活得更健康:15招让你变得更聪明

 　　1. Get News from Al Jazeera

　　收看阿拉伯世界半岛电视台的新闻

　　Don't shut yourself out from new ideas. A 2009 study found that viewers of Al Jazeera English were more open-minded than people who got their news from CNN International and BBC World.

　　不要将新思想拒之门外。一项2009年的调查发现，收看半岛电视台英语频道的观众比收看美国有线新闻网国际频道（CNN）和英国广播公司世界频道（BBC）的观众思想更开阔。

　　2. Learn a Language

　　学习一门语言

　　Mastering a second language gives a workout to your prefrontal cortex, which affects decision making and emotions. Enroll¹ in a class, embed² in deepest Sichuan province, or simply pick up Rosetta Stone software and teach yourself Latin.

　　掌握一门第二语言让你的前额皮质得到很好的锻炼，这会影响你的决策和情绪。选一门课程，深入到四川省，或者找一下罗赛达石 （译者注：解释古埃及象形文字的可靠线索）软件自学拉丁文。

　　3. Toss Your Smartphone

　　抛开智能手机

　　Constantly checking your email disrupts focus and saps productivity. And go offline from time to time by installing Internet-blocking software that lets you concentrate on the task at hand.

　　不停地查看电子邮件会使你的注意力紊乱并减弱你的创造力。时不时地下线，并安装一些脱机软件，这样能让你专注于手边任务。

　　4. Sleep A Lot

　　多睡觉

　　Take a nap, then get to bed early. Harvard research has shown your brain continues to process memories even after you've gone to sleep, so you can recall them better later.

　　小睡片刻，并且早点上床睡觉。哈佛大学研究表明，即便在入睡之后，大脑仍然在处理记忆，因此你稍后会有更好的记忆。

　　5. Hydrate

　　补水

　　Sure, every doctor and trainer tells you this, and we will too: dehydration³ forces the brain to work harder and may dampen its planning ability.

　　当然，每位医生和训练员都会告诉你这一点，我们还是要强调：脱水会促使大脑工作更费力，可能会抑制大脑的规划能力。

　　6. Eat Dark Chocolate

　　吃黑巧克力

　　It might not boost your IQ overnight, but dark chocolate is reported to have memory-improving flavonoids. And go ahead and pair it with a glass of red wine—another great flavonoid source.

　　黑巧克力或许不会在一夜之间就让你的智商陡升，但是据称它含有提升记忆力的类黄酮。吃吧，就着一杯红酒，这是另一种富含类黄酮的食物。

　　7. Join a Knitting Circle

　　加入编织小圈子

　　Whip out the needles and make an awesome⁴ scarf. Refining motor ability can bolster⁵ cognitive⁶ skills. Plus—it'll keep you warm this winter.

　　拿出针来织一条不错的围巾吧。改善机动能力可以支持认知技能。另外，它还会让你温暖过冬。

　　8. Eat Yogurt

　　喝酸奶

　　Probiotics are good for your stomach, but studies on mice suggest they are good for your brain, too: mice who ate them handled anxiety better and showed increased activity in sections of the brain handling emotions and memory.

　　益生菌对胃有益，但在老鼠身上的试验表明，益生菌也对大脑有益：喝了益生菌的老鼠在处理焦虑上表现更好，在大脑处理情绪和记忆方面表现了更高的活力。

　　9. Write By Hand

　　用手写字

　　Remember what that feels like? Brain scans show that handwriting engages more sections of the brain than typing. It's easier to remember something once you've written it down on paper.

　　还记得那是种什么感觉吗？脑部扫描显示，用手写字比打字会使脑部更多的部分参与活动。一旦你在纸上写下某事，你就更容易把它记住。

　　10. The Pomodoro Technique

　　番茄工作法

　　This time-management method has nothing to do with pasta, but aims to make you productive using nothing more than a kitchen timer. Use it to help work in 25-minute blocks, taking a short break after each; the frequent rests aid mental agility⁷.

　　这种时间管理方法与意大利面毫无关系，但是目的是让你只用一个厨房计时器就能富有生产力。用它来制定25分钟的时段，每个时段后休息一小会儿，经常的休息有助于思维敏捷。

　　11. Zone Out

　　开小差

　　Let your mind wander. A string of studies suggests that zoning out, especially when you don't consciously realize you're doing it, allows the brain to work on important "big picture" thinking.

　　让你的思绪开个小差。一系列研究表明，开小差可以让大脑致力于重要的“大局”思考上，尤其是当你没有意识到你正如此的时候。

　　12. Drink Coffee

　　喝咖啡

　　And don't just drink one cup: women who drank four cups of coffee a day were less likely to suffer depression than women who drank just one cup a week. Other studies have shown coffee to bolster short-term memory.

　　不要只喝一杯：每天喝四杯咖啡的女性比每天只喝一杯的女性患抑郁的可能性更小。其他研究表明，咖啡可以促进短期记忆。

　　13. Become an Expert

　　成为专家

　　Master one task you really enjoy and your brain will perform more efficiently⁸ when you do it. Chess whizzes, for example, recognize patterns more quickly than amateurs. Expertise⁹ is not innate—practice, as the old saw goes, does make perfect.

　　精通一项你真正喜欢的工作，在你做这项工作的时候，你的大脑就会运转得更高效。例如，象棋专家比业余爱好者更快地识别模式。专门的技术并不是与生俱来的，正如老话所说，熟能生巧。

　　14. Write Reviews Online

　　在网上写评论

　　Anyone can be a critic on the Internet—and you should too. When you like or hate something, review it on Amazon, Yelp¹⁰, whatever. Typing out your opinion will help you to better understand your own thinking.

　　任何人都可以在网络上成为评论家，你也应该可以。当你喜欢或者厌恶某件东西时，在亚马逊上对此评论，大叫，怎么都行。将你的意见用键盘打出来会帮你更好地了解你自己的想法。

1 enroll   

v.招收；登记；入学；参军；成为会员（英)enrol

参考例句：

• I should like to enroll all my children in the swimming class.我愿意让我的孩子们都参加游泳班。
• They enroll him as a member of the club.他们吸收他为俱乐部会员。

2 embed   

vt.把…嵌(埋、插)入，扎牢；使深留脑中

参考例句：

• The harpoon struck but did not embed.鱼叉击中了但并没有插入。
• This photo showed us how did the root of plant embed the soil deeply.这张照片显示植物的根是如何深入到土壤里去的。

3 dehydration   

n.脱水，干燥

参考例句：

• He died from severe dehydration.他死于严重脱水。
• The eyes are often retracted from dehydration.眼睛常因脱水而凹陷。

4 awesome   

adj.令人惊叹的，难得吓人的，很好的

参考例句：

• The church in Ireland has always exercised an awesome power.爱尔兰的教堂一直掌握着令人敬畏的权力。
• That new white convertible is totally awesome.那辆新的白色折篷汽车简直棒极了.

5 bolster   

n.枕垫；v.支持，鼓励

参考例句：

• The high interest rates helped to bolster up the economy.高利率使经济更稳健。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。

6 cognitive   

adj.认知的，认识的，有感知的

参考例句：

• As children grow older,their cognitive processes become sharper.孩子们越长越大，他们的认知过程变得更为敏锐。
• The cognitive psychologist is like the tinker who wants to know how a clock works.认知心理学者倒很像一个需要通晓钟表如何运转的钟表修理匠。

7 agility   

n.敏捷，活泼

参考例句：

• The boy came upstairs with agility.那男孩敏捷地走上楼来。
• His intellect and mental agility have never been in doubt.他的才智和机敏从未受到怀疑。

8 efficiently   

adv.高效率地，有能力地

参考例句：

• The worker oils the machine to operate it more efficiently.工人给机器上油以使机器运转更有效。
• Local authorities have to learn to allocate resources efficiently.地方政府必须学会有效地分配资源。

9 expertise   

n.专门知识(或技能等)，专长

参考例句：

• We were amazed at his expertise on the ski slopes.他斜坡滑雪的技能使我们赞叹不已。
• You really have the technical expertise in a new breakthrough.让你真正在专业技术上有一个全新的突破。

10 yelp   

vi.狗吠

参考例句：

• The dog gave a yelp of pain.狗疼得叫了一声。
• The puppy a yelp when John stepped on her tail.当约翰踩到小狗的尾巴，小狗发出尖叫。