What if I told you there was something that you can do right now that would have an immediate, positive benefit for your brain including your mood and your focus? And what if I told you that same thing could actually last a long time and protect your brain from different conditions like depression, Alzheimer's disease or dementia. Would you do it? Yes!
如果我話畀你知 有一樣嘢,做咗可以即刻改善腦部 包括情緒同注意力 如果我又話畀你知呢樣嘢 效果持久,而且可以預防腦疾病 例如抑鬱症或者腦退化 你會唔會做? 會!
I am talking about the powerful effects of physical activity. Simply moving your body, has immediate, long-lasting and protective benefits for your brain. And that can last for the rest of your life. So what I want to do today is tell you a story about how I used my deep understanding of neuroscience, as a professor of neuroscience, to essentially do an experiment on myself in which I discovered the science underlying why exercise is the most transformative thing that you can do for your brain today. Now, as a neuroscientist, I know that our brains, that is the thing in our head right now, that is the most complex structure known to humankind. But it's one thing to talk about the brain, and it's another to see it.
我係講緊運動帶來嘅好處 只要郁動一下 就可以即時、成世噉 保護你嘅腦部 我想同你講一個故仔 就係作為神經學教授嘅我 係點利用自己對神經科學嘅深入了解 喺自己身上做實驗 同埋我點樣發現 運動點解係 最改變你嘅腦部嘅一樣嘢 作為一個神經學家 我知道,我哋嘅個頭裡邊嘅腦部係 人類已知最複雜嘅結構 但係,討論個腦係一回事 用眼望住個腦又係另一回事
So here is a real preserved human brain. And it's going to illustrate two key areas that we are going to talk about today. The first is the prefrontal cortex, right behind your forehead, critical for things like decision-making, focus, attention and your personality. The second key area is located in the temporal lobe, shown right here. You have two temporal lobes in your brain, the right and the left, and deep in the temporal lobe is a key structure critical for your ability to form and retain new long-term memories for facts and events. And that structure is called the hippocampus. So I've always been fascinated with the hippocampus. How could it be that an event that lasts just a moment, say, your first kiss, or the moment your first child was born, can form a memory that has changed your brain, that lasts an entire lifetime? That's what I want to understand. I wanted to start and record the activity of individual brain cells in the hippocampus as subjects were forming new memories. And essentially try and decode how those brief bursts of electrical activity, which is how neurons communicate with each other, how those brief bursts either allowed us to form a new memory, or did not.
呢個係一個真嘅人腦標本 我哋今日要討論佢嘅兩個重要部分 第一部分係你嘅額頭後邊嘅前額皮質 佢負責決策、注意力、反應同埋性格 第二部分係顳葉裏邊 腦部有一左一右兩個顳葉 顳葉裡邊有個結構 係同你嘅長期記憶力好關鍵 呢個結構叫海馬體 海馬體一直令我好著迷 點解一瞬間嘅事 譬如你嘅初吻 或者你第一個細路出世嗰時 可以形成一個成世、永遠嘅記憶 而又可以改變你嘅腦部? 我就係想搞清呢樣嘢 我想喺啲人建立記憶嘅時候 記錄喺佢哋海馬體裏面 個別腦細胞嘅活動 同埋破解神經細胞之間 短暫脈衝嘅電流 即係神經之間溝通嘅嘢 係點樣令我哋可以形成新嘅記憶
But a few years ago, I did something very unusual in science. As a full professor of neural science, I decided to completely switch my research program. Because I encountered something that was so amazing, with the potential to change so many lives that I had to study it. I discovered and I experienced the brain-changing effects of exercise. And I did it in a completely inadvertent way. I was actually at the height of all the memory work that I was doing -- data was pouring in, I was becoming known in my field for all of this memory work. And it should have been going great. It was, scientifically. But when I stuck my head out of my lab door, I noticed something. I had no social life. I spent too much time listening to those brain cells in a dark room, by myself. (Laughter) I didn't move my body at all. I had gained 25 pounds. And actually, it took me many years to realize it, I was actually miserable. And I shouldn't be miserable. And I went on a river-rafting trip -- by myself, because I had no social life. And I came back --
幾年前 我做咗件喺科學界唔尋常嘅事 我原本係一名神經學嘅正教授 但係我決定徹底轉換我嘅研究方向 因為我遇到咗一啲奇妙嘅 可能改變好多人生命嘅嘢 所以我決定研究佢 我無意中 發現同親身體驗咗 運動帶畀腦部嘅改變 其實我當時正喺記憶研究嘅高峯 數據不斷咁入嚟 我開始喺我嘅研究領域出名 事業都可以話如日方中 但係我一行出實驗室 我就發現 自己毫無社交生活 我用咗太多嘅時間 自己一個人喺黑房度研究腦細胞 (笑聲) 我好少運動 我肥咗二十五磅 仲係講緊我幾年之後先至意識到肥咗 自己當時真係覺得好慘 其實我唔應該覺得好慘 我自己一個人去參加激流划艇 因為我冇朋友 返嚟之後
(Laughter)
(笑聲)
thinking, "Oh, my God, I was the weakest person on that trip." And I came back with a mission. I said, "I'm never going to feel like the weakest person on a river-rafting trip again." And that's what made me go to the gym. And I focused my type-A personality on going to all the exercise classes at the gym. I tried everything. I went to kickbox, dance, yoga, step class, and at first it was really hard. But what I noticed is that after every sweat-inducing workout that I tried, I had this great mood boost and this great energy boost. And that's what kept me going back to the gym. Well, I started feeling stronger. I started feeling better, I even lost that 25 pounds.
我心諗:「天啊, 成個激流划艇最孱就係我啦。」 我下定決心,我話︰ 「我唔會再做漂流旅行團裡邊 最孱嘅人。」 所以我去咗健身房健身 我上各種嘅健身堂嗰陣 我都留意著我嘅 A 型性格 我咩都試暈晒 搏擊、跳舞、瑜伽、步態 一開始好辛苦 但係我發覺每次流好多汗之後 我嘅心情變返好好,人有返活力 於是乎我繼續去健身 開始覺得身體強咗 自我感覺好咗 仲減埋嗰 25 磅㖭
And now, fast-forward a year and a half into this regular exercise program and I noticed something that really made me sit up and take notice. I was sitting at my desk, writing a research grant, and a thought went through my mind that had never gone through my mind before. And that thought was, "Gee, grant-writing is going well today." And all the scientists --
堅持咗健身一年半之後 我注意到一樣嘢 我坐喺度寫研究經費申請時 我有咗一個 我從未有過嘅諗法 就係 「咦,今日嘅經費申請寫得好順喎。」 所有嘅研究人員聽到…
(Laughter)
(笑聲)
yeah, all the scientists always laugh when I say that, because grant-writing never goes well. It is so hard; you're always pulling your hair out, trying to come up with that million-dollar-winning idea. But I realized that the grant-writing was going well, because I was able to focus and maintain my attention for longer than I had before. And my long-term memory -- what I was studying in my own lab -- seemed to be better in me. And that's when I put it together.
係啊,所有嘅研究人員聽到都笑 因為經費申請好難做 你要諗出嗰個價值百萬美金嘅課題 諗到甩晒啲頭髮 我發現我嘅經費申請 之所以寫得好順利 係因為我比以前專注咗好多 而我嘅長期記憶 亦即係我研究嘅課題 亦都好似好咗 我將全部嘢擺埋一齊來諗
Maybe all that exercise that I had included and added to my life was changing my brain. Maybe I did an experiment on myself without even knowing it. So as a curious neuroscientist, I went to the literature to see what I could find about what we knew about the effects of exercise on the brain. And what I found was an exciting and a growing literature that was essentially showing everything that I noticed in myself. Better mood, better energy, better memory, better attention. And the more I learned, the more I realized how powerful exercise was. Which eventually led me to the big decision to completely shift my research focus. And so now, after several years of really focusing on this question, I've come to the following conclusion: that exercise is the most transformative thing that you can do for your brain today for the following three reasons.
我做嘅運動可能 喺度改變緊我嘅腦部 不知不覺,我喺自己身上做咗個實驗 身為一個好奇嘅神經學家 我去查關於 運動對腦部影響嘅文獻 我搵到愈嚟愈多文獻 驗證咗我喺自己身上體驗到嘅嘢︰ 心情變好,能量增加 記憶變好,注意力增加 我越知得多 就越覺得運動嘅力量大 因此我做咗一個重大決定 就係徹底改變自己嘅研究方向 宜家,經過幾年研究 我得出呢個結論: 運動最能夠改變你嘅腦部 有以下三個原因︰
Number one: it has immediate effects on your brain. A single workout that you do will immediately increase levels of neurotransmitters like dopamine, serotonin and noradrenaline. That is going to increase your mood right after that workout, exactly what I was feeling. My lab showed that a single workout can improve your ability to shift and focus attention, and that focus improvement will last for at least two hours. And finally, studies have shown that a single workout will improve your reaction times which basically means that you are going to be faster at catching that cup of Starbucks that falls off the counter, which is very, very important.
第一,運動即刻對你嘅腦部起到作用 一次運動就會立即提高神經遞質嘅分泌 譬如多巴胺、血清素、去甲腎上腺素 令到你嘅心情馬上變靚 我就有呢種感覺喇 我嘅實驗室證明 一次運動就可以 提高你轉移注意力 同集中注意力嘅能力 而呢個效果至少可以保持兩粒鐘 最後,研究仲發現 一次運動就可以縮短你嘅反應時間 即係話 你可以更快咁接住 一隻就快要跌落地嘅星巴克杯 好緊要嘎
(Laughter)
(笑聲)
But these immediate effects are transient, they help you right after. What you have to do is do what I did, that is change your exercise regime, increase your cardiorespiratory function, to get the long-lasting effects. And these effects are long-lasting because exercise actually changes the brain's anatomy, physiology and function. Let's start with my favorite brain area, the hippocampus. The hippocampus -- or exercise actually 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.
但係呢啲好處唔長久 所以你需要好似我噉 改變自己嘅運動習慣 提高心肺功能 來令到個效果得以長久 至於持續噉做運動之所以有長期嘅效果 係因為佢會改變腦部嘅構造 生理機能同功能 或者由我最鍾意嘅海馬體講起 海馬體… 運動其實會促使海馬體製造新嘅腦細胞 啲新嘅腦細胞仲會變大 使到你嘅長期記憶增強 對你同我都係
Number two: the most common finding in neuroscience studies, looking at effects of long-term exercise, is improved attention function dependent on your prefrontal cortex. You not only get better focus and attention, but the volume of the hippocampus increases as well. And finally, you not only get immediate effects of mood with exercise but those last for a long time. So you get long-lasting increases in those good mood neurotransmitters.
第二,神經學兩個經常發現嘅嘢係 長期運動 會增強前額皮質嘅注意力功能 噉唔單止改善你嘅注意力 海馬體仲會變大 而且,運動唔單止令你短期有好心情 仲會長期都有好心情㖭 所以長遠嚟講 快樂情緒嘅神經遞質就會多咗
But really, the most transformative thing that exercise will do is its protective effects on your brain. Here you can think about the brain like a muscle. The more you're working out, the bigger and stronger your hippocampus and prefrontal cortex gets. Why is that important? Because the prefrontal cortex and the hippocampus are the two areas that are most susceptible to neurodegenerative diseases and normal cognitive decline in aging. So with increased exercise over your lifetime, you're not going to cure dementia or Alzheimer's disease, but what you're going to do is you're going to create the strongest, biggest hippocampus and prefrontal cortex so it takes longer for these diseases to actually have an effect. You can think of exercise, therefore, as a supercharged 401K for your brain, OK? And it's even better, because it's free.
但其實,運動最重要嘅一點係 佢可以保護你嘅腦部 你可以將腦部諗成一舊肌肉 你運動越多 你嘅海馬體同前額皮質 就會變得更強更大 點解呢個重要? 因為前額皮質同海馬體 係兩個最容易發生病變 同衰退嘅區域 如果你成世人多啲運動 雖然唔會醫好失智或者阿爾茲海默症 但係你會 強化你嘅海馬體同前額皮質 令到呢啲區域冇咁容易有呢啲病 你可以將運動諗成一個 你幫你個腦設立嘅福利投資計劃 甚至比嗰個仲好 因為你連錢都唔使放入去
So this is the point in the talk where everybody says, "That sounds so interesting, Wendy, but I really will only want to know one thing. And that is, just tell me the minimum amount of exercise I need to get all these changes."
宜家有人會問 「Wendy,你嘅演講好有趣, 但係我凈係想知道一件事, 有效果嘅最小運動量係咩?」
(Laughter)
(笑聲)
And so I'm going to tell you the answer to that question. First, good news: you don't have to become a triathlete to get these effects. The rule of thumb is you want to get three to four times a week exercise minimum 30 minutes an exercise session, and you want to get aerobic exercise in. That is, get your heart rate up. And the good news is, you don't have to go to the gym to get a very expensive gym membership. Add an extra walk around the block in your power walk. You see stairs -- take stairs. And power-vacuuming can be as good as the aerobics class that you were going to take at the gym.
我嘅答案就係 好消息先 你唔洗去練三項鐵人 關鍵係每個星期運動三至四次 每次至少半粒鐘 要做提高你心率嘅有氧運動 仲有就係 你唔洗買好貴嘅健身計劃 你只要喺屋企附近快步行多個圈 見到樓梯,就行樓梯 喺屋企做真空收腹練習 同去做有氧操一樣有用
So I've gone from memory pioneer to exercise explorer. From going into the innermost workings of the brain, to trying to understand how exercise can improve our brain function, and my goal in 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 optimum exercise prescription for you, at your age, at your fitness level, for your genetic background, to maximize the effects of exercise today and also to improve your brain and protect your brain the best for the rest of your life.
我由記憶研究嘅先驅 變成研究運動嘅人 由研究腦部最深處 到發掘運動點樣改善腦部功能 宜家,我嘅研究目標 係研究比啱啱同你哋講嘅嘢 更加深入嘅嘢 而唔係頭先講到 「每個星期三至四次每次半粒鐘」嘅嘢 我要研究嘅 係點樣針對你嘅年齡、體魄、基因 去制訂運動方案 來達到最大嘅效果 來改善你腦部嘅功能 同埋來終生保護你個腦部
But it's one thing to talk about exercise, and it's another to do it. So I'm going to invoke my power as a certified exercise instructor, to ask you all to stand up.
但係,講同做係兩回事 亦因為我係個持牌嘅健身教練 我想叫你哋宜家企起身…
(Laughter)
(笑聲)
We're going to do just one minute of exercise. It's call-and-response, just do what I do, say what I say, and make sure you don't punch your neighbor, OK? Music!
我哋就做一分鐘嘅健身 我講咩,你就做咩 記得唔好打到隔籬左右 音樂!
(Upbeat music)
(節奏感嘅音樂)
Five, six, seven, eight, it's right, left, right, left. And I say, I am strong now. Let's hear you.
5,6,7,8 右,左,右,左 講:「我依家好強壯喇。」 一齊講
Audience: I am strong now.
觀眾:我依家好強壯喇
Wendy Suzuki: Ladies, I am Wonder Woman-strong. Let's hear you!
講者︰各位女士講,我係女超人 一齊講!
Audience: I am Wonder Woman-strong.
觀眾:我係女超人
WS: New move -- uppercut, right and left.
講者︰大聲啲講!
I am inspired now. You say it!
新動作,左勾拳,右勾拳 我受到鼓舞!!講!
Audience: I am inspired now.
觀眾:我受到鼓舞!
WS: Last move -- pull it down, right and left, right and left. I say, I am on fire now! You say it.
講者︰最後一個動作,拉落來 右,左,右,左 我依家好興!講
Audience: I am on fire now.
觀眾:我依家好興!
WS: And done! OK, good job!
講者︰搞掂!做得好!
(Applause)
(掌聲)
Thank you. I want to leave you with one last thought. And that is, bringing exercise in your life will not only give you a happier, more protective life today, but it will protect your brain from incurable diseases. And in this way it will change the trajectory of your life for the better.
多謝 我想同你哋分享最後一樣嘢 就係,將運動融入你嘅生活 噉唔單會令你心情更好、免疫力更強 仲會令你腦部遠離不治之症 令你嘅生活變得更好
Thank you very much.
多謝
(Applause)
(掌聲)
Thank you.
多謝
(Applause)
(掌聲)