第1547期:A better life

How are you feeling today? Often when we ask people that question, they reply ‘not bad’, or ‘could be worse’. But what would make us feel ‘perfect’? Maybe we could live better by being healthier, less stressed, more motivated – but how?

你今天感觉如何？通常当我们问人们这个问题时，他们会回答“还不错”，或者“可能会更糟”。但是什么会让我们感觉“完美”呢？也许我们可以通过变得更健康、压力更小、更有动力来生活得更好——但是如何呢？

Of course there are many remedies for improving our mental health, but sometimes there are small and simple solutions to help improve our wellbeing. It’s something the BBC TV programme Easy Ways to Live Well has been looking at.  It suggested several ‘health hacks’ which the programme’s presenters tried and gave their ‘seal of approval’. And maybe they could help us too.

当然，有很多补救措施可以改善我们的心理健康，但有时也有一些小而简单的解决方案可以帮助改善我们的健康。这是 BBC 电视节目 Easy Ways to Live Well 一直在关注的内容。它建议了几个“健康黑客”，节目的主持人尝试了这些“健康黑客”，并给出了他们的“批准印章”。也许他们也可以帮助我们。

Firstly, to tackle putting on weight and to cut the calories, the programme found sniffing peppermint stops our craving for a snack.  Presenter, chef and writer Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall says “a scientific theory called ‘mutual competition’ shows that a strong smell can distract our brain from the food we’re thinking about.”

首先，为了解决体重增加和减少卡路里的问题，该计划发现闻薄荷可以阻止我们对零食的渴望。主持人、厨师和作家 Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall 说：“一种叫做‘相互竞争’的科学理论表明，强烈的气味会分散我们的大脑对我们正在思考的食物的注意力。”

If your addiction to your smartphone is getting you down, it’s suggested that turning your phone screen grey helps you reduce screen time because a black and white screen becomes less attractive to look at. With recent studies showing our phones can make us 26% less productive and increase our stress, it seems like a no-brainer to try this ‘dim’ idea.

如果您对智能手机的沉迷让您情绪低落，建议将手机屏幕变灰有助于减少屏幕时间，因为黑白屏幕看起来不那么吸引人。最近的研究表明，我们的手机会使我们的工作效率降低 26% 并增加我们的压力，尝试这种“暗淡”的想法似乎是不费吹灰之力。

Fancy a swim in ice-cold water? Well, the BBC programme found a daily dip in freezing water gets you used to the stress of doing it and therefore prepares you for other life stresses. And another way to ‘chill out’ is to leave your smartphone at home, immerse yourself in a forest, and breathe in the fresh air. Forest bathing is the perfect tonic for the stresses of urban life.

想在冰冷的水中游泳吗？好吧，英国广播公司的节目发现，每天泡在冰冷的水中会让你习惯这样做的压力，从而让你为其他生活压力做好准备。另一种“放松”的方式是将智能手机留在家中，沉浸在森林中，呼吸新鲜空气。森林浴是缓解城市生活压力的完美补品。

Other life-improving ideas included things such as singing to reduce pain and fidgeting more to get away from our sedentary lives. But whatever therapy we choose to adopt, it seems any change to our lifestyle can help improve our body and mind.

其他改善生活的想法包括唱歌以减轻疼痛和坐立不安以摆脱久坐不动的生活。但无论我们选择采用何种疗法，似乎对我们生活方式的任何改变都有助于改善我们的身心。

词汇表

motivated 有动力的
remedy 疗法
mental health 精神健康状态
wellbeing 健康
hack 好的建议
seal of approval 认可
calorie 卡路里
craving 渴望，渴求
get someone down 让某人感到沮丧
productive 有效率的
no-brainer 容易处理的问题
dip 游泳
chill out 放松
immerse 沉浸在……
forest bathing 森林浴
tonic 滋补剂
fidgeting 坐立不安
sedentary 久坐不动的
therapy 疗法