks daily show increased inflammation of the hippocampus, the area of the brain associated with learning and memory, leading to an impaired ability to remember,” she says.

“此外，动物研究报告表明，每天都喝含糖饮料的青少年，海马体的发炎概率会上升，进而导致记忆力受损。海马体是大脑中负责学习和记忆的区域。”

ACTION: Boost your glucose levels (and cognitive stamina) with the carbohydrates found in fruit and vegetables instead, says Dr Brockis. “Eating a small banana will do the trick, as will snacking on blueberries, shown to boost memory and concentration for up to five hours.”

建议：布洛克斯医生建议说，可以通过摄入水果和蔬菜中的碳水化合物提高体内的葡萄糖含量（和认知能力）。“研究表明，正如蓝莓可以增强记忆，让人的注意力集中长达5小时，香蕉也有这样的效果。”