2020-04-16

今日外刊阅读

The Science of Helping Out

At a time when weare allexperiencing an extraordinary level of stress,science offers a simple and effective way to bolster our own emotional health.

To help yourself,start by helping others.

Our bodies and minds benefit in a variety of ways when we help others. Some research hasfocused on the “helper’s high.” Studies show that volunteering, donating money,or even just thinking about donating money can release feel-good brainchemicals andactivatethe part of the brain stimulatedby the pleasures of food and sex. Studies of volunteers show thatdo-goodershad lowerlevels of the stress hormone cortisolon days they did volunteer work.

Feeling responsible for other people also can help us cope with whatever challenges life brings. Emily A. Greenfield, an associate professorof social work at Rutgers University,studied a concept called“felt obligation,” which is measured by asking people questions such as how obligated they would feel to give money to a friend in need, even if it meant putting themselves in a bind.

As it turned out,the people who had higher levels of felt obligation —meaning they were the type of people to sacrifice for others — coped better with their own life challenges.

She noted that caring for others helps us to regulate our own emotions and gain a sense of control.“When we remind a friend that social distancing measures are temporary, and this too shall pass, we are also,in effect, reminding ourselves and serving to regulate our own emotions,” she said.

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regulate our own emotions 调节自己的情绪

gain a sense of control.获得控制感

put themselves in a bind.   自找麻烦

bind  n.困境  in a bind

In effect   in fact/in practice/ in reality

serve  to do (serve as )起到…的作用

bolster:to support or strengthen sth

eg. Music  training can bolster the brain.

Bolster confidence and self-esteem

Bolster our emotional health

activate(stimulate)

helper's high 助人快感

felt obiligation 感知义务

stress hormone cortisol 压力荷尔蒙皮质醇

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拓展知识卡片

快乐荷尔蒙VS压力荷尔蒙

体内能让我们感到幸福快乐的四种激素

内啡肽-幸福激素

内啡肽可以阻止疼痛并帮助我们在极端条件下生存，因此它被称为天然镇痛剂。在野外，只有在致命危险的情况下，它的水平才会急剧上升。例如当你被咬，但为了逃命你起初的一小段时间并不会感到伤口的疼痛。

那如何才能让体内内啡肽增加呢？剧烈的运动，可以催生这种激素增长。当然我们大笑的时候或者听某一个音乐感动哭的时候也会产生少量内啡肽。还有一种方法是将辣椒沾到舌尖，也可以让内啡肽水平增加

多巴胺-动力激素

多巴胺负责动力和激励。可以让我们更有效的工作学习。一旦我们想要认真完成某个目标时并在实现过程中感到快乐，在血液和大脑中就会释放多巴胺，结合固定的神经链为我们提供动力和激励，

如何增加其在体内的水平呢？最简单的方法就是吃一顿。如果你喜欢富含酪氨酸的产品（这种氨基酸产生多巴胺），那么激素的产生会更加强烈：奶酪，葵花籽，肉类，鱼类，豆类等。另一种简单的方式-喝咖啡或任何含有咖啡因的饮料。

催产素-爱的激素

催产素让我们感受到人们的感情！喜怒哀乐等等情感.何增加这种激素呢？最简单的事情是与亲人的身体接触。你可以用手抓住他，拥抱或者只为你谈一个愉快的话题：任何相互作用都会触发激素的释放。养一只宠物。照顾宠物可以让我们产生催产素。

血清素-内部抗抑郁药

能量的爆发，行动的欲望，巨大的自信 - 这些都是高水平血清素的主要标志。根据许多研究，这种激素具有与社会地位的直接连接：反之亦然更多的血清素，更多的机会来满足自己的潜能，并且：这种激素水平低下会患常见的抑郁症，强迫症和冷漠。

「压力激素」（应激性激素，如甲状腺激素、肾上腺素、糖皮质激素、胰岛素、及血管紧张素等）的分泌。

众多激素中对压力影响最大的是皮质醇，我们称为「压力荷尔蒙」。什么是皮质醇？压力引起的其中一个反应，是促使肾上腺素释放皮质醇激素。皮质醇也被称作「压力荷尔蒙」。皮质醇的作用压力状态下身体需要皮质醇来维持正常生理机能；如果没有皮质醇。身体将无法对压力作出有效反应。适量皮质醇有助面对压力，但分泌过量易致心情紧张、压力型肥胖等，过低会衰弱疲劳。