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

Translator: 潘 可儿 Reviewer: Chak Lam Wan

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

如果我話畀你知

有一樣嘢，做咗可以即刻改善腦部

that would have an immediate, positive benefit for your brain

including your mood and your focus?

包括情緒同注意力

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

如果我又話畀你知呢樣嘢

效果持久，而且可以預防腦疾病

and protect your brain from different conditions

like depression, Alzheimer's disease or dementia.

例如抑鬱症或者腦退化

Would you do it?

你會唔會做？

Yes!

會！

I am talking about the powerful effects of physical activity.

我係講緊運動帶來嘅好處

Simply moving your body,

只要郁動一下

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

就可以即時、成世噉

And that can last for the rest of your life.

保護你嘅腦部

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

我想同你講一個故仔

about how I used my deep understanding of neuroscience,

就係作為神經學教授嘅我

as a professor of neuroscience,

係點利用自己對神經科學嘅深入了解

to essentially do an experiment on myself

喺自己身上做實驗

in which I discovered the science underlying

同埋我點樣發現

why exercise is the most transformative thing

運動點解係

that you can do for your brain today.

最改變你嘅腦部嘅一樣嘢

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

作為一個神經學家

我知道，我哋嘅個頭裡邊嘅腦部係

that is the thing in our head right now,

that is the most complex structure known to humankind.

人類已知最複雜嘅結構

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

但係，討論個腦係一回事

and it's another to see it.

用眼望住個腦又係另一回事

So here is a real preserved human brain.

呢個係一個真嘅人腦標本

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

我哋今日要討論佢嘅兩個重要部分

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

第一部分係你嘅額頭後邊嘅前額皮質

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

佢負責決策、注意力、反應同埋性格

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

第二部分係顳葉裏邊

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

腦部有一左一右兩個顳葉

and deep in the temporal lobe is a key structure

顳葉裡邊有個結構

critical for your ability

係同你嘅長期記憶力好關鍵

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

And that structure is called the hippocampus.

呢個結構叫海馬體

So I've always been fascinated with the hippocampus.

海馬體一直令我好著迷

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

點解一瞬間嘅事

say, your first kiss,

譬如你嘅初吻

or the moment your first child was born,

或者你第一個細路出世嗰時

can form a memory that has changed your brain,

可以形成一個成世、永遠嘅記憶

that lasts an entire lifetime?

而又可以改變你嘅腦部？

That's what I want to understand.

我就係想搞清呢樣嘢

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

我想喺啲人建立記憶嘅時候

in the hippocampus

記錄喺佢哋海馬體裏面

as subjects were forming new memories.

個別腦細胞嘅活動

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

同埋破解神經細胞之間

which is how neurons communicate with each other,

短暫脈衝嘅電流 即係神經之間溝通嘅嘢

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

係點樣令我哋可以形成新嘅記憶

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

幾年前 我做咗件喺科學界唔尋常嘅事

As a full professor of neural science,

我原本係一名神經學嘅正教授

I decided to completely switch my research program.

但係我決定徹底轉換我嘅研究方向

Because I encountered something that was so amazing,

因為我遇到咗一啲奇妙嘅

with the potential to change so many lives

可能改變好多人生命嘅嘢

that I had to study it.

所以我決定研究佢

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

我無意中 發現同親身體驗咗

And I did it in a completely inadvertent way.

運動帶畀腦部嘅改變

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

其實我當時正喺記憶研究嘅高峯

data was pouring in,

數據不斷咁入嚟

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

我開始喺我嘅研究領域出名

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

事業都可以話如日方中

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

但係我一行出實驗室

I noticed something.

我就發現

I had no social life.

自己毫無社交生活

I spent too much time listening to those brain cells

我用咗太多嘅時間

in a dark room, by myself.

自己一個人喺黑房度研究腦細胞

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

I didn't move my body at all.

我好少運動

I had gained 25 pounds.

我肥咗二十五磅

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

仲係講緊我幾年之後先至意識到肥咗

I was actually miserable.

自己當時真係覺得好慘

And I shouldn't be miserable.

其實我唔應該覺得好慘

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

我自己一個人去參加激流划艇 因為我冇朋友

And I came back --

返嚟之後

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

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

我心諗：「天啊， 成個激流划艇最孱就係我啦。」

And I came back with a mission.

我下定決心，我話︰

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

「我唔會再做漂流旅行團裡邊

on a river-rafting trip again."

最孱嘅人。」

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

所以我去咗健身房健身

And I focused my type-A personality

我上各種嘅健身堂嗰陣

on going to all the exercise classes at the gym.

我都留意著我嘅 A 型性格

I tried everything.

我咩都試暈晒

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

搏擊、跳舞、瑜伽、步態

and at first it was really hard.

一開始好辛苦

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

但係我發覺每次流好多汗之後

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

我嘅心情變返好好，人有返活力

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

於是乎我繼續去健身

Well, I started feeling stronger.

開始覺得身體強咗

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

自我感覺好咗 仲減埋嗰 25 磅㖭

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

堅持咗健身一年半之後

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

我注意到一樣嘢

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

我坐喺度寫研究經費申請時

我有咗一個

and a thought went through my mind

我從未有過嘅諗法

that had never gone through my mind before.

And that thought was,

就係

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

「咦，今日嘅經費申請寫得好順喎。」

And all the scientists --

所有嘅研究人員聽到…

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

係啊，所有嘅研究人員聽到都笑

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

because grant-writing never goes well.

因為經費申請好難做

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

你要諗出嗰個價值百萬美金嘅課題

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

諗到甩晒啲頭髮

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

我發現我嘅經費申請

because I was able to focus and maintain my attention

之所以寫得好順利

for longer than I had before.

係因為我比以前專注咗好多

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

而我嘅長期記憶 亦即係我研究嘅課題

seemed to be better in me.

亦都好似好咗

And that's when I put it together.

我將全部嘢擺埋一齊來諗

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

我做嘅運動可能

was changing my brain.

喺度改變緊我嘅腦部

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

不知不覺，我喺自己身上做咗個實驗

So as a curious neuroscientist,

身為一個好奇嘅神經學家

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

我去查關於

about the effects of exercise on the brain.

運動對腦部影響嘅文獻

And what I found was an exciting and a growing literature

我搵到愈嚟愈多文獻

that was essentially showing everything that I noticed in myself.

驗證咗我喺自己身上體驗到嘅嘢︰

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

心情變好，能量增加 記憶變好，注意力增加

And the more I learned,

我越知得多

the more I realized how powerful exercise was.

就越覺得運動嘅力量大

Which eventually led me to the big decision

因此我做咗一個重大決定

to completely shift my research focus.

就係徹底改變自己嘅研究方向

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

宜家，經過幾年研究

I've come to the following conclusion:

我得出呢個結論：

that exercise is the most transformative thing

運動最能夠改變你嘅腦部

that you can do for your brain today

for the following three reasons.

有以下三個原因︰

Number one: it has immediate effects on your brain.

第一，運動即刻對你嘅腦部起到作用

A single workout that you do

一次運動就會立即提高神經遞質嘅分泌

will immediately increase levels of neurotransmitters

like dopamine, serotonin and noradrenaline.

譬如多巴胺、血清素、去甲腎上腺素

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

令到你嘅心情馬上變靚

exactly what I was feeling.

我就有呢種感覺喇

My lab showed that a single workout

我嘅實驗室證明

can improve your ability to shift and focus attention,

一次運動就可以

提高你轉移注意力 同集中注意力嘅能力

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

而呢個效果至少可以保持兩粒鐘

And finally, studies have shown

最後，研究仲發現

that a single workout will improve your reaction times

一次運動就可以縮短你嘅反應時間

which basically means

即係話

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

你可以更快咁接住 一隻就快要跌落地嘅星巴克杯

that falls off the counter,

which is very, very important.

好緊要嘎

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

但係呢啲好處唔長久

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

What you have to do is do what I did,

所以你需要好似我噉

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

改變自己嘅運動習慣

提高心肺功能

to get the long-lasting effects.

來令到個效果得以長久

And these effects are long-lasting

至於持續噉做運動之所以有長期嘅效果

because exercise actually changes the brain's anatomy,

係因為佢會改變腦部嘅構造

physiology and function.

生理機能同功能

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

或者由我最鍾意嘅海馬體講起

The hippocampus --

海馬體…

or exercise actually produces brand new brain cells,

運動其實會促使海馬體製造新嘅腦細胞

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

啲新嘅腦細胞仲會變大

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

使到你嘅長期記憶增強

And that including in you and me.

對你同我都係

Number two: the most common finding in neuroscience studies,

第二，神經學兩個經常發現嘅嘢係

looking at effects of long-term exercise,

長期運動

is improved attention function dependent on your prefrontal cortex.

會增強前額皮質嘅注意力功能

You not only get better focus and attention,

噉唔單止改善你嘅注意力

but the volume of the hippocampus increases as well.

海馬體仲會變大

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

而且，運動唔單止令你短期有好心情

but those last for a long time.

仲會長期都有好心情㖭

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

所以長遠嚟講 快樂情緒嘅神經遞質就會多咗

But really, the most transformative thing that exercise will do

但其實，運動最重要嘅一點係

is its protective effects on your brain.

佢可以保護你嘅腦部

Here you can think about the brain like a muscle.

你可以將腦部諗成一舊肌肉

The more you're working out,

你運動越多

the bigger and stronger your hippocampus and prefrontal cortex gets.

你嘅海馬體同前額皮質 就會變得更強更大

Why is that important?

點解呢個重要？

Because the prefrontal cortex and the hippocampus

因為前額皮質同海馬體

are the two areas that are most susceptible to neurodegenerative diseases

係兩個最容易發生病變

and normal cognitive decline in aging.

同衰退嘅區域

So with increased exercise over your lifetime,

如果你成世人多啲運動

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

雖然唔會醫好失智或者阿爾茲海默症

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

但係你會

the strongest, biggest hippocampus and prefrontal cortex

強化你嘅海馬體同前額皮質

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

令到呢啲區域冇咁容易有呢啲病

You can think of exercise, therefore,

你可以將運動諗成一個

as a supercharged 401K for your brain, OK?

你幫你個腦設立嘅福利投資計劃

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

甚至比嗰個仲好 因為你連錢都唔使放入去

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

宜家有人會問

"That sounds so interesting, Wendy,

「Wendy，你嘅演講好有趣，

but I really will only want to know one thing.

但係我凈係想知道一件事，

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

有效果嘅最小運動量係咩？」

I need to get all these changes."

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

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

我嘅答案就係

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

好消息先

你唔洗去練三項鐵人

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

關鍵係每個星期運動三至四次

minimum 30 minutes an exercise session,

每次至少半粒鐘

and you want to get aerobic exercise in.

要做提高你心率嘅有氧運動

That is, get your heart rate up.

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

仲有就係

to get a very expensive gym membership.

你唔洗買好貴嘅健身計劃

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

你只要喺屋企附近快步行多個圈

You see stairs -- take stairs.

見到樓梯，就行樓梯

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

喺屋企做真空收腹練習 同去做有氧操一樣有用

that you were going to take at the gym.

So I've gone from memory pioneer

我由記憶研究嘅先驅

to exercise explorer.

變成研究運動嘅人

From going into the innermost workings of the brain,

由研究腦部最深處

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

到發掘運動點樣改善腦部功能

and my goal in my lab right now

宜家，我嘅研究目標

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

係研究比啱啱同你哋講嘅嘢 更加深入嘅嘢

three to four times a week, 30 minutes.

而唔係頭先講到 「每個星期三至四次每次半粒鐘」嘅嘢

I want to understand the optimum exercise prescription

我要研究嘅

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

係點樣針對你嘅年齡、體魄、基因

for your genetic background,

去制訂運動方案

to maximize the effects of exercise today

來達到最大嘅效果

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

來改善你腦部嘅功能

for the rest of your life.

同埋來終生保護你個腦部

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

但係，講同做係兩回事

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

亦因為我係個持牌嘅健身教練

to ask you all to stand up.

我想叫你哋宜家企起身…

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

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

我哋就做一分鐘嘅健身

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

我講咩，你就做咩

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

記得唔好打到隔籬左右

Music!

音樂！

(Upbeat music)

（節奏感嘅音樂）

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

5,6,7,8 右，左，右，左

And I say, I am strong now.

講：「我依家好強壯喇。」

Let's hear you.

一齊講

Audience: I am strong now.

觀眾：我依家好強壯喇

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

講者︰各位女士講，我係女超人

Let's hear you!

一齊講！

Audience: I am Wonder Woman-strong.

觀眾：我係女超人

講者︰大聲啲講！

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

新動作，左勾拳，右勾拳

I am inspired now. You say it!

我受到鼓舞！！講！

Audience: I am inspired now.

觀眾：我受到鼓舞！

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

講者︰最後一個動作，拉落來 右，左，右，左

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

我依家好興！講

Audience: I am on fire now.

觀眾：我依家好興！

WS: And done! OK, good job!

講者︰搞掂！做得好！

(Applause)

（掌聲）

Thank you.

多謝

I want to leave you with one last thought.

我想同你哋分享最後一樣嘢

And that is, bringing exercise in your life

就係，將運動融入你嘅生活

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

噉唔單會令你心情更好、免疫力更強

but it will protect your brain from incurable diseases.

仲會令你腦部遠離不治之症

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

令你嘅生活變得更好

for the better.

Thank you very much.

多謝

(Applause)

（掌聲）

Thank you.

多謝

(Applause)

（掌聲）