Eat, Exercise and Be Merry
Thanksgiving is a time for, well, giving thanks-for juicy
turkey, steaming mashed potatoes, and a cool slice of pie. Mmmm, what could be better? Well, remembering what you're
thankful for might have some less obvious advantages.
Psychologists writing in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology found that people who kept weekly gratitude journals exercised an hour and a half per week longer than their grumbling peers. Imagine the benefits as we head into "eating season."
Once a week for 10 weeks, participants noted up to five things they were grateful for, including anything from "waking up this morning" to "the Rolling Stones." By the end of the study, they were working out an hour and a half more per week than a group that just wrote about life's hassles, such as "stupid people driving" or "messy kitchen no one will clean."
Robert Emmons, a
psychologist at the University of California, Davis, said in a phone interview that gratitude may be a
strategy people use to stay committed to exercise, based on his
subsequent studies of self-described grateful people. They might remember that they are lucky to be able to move around pain-free, he said.
Participants in the gratitude group also reported feeling more
enthusiastic and determined, which could help fuel exercise. Emmons calls it a not-so-
vicious cycle.
This Thanksgiving, remember: You can have your
pumpkin pie (and
turkey and dressing and mashed potatoes) and eat them, too.
这个
感恩节我们这样过:美食、锻炼、开心
感恩节是表达感激的日子(因为我们能吃到可口的火鸡,热气腾腾的土豆泥以及一片凉南瓜派)。但是,还有比这些更好的吗?记住那些你感激的事情可能还有其它一些不那么明显的好处。
心理学家在《个性和社会心理学杂志》(Journal of Personality and Social Psychology)上报道说,那些每周保持写感激日记的人要比那些经常抱怨的人每周多锻炼一个半小时。在我们步入"美食季节"(即感恩节,译者注)的时候,想想感恩带来的好处吧。
在10周的时间里,这些参与者每周一次写下5件他们感激的事情,这些事情可以包括任何事情,从"今天还能起床"到"欣赏滚石音乐"不一而足。另外一组参与者只是写下他们生活中的不快,比如"愚蠢人驾车"或者"厨房一团糟,没有人会收拾"。在研究结束的时候,这些感恩的参与者比那些抱怨的参与者要每周多锻炼一个半小时。
Robert Emmons是加利福利亚大学戴维斯分校的一名心理学家,根据他对那些自认为是感恩的人的研究,他在一次电话采访中说,感恩可能是人们所采用的一种坚持锻炼的战略。他们 可能会记住能自由的动弹就是幸运的了。
感恩组里的参与者同时还反映他们感觉更加有富有热情和有决心,这些都能帮助他们坚持锻炼。Emmons把这种现象称为一种"并不糟糕的"循环。
在这个感恩节,请记住:你可以制作出你的南瓜派(以及火鸡、调味品以及土豆泥),当然不要忘了尽情享用。
Vocabulary:
Mashed:打碎的
Gratitude:感激
Grumble: 抱怨
Participant: 参与者
Work out: 锻炼身体
Hassle: 烦扰
Committed: 坚持的
Enthusiastic:有热情的
Vicious: 恶性的;邪恶的
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