How Stress Drains Your Brain — and What To Do About It | Nicole Byers | TED

譯者: Lilian Chiu 審譯者: Adrienne Lin

I came home from vacation recently, jet-lagged, tired,

最近，我度假完返家時，

有時差，很疲憊，

after delayed flights and a lost bag,

經歷了班機延誤和行李遺失，

with my cranky preschooler

愛生氣的學齡前孩子 和我老公費力地跟在我身後，

and my husband trudging behind me,

and I forgot the code to my front door.

而我忘了前門的密碼。

We've lived in this house for seven years.

我們在這間房子住了七年。

I'd put the code in the door hundreds of times before.

我以前輸入過開門密碼數百次了。

And as I stood there, staring at the keypad, I thought,

當我站在那裡看著鍵盤時，我心想：

"Oh boy, I'm finally losing my mind."

「天啊，我終於神經錯亂了。」

Our brains have an incredible capacity to store memory,

我們的大腦有很不凡的能力 可以儲存記憶，

but not all of that information is accessible at once.

但不見得能同時一次 存取所有那些資訊。

An article in “Scientific America[n]” estimates

《科學人》上的一篇文章估計，

the human brain can store 2.5 million gigabytes of data.

人腦可儲存兩百五十萬 GB 的資料。

That's about 5,000 iPhones.

大約等同五千支 iPhone。

But if you've ever forgotten a password before,

但如果你以前曾經忘記過密碼，

you know that memory is not always easy to access

你就會知道記憶 不見得都很容易存取，

because memory is not just one system.

因為記憶並不只是一個系統。

Those different systems have limits,

那些不同的系統有所限制，

and a number of factors in our daily lives can impact our memory efficiency.

且我們日常生活中有許多因子 都會影響到我們記憶的效能。

There was a famous neuropsychology case study

有個著名的神經心理學個案研究，

of a patient referred to as patient HM,

研究對象被稱為病患 HM，

who became like a real-life Ten-Second Tom

為了治療癲癇接受腦部手術之後，

after brain surgery to treat a seizure disorder.

變成真實世界版的十秒湯姆 （註：電影角色）。

In terms of his seizures, the surgery was a success.

手術成功處理了癲癇的問題。

They were less severe and less frequent.

癲癇不那麼常發作， 發作也沒那麼嚴重。

But after his surgery,

但在手術後，

HM 變成無法有意識地學習新事物。

HM became unable to consciously learn new things.

For example, he worked with the same neuropsychologist for years.

比如，

他和同一位神經心理學家合作多年，

He never remembered meeting her,

他卻從來不記得見過她， 他每次都會自我介紹。

he’d introduce himself each time.

And he never remember doing the different tasks

他也從來不記得 她帶去考驗他記憶的各種測試。

that she would bring to test his memory.

But here's the interesting part.

但，有趣的部分是：

His performance got better on some of those tasks over time.

他在做某些測試的表現越做越好。

He never remember doing them.

他從來不記得做過這些測試， 總以為自己是第一次做，

He always thought he was doing them for the first time.

But his brain had learned the procedures without him being aware.

但在他沒有意識到的情況下， 他的大腦學起了這些程序。

We learned from patient HM and others like him

我們從病患 HM 和其他相似的人身上學到

that there are different types of memory.

記憶也分成不同類型。

Some memories come to mind almost automatically.

有些記憶幾乎是自動就會被想起來。

Like if you're walking through a garden and you smell the flowers

比如你走過花園，

聞到你奶奶以前 會放在她廚房桌上的花，

that your grandma used to keep on her kitchen table,

and all of a sudden, you're thinking of your favorite memory with your grandma.

突然間，你就會想著 你和奶奶最美好的記憶。

But other memories take more brainpower and effort to recall.

但其他記憶就需要 更多腦力和努力才能喚起。

Like trying to remember my new computer password.

比如試圖記起我電腦的新密碼。

Because some memories take more brainpower and effort to recall,

因為有些記憶需要 更多腦力和努力才能喚起，

they're also more prone to interference.

它們也更容易受到干擾。

You're at the grocery store,

你在雜貨店，試著記住 你要買的十樣東西是什麼。

and you’re trying to remember 10 things that you need to pick up.

But you run into your neighbor in the produce section,

但你在農產品區巧遇了你的鄰居，

and after a few minutes of chit chat, hearing about their new car,

你們聊了幾分鐘， 聽他們談新車的事之後，

you can only remember two of those 10 things.

你就只記得十樣東西中的兩樣了。

Even though our memory storage is pretty impressive --

雖然我們的記憶儲存量相當不得了，

等同於五千支 iPhone 的容量，

5,000 iPhones big --

the short-term memory that you're using to keep track of your grocery list

但你用來記錄購物清單的短期記憶

is more like seven, plus or minus two, bits of information.

大概只能存放五到九位元的資訊。

And it's really easy to throw that active short-term memory off track.

而且這種主動的短期記憶 很容易就會飄走。

The problem?

問題是什麼？

We live in a very distracting modern world.

我們生活在非常容易分心的現代世界。

You're at a meeting at work,

工作時，你在會議中， 試著記住你手上專案的所有細節，

and you're trying to remember all the details of a project

that you're working on

才能和你的團隊分享。

so that you can share it with your team.

但同時，你的大腦也在留意 你的同事說了什麼，

But at the same time,

your brain is paying attention to what your colleagues are saying,

trying to ignore all the email alerts popping up on your computer,

試圖忽略此時你電腦上 跳出來的電子郵件通知，

distracted by text messages from your family

你家人傳來問晚餐 吃什麼的訊息也讓你分心，

asking what's for dinner,

你還在想著他們能否快點休息一下，

and wondering if they're going to take a break soon

because you could really use some more coffee.

因為你真的需要再來點咖啡。

Ignoring all those distractions and competing priorities

忽略所有這些讓人分心的事物 並比較哪個該優先處理

takes up a lot of energy.

會消耗很大量的能量。

When our brains are juggling 400 things,

我們的大腦忙著處理四百件事情時，

we're more likely to make a memory error,

我們就很可能會犯一個記憶錯誤，

like forgetting a colleague’s name in a meeting

比如在會議上忘了同事的名字，

or missing a key part of your presentation,

或漏掉簡報很重要的一部分，

and then beating yourself up for the rest of the day

接著為了這個錯誤自責一整天。

for making that mistake.

Which brings us to another brain-draining habit

這就要帶到另一個 會讓人耗盡腦汁的習慣，

that can mess up your memory

它可能會搞亂你的記憶， 讓你更難記住你把鑰匙放在哪裡：

and make it hard to remember where you left your keys:

stress.

壓力。

Doesn't have to be huge or major stressors, either.

不見得要是很大的壓力源。

All those day-to-day stresses, pressures and deadlines take up brain space, too,

每天日常的壓力源和截止時間

也要佔用大腦空間，

and force our brain to do a bunch of mental multitasking.

並迫使我們的大腦 同時去處理很多事 。

Last summer, I locked myself in a stairwell twice in the same week

去年夏天，我把自己鎖在樓梯間裡，

發生過兩次，還發生在同一週，

because I was trying to do this mental multitasking.

因為當時我的大腦 同時在處理很多事。

I was packing up at the end of the day,

那天結束時我在收拾行李，同時，

and at the same time,

我還在想著明天要回覆的電話、

I was thinking about phone calls I needed to make tomorrow,

and ideas for a project that I was working on

我手上的專案、

and what I was going to make for supper that night

晚餐要做什麼來吃，

以及我要先接女兒還是先去採買雜物。

and whether I should pick up my daughter before or after I get groceries.

And I left my keys in my office.

我就把鑰匙留在辦公室了。

Twice in the same week.

同一週發生兩次。

Apparently, door locks aren't my thing.

顯然，門鎖不是我的強項。

An article from Queen's University estimates we have 6,200 thoughts each day.

皇后大學的一篇文章估計 我們每天會有六千兩百個想法。

That's a lot of potential for distractions.

有很多分心的可能性。

There was a study at the University of California

加州大學的一項研究發現 當我們被打斷時，

that found when we're interrupted, like with distractions or multitasking,

不論是被其他事物分心 或同時處理好幾件事，

we try to compensate by working faster.

我們的補償方式會是：試著做更快。

But this makes us feel more stressed.

但這會讓我們感到更大的壓力。

And as you can imagine, it's not very efficient.

各位可以想像， 那樣做的效率不會有多好。

We've all been in situations where we feel a bit stressed out

我們都有過這樣的經歷： 永無止境的待辦事項清單

and overwhelmed by our never-ending to do lists.

讓我們倍感壓力，好像無法招架。

Between emails and phone calls and Zoom meetings and project deadlines,

被電子郵件、電話、視訊會議， 和專案截止日期夾殺，

we’re coming home from work feeling tired, and our brains are burnt out.

我們下班回家後會很疲憊，

大腦也筋疲力盡了。

There was an article published in the journal “Science of Learning”

《學習的科學》期刊中 刊載的一篇文章指出

that showed stress not only impacts our memory retrieval,

壓力不僅會影響我們的記憶取回，

so it's hard to remember that door code when you need it,

也就是在需要記得 開門密碼時就想不起來，

stress also makes it hard for our brains to problem-solve

壓力也會讓我們的大腦 很難去解決問題，

and think of creative solutions,

以及想出有創意的解決方案，

like how I'm going to get into my house when I can't remember my door code.

比如當我想不起開門密碼時 我要如何進我的房子。

We know all those day-to-day stresses, pressures

我們都知道這些日常的壓力

and deadlines can mess up our memory.

和截止日期會擾亂我們的記憶。

But what about bigger stresses,

那麼，更大的壓力呢？

like the uncertainty and change of living through a multi-year pandemic,

比如度過多年疫情的不確定性和改變、

financial pressure, family stress?

財務壓力、家庭壓力？

These stresses drain brain resources, too,

這些壓力也會耗盡大腦資源，

making us more likely to make mistakes

讓我們更有可能會犯錯，

and making it harder to remember the things we need to remember.

也更難記住我們得要記住的事物。

So memory errors are normal,

所以，記憶錯誤是正常的，

especially when you’re tired, overworked

當你累了、過勞了， 或壓力過大時更會發生。

or stressed out.

That's great to know,

很高興能知道這些， 但假期結束時，我還是得進到家裡。

but I still need to get into my house at the end of my vacation.

遇到這種情況時，我們要如何 提升記憶力並幫腦細胞重新充電？

How do we boost our memory in these situations

and recharge those brain cells?

It's tempting to try and just think harder,

我們會很想試著更用力去回想，

but that doesn't always work.

但不見得都行得通。

Have you ever been trying to think of the name of a movie or an actor,

你可曾試圖想出某部電影 或某個演員的名字，

and it's right on the tip of your tongue, but you can't quite remember it?

好像呼之欲出，卻又想不起來？

And then four hours later, you're driving home from work

四小時後你下班開車回家， 突然就想起那個名字了？

and that name comes to you out of the blue?

Yeah, me too.

是的，我也會。

Totally normal.

非常正常。

When it comes to our memory,

就記憶力來說， 更用力回想並不見得行得通。

thinking harder doesn't always work.

Because of a process of competitive inhibition

因為大腦中的神經元 會有一個競爭性的抑制過程。

of the neurons in your brain.

Basically, when you try to think too hard about one super specific piece of memory,

基本上，當你太過努力 回想某段超特定的記憶，

like a name or a code,

比如一個名字或一個密碼，

the brain cells in that part of your brain get overloaded and blocked.

大腦那部分的細胞就會超載並阻斷。

They need time to recharge.

它們需要時間重新充電。

That’s why, four hours later, that memory comes back to you.

那就是為什麼四小時後 記憶就回來了。

It's still there, still in your memory storage,

它還在，仍然在你的記憶儲存庫裡，

只是存取它的路徑已經力竭， 需要時間才能重置。

just the access route has been exhausted and needs time to reset.

Plus, remember how stress makes our brains less efficient?

此外，還記得嗎？ 壓力會讓大腦的效率下降。

When we're worried about making mistakes,

當我們擔心犯錯時，

we're more likely to make more mistakes.

我們就更可能會犯更多錯。

Do this instead:

改用這一招：

if you’re feeling more forgetful than usual,

如果你感覺比平常更健忘， 或好像腦袋卡住了，

or your brain feels stuck

and you can't seem to find the memory you need,

似乎找不到你需要的記憶，

it might be a sign that your brain needs a reset.

這徵兆很可能表示 你的大腦需要重置一下。

Can’t remember a code or a password, standing at your door like me,

想不起密碼，

像我一樣站在自家門口，試了所有 想得出的四位數組合偏偏都不對。

and you can think of every four-digit code you know,

except the one you need?

Think about something else for a few minutes.

試著花幾分鐘想想其他事情。 任何其他事情都可以。

Anything else.

Chat with the store clerk at the grocery store about the weather

和雜貨店的店員聊聊天氣， 而不是死盯著刷卡機，

instead of staring at the debit machine,

試圖回想你的銀行刷卡密碼，

trying to remember your bank code,

或者拿出手機來滑， 花幾分鐘看看社群媒體。

or pull out your phone and scroll social media for a few minutes.

這招行得通是因為，你不是去把 尋找那段記憶要用的大腦細胞操爆，

This works because instead of exhausting the brain cells

you need to find that memory,

you activate other parts of your brain,

而是去啟動大腦的其他部分，

giving those memory centers a chance to recharge and reset.

讓那些記憶中心有機會 可以重新充電和重置。

Making more mistakes than normal at work,

在工作時，犯錯的狀況 比平常更頻繁，

you can’t seem to send an email without a typo

寄出的電子郵件老是有錯字， 或在會議中支支吾吾詞不達意……

or you’re stumbling over your words in a meeting ...

站起來，真的去休息一下。

get up and take a real break.

Go for a walk around your office

在辦公室裡走走， 或花幾分鐘做點有趣的事。

or do something fun for a few minutes.

These micro breaks refresh your mental resources

這些微休息可以 讓你的心智資源煥然一新，

and give your brain back the energy and focus it needs

讓你的大腦能重新取回 它需要的能量和注意力，

to find that information.

去找出那資訊。

Memory errors aren't a sign you're losing your mind.

記憶錯誤並不表示你神經錯亂了。

They might be a sign your brain needs a little break and a reset.

它們可能只是表示你的大腦 需要一點休息和重置。

Thank you.

謝謝。