Wendy Suzuki: The brain-changing benefits of exercise | TED

翻译人员: GGrace Bai 校对人员: Wenqing Jia

What if I told you there was something that you can do right now

如果我告诉你有件事你马上去做的话

that would have an immediate, positive benefit for your brain

就会对你的大脑，包括情绪和专注力

including your mood and your focus?

立刻产生积极作用？

And what if I told you that same thing could actually last a long time

如果我告诉你它可长期维持

and protect your brain from different conditions

并保护你的大脑免受

like depression, Alzheimer's disease or dementia.

如抑郁、老年痴呆或是失智症等 不同病况的侵袭。

Would you do it?

你会愿意去做这件事吗？

Yes!

愿意！

I am talking about the powerful effects of physical activity.

我所说的就是体育运动的强大效果。

Simply moving your body,

简单地让你的身体动起来，

has immediate, long-lasting and protective benefits for your brain.

就能够对你的大脑产生 即时的和长期的保护功效。

And that can last for the rest of your life.

而且可以持续一生的时间。

So what I want to do today is tell you a story

所以我今天想要分享一个故事，

about how I used my deep understanding of neuroscience,

关于我如何使用 我所深度理解的神经科学，

as a professor of neuroscience,

作为一名神经科学教授，

to essentially do an experiment on myself

我在自己身上做了一项实验，

in which I discovered the science underlying

在这个实验中我发现了

why exercise is the most transformative thing

为什么运动最易转化成

that you can do for your brain today.

对你的大脑有益的东西。

Now, as a neuroscientist, I know that our brains,

作为一名神经科学家， 我知道我们的大脑，

that is the thing in our head right now,

就是我们脑袋中的东西，

that is the most complex structure known to humankind.

是对人类所知的最为复杂的结构。

But it's one thing to talk about the brain,

但是谈论大脑，

and it's another to see it.

和亲眼看到它是两件事。

So here is a real preserved human brain.

这是一个真实保存的人类大脑。

And it's going to illustrate two key areas that we are going to talk about today.

它会展示我们今天所要讨论的 两个关键部分。

The first is the prefrontal cortex, right behind your forehead,

第一部分是前额皮层， 就在你额头后面，

critical for things like decision-making, focus, attention and your personality.

对做决定、专注力、注意力及性格等 至关重要。

The second key area is located in the temporal lobe, shown right here.

第二个重要的区域是在颞叶， 右边这里。

You have two temporal lobes in your brain, the right and the left,

在大脑里有两个颞叶， 右边一个左边一个，

and deep in the temporal lobe is a key structure

在颞叶深处有一个非常关键的结构

critical for your ability

它对你的能力至关重要

to form and retain new long-term memories for facts and events.

能够形成和保存对事实、事件的 长期记忆。

And that structure is called the hippocampus.

它被称作海马体。

So I've always been fascinated with the hippocampus.

我一直对海马体非常着迷。

How could it be that an event that lasts just a moment,

一件短暂的事情，

say, your first kiss,

比如说，你的初吻，

or the moment your first child was born,

或者你第一个孩子诞生的时刻，

can form a memory that has changed your brain,

如何形成一个能够改变你的大脑

that lasts an entire lifetime?

且持续终生的记忆？

That's what I want to understand.

这是我想要去弄明白的。

I wanted to start and record the activity of individual brain cells

我想要去开始记录

当形成新的记忆的时候

in the hippocampus

海马体中每个单独细胞活动。

as subjects were forming new memories.

And essentially try and decode how those brief bursts of electrical activity,

从本质上尝试解码 这些电流活动的短暂爆发，

which is how neurons communicate with each other,

这是神经元相互交流的方式，

how those brief bursts either allowed us to form a new memory, or did not.

这些短暂的爆发或让我们 形成一段新的记忆，或没有。

But a few years ago, I did something very unusual in science.

但是几年之前， 我做了一些科学界中很少见的实验。

As a full professor of neural science,

作为一个神经科学的全职教授，

I decided to completely switch my research program.

我决定完全扭转我的研究计划。

Because I encountered something that was so amazing,

因为我遇到了如此神奇的事物，

with the potential to change so many lives

它有可能改变众多人的生命

that I had to study it.

我必须要去研究它。

I discovered and I experienced the brain-changing effects of exercise.

我发现并亲身经历了 运动对大脑的改变。

And I did it in a completely inadvertent way.

而且是一种完全 "无心插柳柳成荫"的方式。

I was actually at the height of all the memory work that I was doing --

事实上当时我正处于 所有记忆工作的最高点——

data was pouring in,

数据如潮水般涌入，

I was becoming known in my field for all of this memory work.

因为记忆研究工作, 我在那一领域正在声名鹊起。

And it should have been going great. It was, scientifically.

它可以变得更出色， 从科学角度来讲，它正是如此。

But when I stuck my head out of my lab door,

但当我在实验室外时，

I noticed something.

我注意到一件事，

I had no social life.

那就是我没有社交生活。

I spent too much time listening to those brain cells

我花费了太多时间倾听那些脑细胞上

in a dark room, by myself.

在黑暗的屋子里，独自一人。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

I didn't move my body at all.

我完全不运动。

I had gained 25 pounds.

我已经长胖了25磅。

And actually, it took me many years to realize it,

事实上，我花费了很多年 才意识到这个问题。

I was actually miserable.

我当时是很糟糕的，

And I shouldn't be miserable.

而我本不该如此。

And I went on a river-rafting trip -- by myself, because I had no social life.

我自己一个人去做了一次漂流， 因为我没朋友啊。

And I came back --

然后当我回来后——

(Laughter)

（笑声）

thinking, "Oh, my God, I was the weakest person on that trip."

想着，“天哪， 我是那趟旅程最弱的一个。”

And I came back with a mission.

我回来后给自己下了一个任务。

I said, "I'm never going to feel like the weakest person

我对自己说，“我再也不要这种感受， 再也不要做

on a river-rafting trip again."

一个漂流之中最弱的那个。“

And that's what made me go to the gym.

这个想法促使我走进了健身房。

And I focused my type-A personality

我的A型人格促使我

on going to all the exercise classes at the gym.

尝试了健身房所有运动。

I tried everything.

我尝试了一切。

I went to kickbox, dance, yoga, step class,

我做了拳击训练，舞蹈，瑜伽， 踏步教程，

and at first it was really hard.

开始的时候确实很难。

But what I noticed is that after every sweat-inducing workout that I tried,

但我注意到每一次汗水挥洒后，

I had this great mood boost and this great energy boost.

我的情绪都变得非常好， 精力也更好。

And that's what kept me going back to the gym.

那促使我一直不断走进健身房。

Well, I started feeling stronger.

然后我开始感受到自己变得强壮。

I started feeling better, I even lost that 25 pounds.

我感受非常好， 甚至还减掉了那25磅。

And now, fast-forward a year and a half into this regular exercise program

现在，自我经常去参加运动后 已经一年半过去了，

and I noticed something that really made me sit up and take notice.

我注意到有些东西 值得我坐下来记录。

I was sitting at my desk, writing a research grant,

当时我正坐在桌旁， 写着一份研究基金申请，

and a thought went through my mind

一个想法突然从脑海冒出来，

that had never gone through my mind before.

此前我从未这样想过。

And that thought was,

这个想法就是，

"Gee, grant-writing is going well today."

“天哪， 申请材料今天写的很顺利嘛。”

And all the scientists --

所有的科学家——

(Laughter)

（笑声）

yeah, all the scientists always laugh when I say that,

对，所有科学家都会在 我这样说的时候大笑，

because grant-writing never goes well.

因为基金申请写作从来都不好写。

It is so hard; you're always pulling your hair out,

它太难了，你总是绞尽脑汁，

trying to come up with that million-dollar-winning idea.

试图想出能够赢得百万美金的想法。

But I realized that the grant-writing was going well,

但我意识到那次写作很顺利，

because I was able to focus and maintain my attention

因为我能够专注地保持我的注意力

for longer than I had before.

比以前时间都要久。

And my long-term memory -- what I was studying in my own lab --

我的长期记忆—— 就是我实验室里研究的东西

seemed to be better in me.

显示也更好了。

And that's when I put it together.

从那时起我将它们联系在一起。

Maybe all that exercise that I had included and added to my life

或许我所有的运动

was changing my brain.

都在改变我的大脑。

Maybe I did an experiment on myself without even knowing it.

或许我在自己没有意识到的情况下 对我自己进行了一项实验。

So as a curious neuroscientist,

作为一个好奇的神经学家，

I went to the literature to see what I could find about what we knew

我去文献里面查找现有已知的

about the effects of exercise on the brain.

关于运动对于大脑的影响。

And what I found was an exciting and a growing literature

我发现一项让人欣喜的且正在增长的 文献记载

that was essentially showing everything that I noticed in myself.

记载了几乎所有发生在我身上的事

Better mood, better energy, better memory, better attention.

更好的情绪、精力、记忆力和 专注力。

And the more I learned,

我所了解越多，

the more I realized how powerful exercise was.

我就越认识到运动的魅力，

Which eventually led me to the big decision

这也指引我做了一个重大决定

to completely shift my research focus.

来完全扭转我的研究方向。

And so now, after several years of really focusing on this question,

现在，经过几年对 这个问题的专注研究，

I've come to the following conclusion:

我得到了以下结论：

that exercise is the most transformative thing

运动是当下你所能做的对大脑最好的

that you can do for your brain today

最具转化性的东西，

for the following three reasons.

有以下三个原因：

Number one: it has immediate effects on your brain.

原因一：它对你的大脑有 立刻的影响。

A single workout that you do

你所做的每一点运动

will immediately increase levels of neurotransmitters

都会立刻提升你神经递质的水平

like dopamine, serotonin and noradrenaline.

像是海马体、血清素和 去甲肾上腺素。

That is going to increase your mood right after that workout,

所以它会立马提升你的情绪，

exactly what I was feeling.

就像我所体会到的。

My lab showed that a single workout

我的实验显示，单个短暂的运动

can improve your ability to shift and focus attention,

可以提升你转移和集中注意力的能力，

and that focus improvement will last for at least two hours.

这种提升可以持续至少两个小时。

And finally, studies have shown

最后，研究还显示，

that a single workout will improve your reaction times

运动本身可以提高你的反应时间

which basically means

这意味着

that you are going to be faster at catching that cup of Starbucks

你在接星巴克杯子的时候更迅速

that falls off the counter,

如果它掉下柜台的话，

which is very, very important.

这一点可以说是相当重要了。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

But these immediate effects are transient, they help you right after.

但是这些直接影响都是短暂的， 它们只能帮你一时。

What you have to do is do what I did,

你所需要做的是像我一样，

that is change your exercise regime, increase your cardiorespiratory function,

改变你的锻炼习惯， 增强你的心肺功能，

to get the long-lasting effects.

来取得长期的效果。

And these effects are long-lasting

这些效果之所以能够长期有用

because exercise actually changes the brain's anatomy,

是因为运动改变了大脑的解剖结构，

physiology and function.

生理机能和功能。

Let's start with my favorite brain area, the hippocampus.

让我们从我最喜欢的大脑区域开始， 海马体。

The hippocampus --

海马体——

or exercise actually produces brand new brain cells,

或者说是运动实际上 能够产生全新的脑细胞，

new brain cells in the hippocampus, that actually increase its volume,

海马体中的全新脑细胞能够增加它的数量，

as well as improve your long-term memory, OK?

同时提升你的长期记忆力。

And that including in you and me.

这些对你我都适用。

Number two: the most common finding in neuroscience studies,

原因二： 在神经科学研究中最常见的发现

looking at effects of long-term exercise,

是长期运动的影响

is improved attention function dependent on your prefrontal cortex.

它能够单独提升你的注意力 或是你的前额皮层。

You not only get better focus and attention,

你不仅能够得到更好的专注力，

but the volume of the hippocampus increases as well.

同时也增加了你的海马体数量。

And finally, you not only get immediate effects of mood with exercise

最后一点是你不仅能够 获得即时的愉悦心情

but those last for a long time.

这种情绪还能够维持较长的时间。

So you get long-lasting increases in those good mood neurotransmitters.

所以你获得的是能够长期存在的 情绪转化神经元。

But really, the most transformative thing that exercise will do

但实际上，运动所做的 最具变革意义的事情是

is its protective effects on your brain.

它对于大脑的保护作用。

Here you can think about the brain like a muscle.

你可以将大脑想象成是一块肌肉。

The more you're working out,

你运动的越多，

the bigger and stronger your hippocampus and prefrontal cortex gets.

你的海马体和前额皮层 就越大越强壮。

Why is that important?

为什么这一点很重要呢？

Because the prefrontal cortex and the hippocampus

因为前额皮层和海马体

are the two areas that are most susceptible to neurodegenerative diseases

是最易神经退化疾病影响的两个区域

and normal cognitive decline in aging.

并容易随着年龄增长认知能力下降。

So with increased exercise over your lifetime,

所以增加运动量，

you're not going to cure dementia or Alzheimer's disease,

你不仅能够预防痴呆和 阿兹海默综合症，

but what you're going to do is you're going to create

你更能够创造

the strongest, biggest hippocampus and prefrontal cortex

最强壮有力的海马体和前额皮层

so it takes longer for these diseases to actually have an effect.

所以能够更有效低于这些疾病。

You can think of exercise, therefore,

因此，你可以把运动想象成是

as a supercharged 401K for your brain, OK?

为你的大脑额外提供的401退休金计划， 对不对？

And it's even better, because it's free.

而且更棒的是，它是免费的。

So this is the point in the talk where everybody says,

所以重点来了，大家都会说，

"That sounds so interesting, Wendy,

“这听起来很不错啊，温蒂，

but I really will only want to know one thing.

但我事实上只想知道一件事。

And that is, just tell me the minimum amount of exercise

告诉我吧，运动的最低量是多少

I need to get all these changes."

如果我想要实现你所说的这些变化。“

(Laughter)

（笑声）

And so I'm going to tell you the answer to that question.

我马上就会给出答案。

First, good news: you don't have to become a triathlete to get these effects.

首先，好消息是：你不需要参加 铁人三项才能获得这些改变。

The rule of thumb is you want to get three to four times a week exercise

首要的原则是你需每周运动三到四次

minimum 30 minutes an exercise session,

每次最低30分钟，

and you want to get aerobic exercise in.

要包含有氧运动。

That is, get your heart rate up.

这样能够让你的心率加快。

And the good news is, you don't have to go to the gym

还有一个好消息是你不需要走进健身房

to get a very expensive gym membership.

来办一张昂贵的会员卡。

Add an extra walk around the block in your power walk.

在你能力范围内在周边街区多走一圈。

You see stairs -- take stairs.

如果见到台阶-就走走台阶。

And power-vacuuming can be as good as the aerobics class

这些能量的聚集和有氧课程是一样的

that you were going to take at the gym.

就像你在健身房上的一样。

So I've gone from memory pioneer

所以我从记忆先锋

to exercise explorer.

变成了运动探索者。

From going into the innermost workings of the brain,

从深入大脑内部的运作，

to trying to understand how exercise can improve our brain function,

到尝试了解运动 如何来提升大脑的性能，

and my goal in my lab right now

我现在的实验室目标是

is to go beyond that rule of thumb that I just gave you --

超越我刚刚所给你们的首要原则——

three to four times a week, 30 minutes.

每周三到四次大于30分钟。

I want to understand the optimum exercise prescription

我想要为你了解运动的最佳配方

for you, at your age, at your fitness level,

根据你们年龄，健身的情况，

for your genetic background,

以及基因背景，

to maximize the effects of exercise today

来实现当前运动效果的最大化

and also to improve your brain and protect your brain the best

同时为你的余生来提升

for the rest of your life.

和保护你的大脑。

But it's one thing to talk about exercise, and it's another to do it.

但是知易行难，

So I'm going to invoke my power as a certified exercise instructor,

所以让我来以一个 认证运动教练的身份来呼吁你们，

to ask you all to stand up.

请大家起身，

(Laughter)

（笑声）

We're going to do just one minute of exercise.

我们来做一个一分钟的运动。

It's call-and-response, just do what I do, say what I say,

名字叫“我说你应”， 请做我所做，说我所说，

and make sure you don't punch your neighbor, OK?

当然确保你不要打到邻座， 准备好了吗？

Music!

音乐!

(Upbeat music)

（欢快的音乐响起）

Five, six, seven, eight, it's right, left, right, left.

五六七八，右左右左。

And I say, I am strong now.

现在我要说，我很强壮。

Let's hear you.

请跟我重复。

Audience: I am strong now.

观众：我很强壮。

Wendy Suzuki: Ladies, I am Wonder Woman-strong.

女士们，我是神奇女侠。

Let's hear you!

请跟我重复。

Audience: I am Wonder Woman-strong.

观众：我是神奇女侠。

WS: New move -- uppercut, right and left.

新动作——勾拳，右左。

I am inspired now. You say it!

我激情澎湃。请跟我重复。

Audience: I am inspired now.

观众：我激情澎湃。

WS: Last move -- pull it down, right and left, right and left.

最后一个——往下走，右左，右左。

I say, I am on fire now! You say it.

我在燃烧！跟我重复。

Audience: I am on fire now.

观众：我在燃烧。

WS: And done! OK, good job!

好，做的很棒！

(Applause)

（掌声）

Thank you.

谢谢。

I want to leave you with one last thought.

我想要和你们分享最后一点心得。

And that is, bringing exercise in your life

把运动引入你的生活

will not only give you a happier, more protective life today,

不仅仅能够给你一个更开心的、 备受保护的当下生活，

but it will protect your brain from incurable diseases.

它还可以使你的大脑免受 无法治愈的疾病侵袭。

And in this way it will change the trajectory of your life

从而改变你人生的轨迹，

for the better.

让它变得更好。

Thank you very much.

非常感谢。

(Applause)

（掌声）

Thank you.

谢谢。

(Applause)

（掌声）