美国国家公共电台 NPR Floating Away Your Anxiety And Stress

 

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

But if you'd rather unplug completely, there's another option. It's called float therapy, and it's pretty much what it sounds like. You float your anxieties away in a pool. Sounds nice, but is there any evidence that it works? John Schumann is a doctor in Tulsa, Okla. He also hosts a medical show on member station KWGS. He looked into the research.

JOHN SCHUMANN, BYLINE¹: When I mentioned to a friend that my own baseline neurosis has evolved from daily stress into outright² anxiety, her response was, go for a float. A float? Yes. Spend an hour in a dark, soundproof room, soaking in a body-temperature pool. Just lay there and meditate³. What do I have to lose?

(SOUNDBITE OF SPLASHING WATER)

SCHUMANN: In the pool I go. And it's kind of amazing. It's sort of like being suspended in air.

Floating makes you feel weightless. I feel my muscles relaxing.

(SOUNDBITE OF SPLASHING WATER)

SCHUMANN: It's complete darkness in here. And then it's just a matter of letting my thoughts quiet down.

The water is heavy with epsom salt. That's magnesium⁴ sulphate. It holds you up like a mattress⁵ without getting your skin all prune-y. Eventually I'm so relaxed that I fall asleep. As relaxing as this is, I'm at heart a skeptic⁶. I wanted to know if there's any science to back up the claim that floating can actually decrease stress. It turns out a scientist at the Laureate Institute for Brain Research, right here in Tulsa, is trying to find out. Justin Feinstein is the director of Laureate's Float Clinic and Research Center, the nation's only dedicated⁷ float lab. He's focusing his research on the effects of floating on the brain and its impact on a number of psychological conditions.

JUSTIN FEINSTEIN: These are individuals with post-traumatic stress disorder⁸, panic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder. We kind of covered the whole spectrum⁹ of different types of anxiety.

SCHUMANN: Before getting in the pool, Feinstein maps the brains of his volunteers using functional¹⁰ MRI. This provides high-resolution images of the brain. Areas of high and low metabolic¹¹ activity light up in different colors. He maps them again after about a 90-minute float. What he's finding is floating seems to quiet activity in the amygdala, the brain's center of fear and anxiety.

FEINSTEIN: At least in the short term, this does create a very profound state of relaxation¹², and it's reliable. In fact, we didn't have a single patient who didn't find this to be really relaxing.

SCHUMANN: Feinstein says without sensory¹³ stimulation¹⁴, the body can achieve a state of calm.

FEINSTEIN: It's almost what you might call a forced homeostasis, where all of the different systems that regulate life functioning are completely taken care of, and you get to just totally relax.

SCHUMANN: Now, as promising¹⁵ as this sounds, a note of caution. Feinstein's findings are only preliminary. His pilot study was small, just 50 volunteers. Clearly more research is needed. Gary Schwitzer, founder¹⁶ of HealthNewsReview, a journalism¹⁷ watchdog group, says we shouldn't put too much faith in preliminary findings.

GARY SCHWITZER: You can mislead people by talking about something being therapeutic¹⁸ or possibly therapeutic when you are nowhere near proving that it is a therapy.

SCHUMANN: Even though floating isn't a validated¹⁹ treatment, more and more commercial float centers are opening up around the country.

(SOUNDBITE OF DOOR CLOSING)

SCHUMANN: Here in Tulsa, the H2Oasis Float Center and Tea House opened just over a year ago. You can get a 60-minute float for around $50.

DEBRA WORTHINGTON: We have four float rooms down the hallway, three different pool types.

SCHUMANN: Debra Worthington is the co-owner. She shows me the pools. There's a small, enclosed float pod, a round pool big enough for a couple and her favorite, an 8-foot round pool in a room with 8-foot ceilings.

WORTHINGTON: It's a beautiful pool. It's one of the most comfortable floats.

SCHUMANN: All sorts of people come here trying to float away their pain, stress and anxiety - injured athletes, parents of teenagers, veterans with PTSD. I have people leaving the pools crying because they never knew that they could feel that good 'cause they have so much pain on a daily basis, whether it's physical pain or mental pain.

SCHUMANN: Medication is beneficial for many anxiety and mood disorders²⁰, but some classes of the drugs are habit forming and have side effects that patients often find unpleasant. So while floating isn't a proven therapy, there's little harm in trying to float some of that stress away. For NPR News, I'm John Schumann in Tulsa.

1 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

2 outright   

adv.坦率地；彻底地；立即；adj.无疑的；彻底的

参考例句：

• If you have a complaint you should tell me outright.如果你有不满意的事，你应该直率地对我说。
• You should persuade her to marry you outright.你应该彻底劝服她嫁给你。

3 meditate   

v.想，考虑，（尤指宗教上的）沉思，冥想

参考例句：

• It is important to meditate on the meaning of life.思考人生的意义很重要。
• I was meditating,and reached a higher state of consciousness.我在冥想，并进入了一个更高的意识境界。

4 magnesium   

n.镁

参考例句：

• Magnesium is the nutrient element in plant growth.镁是植物生长的营养要素。
• The water contains high amounts of magnesium.这水含有大量的镁。

5 mattress   

n.床垫，床褥

参考例句：

• The straw mattress needs to be aired.草垫子该晾一晾了。
• The new mattress I bought sags in the middle.我买的新床垫中间陷了下去。

6 skeptic   

n.怀疑者，怀疑论者，无神论者

参考例句：

• She is a skeptic about the dangers of global warming.她是全球变暖危险的怀疑论者。
• How am I going to convince this skeptic that she should attention to my research?我将如何使怀疑论者确信她应该关注我的研究呢？

7 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

8 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。

9 spectrum   

n.谱，光谱，频谱；范围，幅度，系列

参考例句：

• This is a kind of atomic spectrum.这是一种原子光谱。
• We have known much of the constitution of the solar spectrum.关于太阳光谱的构成，我们已了解不少。

10 functional   

adj.为实用而设计的，具备功能的，起作用的

参考例句：

• The telephone was out of order,but is functional now.电话刚才坏了，但现在可以用了。
• The furniture is not fancy,just functional.这些家具不是摆着好看的，只是为了实用。

11 metabolic   

adj.新陈代谢的

参考例句：

• Impressive metabolic alternations have been undergone during embryogenesis.在胚胎发生期间经历了深刻的代谢变化。
• A number of intoxicants are associated with metabolic acidosis.许多毒性物质可引起代谢性酸中毒。

12 relaxation   

n.松弛，放松；休息；消遣；娱乐

参考例句：

• The minister has consistently opposed any relaxation in the law.部长一向反对法律上的任何放宽。
• She listens to classical music for relaxation.她听古典音乐放松。

13 sensory   

adj.知觉的，感觉的，知觉器官的

参考例句：

• Human powers of sensory discrimination are limited.人类感官分辨能力有限。
• The sensory system may undergo long-term adaptation in alien environments.感觉系统对陌生的环境可能经过长时期才能适应。

14 stimulation   

n.刺激，激励，鼓舞

参考例句：

• The playgroup provides plenty of stimulation for the children.幼儿游戏组给孩子很多启发。
• You don't get any intellectual stimulation in this job.你不能从这份工作中获得任何智力启发。

15 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

16 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

17 journalism   

n.新闻工作，报业

参考例句：

• He's a teacher but he does some journalism on the side.他是教师，可还兼职做一些新闻工作。
• He had an aptitude for journalism.他有从事新闻工作的才能。

18 therapeutic   

adj.治疗的，起治疗作用的；对身心健康有益的

参考例句：

• Therapeutic measures were selected to fit the patient.选择治疗措施以适应病人的需要。
• When I was sad,music had a therapeutic effect.我悲伤的时候，音乐有治疗效力。

19 validated   

v.证实( validate的过去式和过去分词 )；确证；使生效；使有法律效力

参考例句：

• Time validated our suspicion. 时间证实了我们的怀疑。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The decade of history since 1927 had richly validated their thesis. 1927年以来的十年的历史，充分证明了他们的论点。 来自辞典例句

20 disorders   

n.混乱( disorder的名词复数 )；凌乱；骚乱；（身心、机能）失调

参考例句：

• Reports of anorexia and other eating disorders are on the increase. 据报告，厌食症和其他饮食方面的功能紊乱发生率正在不断增长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The announcement led to violent civil disorders. 这项宣布引起剧烈的骚乱。 来自《简明英汉词典》