Mind and Body Benefit from Two Hours in Nature Each Week

　　每周进行两小时的户外活动有益于身心健康

　　By now it’s almost common knowledge that spending time in nature is good for you. Areas with more trees tend to be less polluted, so spending time there allows you to breathe easier. Spending time outdoors has been linked with reduced blood pressure and stress, and seems to motivate people to exercise more.

　　到目前为止，几乎人人都知道亲近自然对我们是有益的。树木繁茂的地方往往污染较少，所以待在那种地方会让你呼吸变得更顺畅。多在室外活动可以降低血压、减少压力，而且似乎更能激起人们运动的欲望。

　　"So it’ll come as no surprise that there’s research showing that spending time in nature is good. I mean, that’s been known for millennia. There’s dozens of papers showing that." Says University of Exeter Medical School researcher Mathew P. White. "We get this idea, patients are coming to us and they’re saying, ’doctor, how long should I spend?’ and the doctor is saying, ’I don’t really know.’"

　　埃克塞特大学医学院研究员马修·P·怀特说：“所以，有研究表明，亲近自然是有益的，这不足为奇。我的意思是，这是亘古不变的真理。有许多文献都证明了这一点。我们之所以有这样的想法是因为，患者来找到我们并问道：‘医生，我应该在户外待上多久呢’，而医生回答说：‘我真的不太清楚’。”

　　So White and his team decided to find out by using data collected from nearly 20,000 people in England through the Monitor of Engagement with the Natural Environment Survey.

　　因此怀特和他的团队决定通过对亲近自然环境调查监测所收集的接近2万英国人的数据进行分析，来找出答案。

　　And their answer? Two hours a week. People who spent at least that much time amid nature—either all at once or totaled over several shorter visits—were more likely to report good health and psychological well-being than those with no nature exposure.

　　他们的答案是什么呢？每周两小时。报告显示，每周至少在户外待两小时（包括一次性待够两小时和分多次总共待够两小时）的人比那些不去亲近自然的人更有可能身体健康、心情舒畅。

　　Remarkably, the researchers found that less than two hours offered no significant benefits. So what’s so special about two hours?

　　值得注意的是，研究人员发现，待不够两个小时就没有显著的益处。那么待两小时有什么特别之处呢？

　　"I have absolutely no idea. Really. We didn’t have an a priori guess at what this would be, this threshold. It emerged. And I’d be lying if I said we predicted this, I don’t know."

　　“我完全不知道。真的。我们没有预测过这个阈值将会是多少。然后它出现了。如果我说我们预测到了这个值，那我就是在撒谎，对此我也是一头雾水。”

　　Even more noteworthy, the two-hour benchmark applied to men and women, to older and younger folks, to people from different ethnic backgrounds, occupational groups, socioeconomic levels, and so on.

　　更值得注意的是，两小时的基准对于男性和女性，老年人和年轻人，来自不同种族背景、职业和社会经济水平的人都适用。

　　Even people with long term illnesses or disabilities benefited from time spent in nature—as long as it was at least 120 minutes per week. The study is in the journal Scientific Reports.

　　即使是患有长期疾病或身体残疾的人也可以从亲近自然中受益——只要保证每周至少120分钟。该研究发表于《科学报告》杂志。

　　While the findings are based on a tremendous number of people, White cautions that it’s really just a correlation. Nobody knows why or how nature has this benefit, or even if the findings will stand up to more rigorous investigation.

　　尽管调查结果是基于大量人群而得出的，但怀特提醒道，这只是一种相关性。即使这些研究结果能够经得起更为严格的调查研究，但没有人知道大自然为什么或如何有这种好处的。

　　I want to be really clear about this. This is very early stages. We’re not saying everybody has to do 120. This is really to start the conversation, saying, what would a threshold look like?

　　我想要把这件事说清楚。研究还处于非常早期的阶段。我们并不是说每个人都必须在户外待上120分钟。这才真正的进入了对话，比如，临界值是多少？

　　What research do we need to take this to the next step before doctors can have the true confidence to work with their patients? But it’s certainly a starting point.

　　如果想将研究进行到下一步，我们还需要做什么研究，以便医生在面对病人的提问时能更有信心？但这的确是个好的开始。

　　(全文共458个词，科学美国人)

　　重难点词汇：

　　motivate  v. 刺激，使有动机，激发…的积极性；成为……的动机；给出理由；申请

　　threshold n. 入口；门槛；开始；极限；临界值

　　occupational adj. 职业的；占领的

　　tremendous  adj. 极大的，巨大的；惊人的

　　rigorous  adj. 严格的，严厉的；严密的；严酷的

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