所有的科學家──是啊，當我那么說時，科學家都會笑出來，因為寫補助申請從來就不會順利。它真的很難搞，你總是要想破頭，試圖提個能贏得百萬美元的想法。但我發(fā)現(xiàn)，補助申請能寫得很順利，是因為我專注和維持注意力的時間，都比以前更長。且我的長期記憶──我的實驗室的研究主題──似乎在我身上也變得更好。就在那時，我把一切都連起來了。

　　Maybe all that exercise that I had includedand added to my life was changing my brain.Maybe I did an experiment on myselfwithout even knowing it.So as a curious neuroscientist,I went to theliterature to see what I could find about what we knew about the effects ofexercise on the brain.And what I found was an exciting and a growingliterature that was essentially showing everything that I noticed in myself.

　　也許，我加在生活中的那些運動在改變我的大腦。也許我在自己身上做了實驗而不自知。身為好奇的神經(jīng)科學家，我去查研究文獻，看看有沒有什么已知信息與運動對大腦的效應有關。我發(fā)現(xiàn)的文獻很讓人興奮，且還在不斷增加中，基本上，文獻完全點出了我在身上注意到的所有改變。

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

　　更好的心情、更高的能量、更好的記憶、更佳的注意力。我學得越多，我就越能了解運動有多強大。最終，這導致了我做出重大決定，完全轉變我的研究重心。所以，在真正投入這個問題幾年后，我得到了下列的結論：在現(xiàn)今你能做的所有事情當中，運動最能改變你的大腦，理由是以下三個。

　　Number one:it has immediate effects onyour brain.A single workout that you do will immediately increase levels ofneurotransmitters like dopamine,serotonin and noradrenaline.That is going toincrease your mood right after that workout,exactly what I was feeling.My labshowed,that a single workout can improve your ability to shift and focusattention,and that focus improvement will last for at least two hours.Andfinally,studies have shown that a single workout will improve your reactiontimes which basically means that you are going to be faster at catching thatcup of Starbucks that falls off the counter,which is very,very important.

　　第一：運動對你的大腦有立即的效應。你做的每一次運動，都會立即增加神經(jīng)傳遞質的量，如多巴胺、血清素、正腎上腺素。這會在你運動之后馬上提升你的心情，那正是我的感受。我的實驗室顯示，單一次運動就能改善你轉移和聚焦的能力，而那專注的改善會持續(xù)至少兩個小時。最后，研究顯示，單一次運動就會改善你的反應時間，基本上，那就表示如果一杯星巴克咖啡從柜臺滑落，你能更快速接住它，這點是非常非常重要的。

　　But these immediate effects are transient,they help you right after.What you have to do is do what I did,that is changeyour exercise regime,increase your cardiorespiratory function,to get thelong-lasting effects.And these effects are long-lasting because exerciseactually changes the brain's anatomy,physiology and function.Let's start withmy favorite brain area,the hippocampus.The hippocampus--or exerciseactually 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.

　　但這些立即的效應很短暫，在運動剛結束時幫助你。你們得要做我所做的，也就是改變你的運動規(guī)律，增加你的心肺功能，才能得到持久的效應。這些效應之所以能持久，是因為運動確實能改變大腦的結構、生理機能，以及功能。我們從我最愛的大腦區(qū)域海馬體開始。海馬體──運動確實能制造出全新的腦細胞，海馬體中新的腦細胞能增加容積，還能改善你的長期記憶。對你我皆是如此。

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

　　第二：在神經(jīng)科學研究中最常見的研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，在長期運動的效應這方面，就是改善注意力功能，而這功能取決于你的前額葉皮質。你不但會有更佳的專注和注意力，海馬體的容量也會增加。最后，你做運動會得到的不只是心情上的立即效應，還會有長期的效應。所以，你的好心情神經(jīng)傳遞質就能得持續(xù)增加。

　　But really,the most transformative thingthat exercise will do is its protective effects on your brain.Here you canthink about the brain like a muscle.The more you're working out,the biggerand stronger your hippocampus and prefrontal cortex gets.Why is thatimportant?Because the prefrontal cortex and the hippocampus are the two areasthat are most susceptible to neurodegenerative diseases and normal cognitivedecline in aging.

　　但其實，運動能帶來最大的轉變，就是對大腦產(chǎn)生保護效應�？梢园汛竽X想成是肌肉。你運動得越多，你的海馬體和前額葉皮質就會更大、更強壯。為什么那很重要?因為前額葉皮質和海馬體這兩個區(qū)域最容易因神經(jīng)退化性疾病和老化而使得正常認知退化。

　　So with increased exercise over your lifetime,you're notgoing to cure dementia or Alzheimer's disease,but what you're going to do isyou're going to create the strongest,biggest hippocampus and prefrontal cortexso it takes longer for these diseases to actually have an effect.You can thinkof exercise,therefore,as a supercharged 401K for your brain,OK?And it'seven better,because it's free.

　　在你的一生中增加運動并不能治愈失智癥或阿茲海默癥，但能創(chuàng)造出最強壯、最大的海馬體和前額葉皮質，所以這些疾病要更長的時間才會對你產(chǎn)生實際的影響。因此，你可以把運動想成是大腦的加強版401K退休福利計劃。它還更好，因為它是免費的。

　　So this is the point in the talk whereeverybody says,"That sounds so interesting,Wendy,but I really will onlywant to know one thing.And that is,just tell me the minimum amount ofexercise I need to get all these changes."

　　演說到這個時點，大家通常會說：「溫迪，那聽起來好有趣，但我其實只想知道一件事，那就是只要告訴我最少要做多少運動才能得到所有這些改變�！�

　　And so I'm going to tell you the answer tothat question.First,good news:you don't have to become a triathlete to getthese effects.The rule of thumb is you want to get three to four times a weekexercise minimum 30 minutes an exercise session,and you want to get aerobicexercise in.That is,get your heart rate up.And the good news is,you don'thave to go to the gym to get a very expensive gym membership.Add an extra walkaround the block in your power walk.You see stairs--take stairs.And power-vacuumingcan be as good as the aerobics class that you were going to take at the gym.

　　所以，我會告訴各位這個問題的答案。首先，好消息：你不用變成鐵人三項運動員也可以得到這些效應。經(jīng)驗法則是，每周要運動三到四次，每次運動至少要有三十分鐘，且你需要做一些有氧運動。也就是要讓你的心跳升高。好消息是你不需要去健身房付很貴的健身房會費。在你健走的時候，再額外多走一個街區(qū)。如果你看見有樓梯可走，走樓梯。power-vacuuming是很好的有氧課程選擇，如果你到健身房運動的話。

　　記憶的先驅拓荒者，變成了運動探索者

　　So I've gone from memory pioneer toexercise explorer.From going into the innermost workings of the brain,totrying to understand how exercise can improve our brain function,and my goalin my lab right now is to go beyond that rule of thumb that I just gave you--three to four times a week,30 minutes.I want to understand the optimumexercise prescription for you,at your age,at your fitness level,for yourgenetic background,to maximize the effects of exercise today and also toimprove your brain and protect your brain the best for the rest of your life.

　　所以，我從記憶的先驅拓荒者，變成了運動探索者。從進入大腦最深處的運作活動，變成試圖了解運動如何能改善大腦功能，現(xiàn)在，我的實驗室的目標是要超越我剛剛跟各位說的經(jīng)驗法則──每周三到四次，每次三十分鐘。我想要了解最理想的運動處方是什么，針對你，根據(jù)你的年齡、你的健康程度、你的基因背景，來把今天的運動效應給最大化，同時把改善及保護你的大腦做到最好，讓你一生都能受益。