读者文摘:今天如何感到更快乐(3)

Varying your approach is key.

改变你的方法是关键。

If you perform the same act of kindness over and over, it may begin to feel like an obligation or a monotonous¹ chore.

如果你一次又一次地做同样的善举，你可能会觉得这是一种义务或无聊的日常事务。

Ian and I held doors open for people, let extra cars merge² in front of us on the highway,

我和伊恩为人们开门，让高速公路上的其它车排到我们前面，

and helped colleagues solve computer problems.

帮助同事解决有关电脑的各种问题。

The reactions we got made us feel better about ourselves,

我们得到的反应让我们对自己感觉更好，做这些事情与宠溺自己来次按摩不同，

and they didn't cost us anything, unlike an indulgent massage³.

它们不会让我们付出什么代价。

Kindness brings other happiness benefits, too, says Raj Raghunathan, author of If You're So Smart, Why Aren't You Happy?

《如果你非常聪明，为什么还不快乐？》一书的作者拉吉·拉胡纳坦说，善良也会带来其他的快乐益处？

Helping⁴ others takes the focus away from our own worries and problems, which can boost happiness.

帮助别人可以把注意力从我们自己的烦恼和问题上移开，这可以提高我们的幸福感。

And because it doesn't result in the guilt⁵ that more self-serving behaviors can,

因为它不会导致做更多自私自利的行为所带来的负罪感，

being generous won't increase levels of the stress hormone⁶ cortisol.

所以慷慨不会增加压力荷尔蒙皮质醇的水平。

Perhaps surprisingly, kindness improves overall physical health.

也许令人惊讶的是，善良能改善整体的身体健康。

Unsurprisingly, healthier people tend to be happier.

毫不奇怪，健康的人往往更快乐。

Burn some calories. Exercise causes hormonal⁷ changes in the body that make you feel good and help interrupt negative thoughts.

燃烧一些卡路里，运动会引起体内荷尔蒙的变化，使你感觉良好，并有助于打断消极的想法。

According to research cited in Santos's course,

根据桑托斯课程中引用的研究，

clinically depressed⁸ people who exercised regularly improved just as much as those who took antidepressants.

经常锻炼的临床抑郁症患者症状的改善程度与服用抗抑郁药的患者相同。

And after ten months, the exercisers were less likely to relapse.

十个月后，进行体育锻炼者复发的可能性更小。

"Getting out of a depression is not exactly the same as happiness,"

芝加哥拉什医学院精神病学教授K.兰加·克里希南博士说：

says Dr. K. Ranga Krishnan, a professor of psychiatry⁹ at Rush Medical College in Chicago.

“摆脱抑郁并不完全等同于快乐。

"But anecdotally, most people who exercise will tell you they feel better."

但有传闻说，大多数锻炼者都会告知他们感觉好多了。”

Anyone who has ever experienced a runner's high will surely agree.

任何在跑步中获得乐趣的人肯定都会表示同意。

1 monotonous   

adj.单调的，一成不变的，使人厌倦的

参考例句：

• She thought life in the small town was monotonous.她觉得小镇上的生活单调而乏味。
• His articles are fixed in form and monotonous in content.他的文章千篇一律，一个调调儿。

2 merge   

v.(使)结合，(使)合并，(使)合为一体

参考例句：

• I can merge my two small businesses into a large one.我可以将我的两家小商店合并为一家大商行。
• The directors have decided to merge the two small firms together.董事们已决定把这两家小商号归并起来。

3 massage   

n.按摩，揉；vt.按摩，揉，美化，奉承，篡改数据

参考例句：

• He is really quite skilled in doing massage.他的按摩技术确实不错。
• Massage helps relieve the tension in one's muscles.按摩可使僵硬的肌肉松弛。

4 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

5 guilt   

n.犯罪；内疚；过失，罪责

参考例句：

• She tried to cover up her guilt by lying.她企图用谎言掩饰自己的罪行。
• Don't lay a guilt trip on your child about schoolwork.别因为功课责备孩子而使他觉得很内疚。

6 hormone   

n.荷尔蒙，激素，内分泌

参考例句：

• Hormone implants are used as growth boosters.激素植入物被用作生长辅助剂。
• This hormone interacts closely with other hormones in the body.这种荷尔蒙与体內其他荷尔蒙紧密地相互作用。

7 hormonal   

adj.激素的

参考例句：

• Some viral diseases are more severe during pregnancy, probably tecause of hormonal changes. 有些病毒病在妊娠期间比较严重，可能是由于激素变化引起的。
• She underwent surgical intervention and a subsequent short period of hormonal therapy. 他接受外科手术及随后短暂荷尔蒙治疗。

8 depressed   

adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的

参考例句：

• When he was depressed,he felt utterly divorced from reality.他心情沮丧时就感到完全脱离了现实。
• His mother was depressed by the sad news.这个坏消息使他的母亲意志消沉。

9 psychiatry   

n.精神病学，精神病疗法

参考例句：

• The study appeared in the Amercian science Journal of Psychiatry.这个研究发表在美国精神病学的杂志上。
• A physician is someone who specializes in psychiatry.精神病专家是专门从事精神病治疗的人。