所有的科学家──是啊，当我那么说时，科学家都会笑出来，因为写补助申请从来就不会顺利。它真的很难搞，你总是要想破头，试图提个能赢得百万美元的想法。但我发现，补助申请能写得很顺利，是因为我专注和维持注意力的时间，都比以前更长。且我的长期记忆──我的实验室的研究主题──似乎在我身上也变得更好。就在那时，我把一切都连起来了。

　　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.

　　也许，我加在生活中的那些运动在改变我的大脑。也许我在自己身上做了实验而不自知。身为好奇的神经科学家，我去查研究文献，看看有没有什么已知信息与运动对大脑的效应有关。我发现的文献很让人兴奋，且还在不断增加中，基本上，文献完全点出了我在身上注意到的所有改变。

　　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、更好的记忆、更佳的注意力。我学得越多，我就越能了解运动有多强大。最终，这导致了我做出重大决定，完全转变我的研究重心。所以，在真正投入这个问题几年后，我得到了下列的结论：在现今你能做的所有事情当中，运动最能改变你的大脑，理由是以下三个。

　　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：运动对你的大脑有立即的效应。你做的每一次运动，都会立即增加神经传递质的量，如多巴胺、血清素、正肾上腺素。这会在你运动之后马上提升你的心情，那正是我的感受。我的实验室显示，单一次运动就能改善你转移和聚焦的能力，而那专注的改善会持续至少两个小时。最后，研究显示，单一次运动就会改善你的反应时间，基本上，那就表示如果一杯星巴克咖啡从柜台滑落，你能更快速接住它，这点是非常非常重要的。

　　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.

　　但这些立即的效应很短暂，在运动刚结束时帮助你。你们得要做我所做的，也就是改变你的运动规律，增加你的心肺功能，才能得到持久的效应。这些效应之所以能持久，是因为运动确实能改变大脑的结构、生理机能，以及功能。我们从我最爱的大脑区域海马体开始。海马体──运动确实能制造出全新的脑细胞，海马体中新的脑细胞能增加容积，还能改善你的长期记忆。对你我皆是如此。

　　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：在神经科学研究中最常见的研究发现，在长期运动的效应这方面，就是改善注意力功能，而这功能取决于你的前额叶皮质。你不但会有更佳的专注和注意力，海马体的容量也会增加。最后，你做运动会得到的不只是心情上的立即效应，还会有长期的效应。所以，你的好心情神经传递质就能得持续增加。

　　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.

　　但其实，运动能带来最大的转变，就是对大脑产生保护效应。可以把大脑想成是肌肉。你运动得越多，你的海马体和前额叶皮质就会更大、更强壮。为什么那很重要?因为前额叶皮质和海马体这两个区域最容易因神经退化性疾病和老化而使得正常认知退化。

　　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.

　　在你的一生中增加运动并不能治愈失智症或阿兹海默症，但能创造出最强壮、最大的海马体和前额叶皮质，所以这些疾病要更长的时间才会对你产生实际的影响。因此，你可以把运动想成是大脑的加强版401K退休福利计划。它还更好，因为它是免费的。

　　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."

　　演说到这个时点，大家通常会说：「温迪，那听起来好有趣，但我其实只想知道一件事，那就是只要告诉我最少要做多少运动才能得到所有这些改变。」

　　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，我会告诉各位这个问题的答案。首先，好消息：你不用变成铁人三项运动员也可以得到这些效应。经验法则是，每周要运动三到四次，每次运动至少要有三十分钟，且你需要做一些有氧运动。也就是要让你的心跳升高。好消息是你不需要去健身房付很贵的健身房会费。在你健走的时候，再额外多走一个街区。如果你看见有楼梯可走，走楼梯。power-vacuuming是很好的有氧课程选择，如果你到健身房运动的话。

　　记忆的先驱拓荒者，变成了运动探索者

　　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，我从记忆的先驱拓荒者，变成了运动探索者。从进入大脑最深处的运作活动，变成试图了解运动如何能改善大脑功能，现在，我的实验室的目标是要超越我刚刚跟各位说的经验法则──每周三到四次，每次三十分钟。我想要了解最理想的运动处方是什么，针对你，根据你的年龄、你的健康程度、你的基因背景，来把今天的运动效应给最大化，同时把改善及保护你的大脑做到最好，让你一生都能受益。