Watching the best athletes in the world in the Olympics, with their fit and trim physiques, has me thinking about exercise. We all know it is great for cardiovascular health, but what about for mental health? Does swimming five miles a day put Michael Phelps in a good mood?
当看到来自世界各国的运动员有着健康的身体，以极佳的状态去参加着奥林匹克运动，我开始思考运动。我们都知道，运动对心血管的健康有很大好处。但是，它对我们的精神健康有帮助吗？菲尔普斯每天游泳5英里，就可以有一个轻松愉快的心情吗？
While past research has suggested that exercise can ease the symptoms of depression, new research shows that a causal link may not be at play.
尽管过去的研究一直认为运动可以减轻抑郁的临床症状，但是最新的研究显示，两者之间并没有必然的因果联系。
An article in this month's "Archives of General Psychiatry" suggests that, as we might expect, regular exercise is associated with reduced symptoms of depression and anxiety. But there is a bit of a surprise: The researchers also found that exercise did not appear to cause decreased depression and anxiety. Instead, common genetic factors seemed to underlie both a predisposition to exercise more and a predisposition to experience less depression and anxiety.
在这个月的《Archives of General Psychiatry》中有一篇文章中提到，有规律的运动与减轻的抑郁和焦虑的症状有一定的关系。但让人感到惊讶的是，研究者同时发现运动的看起来并不会减轻抑郁和焦虑的症状。相反的，共同的遗传因子看起来会使得易患病的人群去做更多的运动，并且同时也让他们体验到更少的抑郁和焦虑。
The study took advantage of a Dutch sample of almost 6,000 twins. For any given individual, exercising more when measured at a given time point correlated with fewer mood symptoms at the same time point.
这项研究利用了荷兰的6000孪生双胞胎作为研究的实例。对于任何指定的个体，在某个时间点，那些运动较多和情绪症状较少是正相关的。
But for identical twins, who are genetically the same, more exercise in one twin predicted fewer mood symptoms in the other. This did not hold for fraternal twins, who are only halfway similar genetically.
但是，对于那些在遗传学上来说是相同的同卵双生子，其中一个有更多的运动可以预测出另外一个会有很少的情绪症状。而这一现象在那些在遗传上只有小部分相同的异卵双生子中并不存在。
It was also noted that for any individual, more exercise at one time point did not predict fewer mood symptoms at a later time point.
同样的，对于任何的个体而言，在某一时间点更多的运动并不会预示着再稍后的时间里会有更少的情绪症状。
The message: happy people are exercise-friendly people. Brain Buzz
“高兴的人都是乐于运动的人”
But what about the "runner's high"? Many people have heard about how exercise increases beta-endorphin, a natural opiate in the brain that is associated with feeling good. A study published earlier this year that scanned the brains of runners did show increased release of this natural buzz chemical and a correlation of its release with perceived euphoria.
但是，“跑步人的快感”又是什么呢？很多人都听说过运动是如何提高内啡肽——一种能够让我们感到快乐的大脑中的自然鸦片。今年年初的发表的一项研究提到，通过对运动的人大脑进行扫描，发现这种自然的化学物质有更多的释放，并且与幸福愉悦的情绪激发有一定联系。
There is also evidence that exercise can increase levels of the brain chemicals serotonin and norepinephrine, neurotransmitters which have long been known to play a role in mood regulation. The antidepressants all boost levels of these same chemicals.
同样有证据显示，运动可以提高大脑的血清素和肾上腺素的等级，这些神经传递素在调节人的情感方面发挥着巨大的作用。所有的抗抑郁药都是通过提高这些化学元素的等级来达到治疗效果的。
A group at Yale University led by Ronald Duman examined the "runner's high" in running mice. In a paper published last year in Nature Medicine, they observed that a week of exercise in mice led to changes in the expression_r_r of genes in their brain, including an increase in one called VGF, which promotes growth of brain cells.
耶鲁大学由Ronald Duman领导的研究小组研究了运动老鼠的“跑步人的快感”。在去年的《Nature Medicine》中有一篇发表的文章中提到，让老鼠进行一周的运动后，它们大脑中的基因组织会产生变化。这里就包括了一种称为VGF的神经生长基因，能够加快大脑细胞的生长。
They then went on to show that injecting the VGF gene product into mouse brain produces an antidepressant response in the animals.
接着下来，他们将VGF基因产物注入老鼠的大脑当中，并且观察到它在动物中的抗抑郁反应。
So doesn't this suggest that exercise should help people's moods? There have been many studies that have experimentally tested the hypothesis. They have compared groups of depressed patients assigned to an exercise regimen to others getting treatment as usual or placebo.
One review found that eight out of 18 of these studies showed a 50 percent reduction in depressive symptoms in those who exercised. Another review of 14 studies found that exercise did appear to reduce depressive symptoms, but the quality of the studies was not sufficient to be confident in the conclusions drawn from the data.
那么，我们可以认为运动就能够帮助改善人类的情绪吗？这里有很多相关的试验和假设。其中，他们把接受运动治疗的抑郁症者和接受常规治疗或者安慰剂的抑郁症患者进行对照。总共的18份研究中，有8份指出50%参加运动的患者抑郁症状减轻。另外14份研究发现，运动确实减少了的抑郁的症状，但这些研究的并不能完全让人信服。
Fitness Prescription
The trouble with prescribing exercise to depressed patients is that they are often too depressed to want to exercise. It can be like prescribing reading exercises to strengthen the vision of a blind person. With no energy or motivation, a severely depressed person may have no chance of being able to follow through.
运动处方
对于给抑郁患者开运动的处方，主要的问题是他们很忧郁以至于不想从事任何运动。这就好比让盲人去做一些阅读的训了一样。没有足够的动力，一个严重的抑郁症患者没有可能去一直坚持运动。
For patients who are mildly depressed, while it may not be easy, it is more realistic to think that an exercise regimen can be pulled off. While it remains unclear as to whether this exercise will treat depression, there are clearly additional benefits that make it well worth trying.
对于那些抑郁程度不是很高病人来说，坚持运动似乎也是不那么容易的。更加现实的是，可以把运动作为一种养生之道来坚持下去。尽管运动对治疗抑郁还有很多不明确的地方，但是可以肯定是运动是值得一试的方法。
Perhaps the biggest benefit is on weight, an issue for many a depressed patient as both the illness and the medication treatment of it can cause weight gain. The other huge benefit is on general health, as exercise reduces risk of many illnesses including heart disease, stroke and diabetes.
其中最为重要的是，运动非常有利于控制体重。因为对于很多抑郁症患者，疾病本身和药物治疗都有可能增加体重。另外一个巨大的好处是，运动可以减少的罹患很多疾病的风险，包括心脏病、中风和糖尿病。
But all treatments have side effects, and exercise is no exception.
但是，所有的方案都有其不利的方面，运动也不例外。
The downside to an exercise prescription is that if people think they should be exercising and are not able to fire up the willpower to get it done, they can experience more of the guilt and self-loathing that they already have in abundance from the depression itself.
运动处方不足的一点是，当病人考虑他们必须坚持运动，但又没有足够的意志力让自己坚持下去的话，他们会体验到更多的罪恶感，并且可能会更加讨厌自己。而这些不良的认知本已给抑郁症患者带来很多的苦恼。
So there is a balance to be struck between pushing for more exercise if it can be accomplished vs. accepting that the depression has made this impossible for the time being.
因此，在“迫使自己做坚持做更多的运动”与“接受抑郁让我们很难完成这一任务”之间做个权衡。
That will do it for now. Time to go for a run. I will, incidentally be passing by Meadowbrook, home of Michael Phelps' North Baltimore Aquatic Club, on my route.
是该运动的时候。我偶尔会穿过巴尔的摩水上运动俱乐部，这里是菲尔普斯的家。
Yes, we are very proud here in Baltimore!
为我们生活在巴尔的摩而感到自豪吧！
Dr. James Potash is an associate professor of psychiatry and co-director of the Mood Disorders Program at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore. If you have questions or comments, please e-mail moods@jhu.edu. To participate in our genetic and clinical studies, call 1-877-MOODS-JH.作者: 路飞 时间: 09-9-17 10:46
只是去做，别问做的效果。作者: 暗夜星光 时间: 09-9-18 07:04
哦，为了战胜抑郁，一个健康的身体是基础！