愛交際的人老了不容易健忘？網友：打擾了，我社恐

剛看過的單詞轉頭就忘，手裏拿着手機找手機。上一秒還記得要說什麼，下一秒就像斷了網的視頻一樣，卡在那裏緩衝？

唉，小孩子健忘老不好，多半是宅的。

輕度認知障礙

近日，發表在美國神經病學學會雜誌《神經病學》上的一項研究顯示：玩電腦遊戲、多多社交對延緩記憶力的衰退有幫助。

A new study has found that mentally stimulating activities like using computers, playing games, making crafts and participating in social activities are linked to a lower risk or delay of age-related memory loss called mild cognitive impairment (MCI).
這項新的研究發現，像使用電腦、玩遊戲、手工製作和參加社交活動這樣的精神刺激活動，與較低風險或延遲患上輕度認知障礙有關聯（輕度認知障礙：與年齡相關的記憶喪失）。

左：正常人的大腦
中：輕度認知障礙者的大腦
右：阿爾茨海默病患者的大腦

輕度認知障礙(mild cognitive impairment)是一種常見的老年醫學症狀。

這種症狀和思考能力還有記憶力有關聯，但它與我們常說的“癡呆（dementia）”又不是一回事。它的症狀要更輕一些。

They may struggle to complete complex tasks or have difficulty understanding information they have read, whereas people with dementia have trouble with daily tasks such as dressing, bathing and eating independently. However, there is strong evidence that MCI can be a precursor of dementia.
患輕度認知障礙的人可能很難完成複雜的任務，或者較難理解他們所讀到的信息，但是癡呆症患者則很難獨立完成日常任務，比如穿衣、洗澡和吃飯。不過，也有強有力的證據表明輕度認知障礙可能是癡呆的前兆。

減緩大腦衰老的方式

人都希望自己健健康康的。

關注護膚的人會預防皮膚老化。撐傘、塗防曬，都是爲了把臉上的青春留住。

那人類最重要的器官——大腦，要怎麼延緩衰老呢？

答案是——改變生活方式。

"There are currently no drugs that effectively treat mild cognitive impairment, dementia or Alzheimer's disease, so there is growing interest in lifestyle factors that may help slow brain aging believed to contribute to thinking and memory problems — factors that are low cost and available to anyone," said study author Yonas E Geda, MD of the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Arizona, and a member of the American Academy of Neurology.
美國神經病學學會成員、亞利桑那州斯科茨代爾市梅奧醫療中心醫學博士、該研究的作者Yonas E. Geda表示：“目前還沒有能夠有效治療輕度認知障礙、癡呆或阿爾茨海默病的藥物，因此，人們對於生活方式因素的影響越來越感興趣，這些因素可能有助於減緩大腦衰老，人們相信特定生活方式有助於解決思考和記憶問題，並且改變生活方式的成本很低，任何人都可以參與。”

"Our study took a close look at how often people participated in mentally stimulating activities in both middle-age and later life, with a goal of examining when such activities may be most beneficial to the brain."
“我們的研究仔細觀察了人們在中年和晚年參與精神刺激活動的頻率，目的是研究在什麼時候這類活動對大腦最有益。”

- Findings -
- 研究發現 -

❶ Researchers found that using a computer in middle-age was associated with a 48 percent lower risk of MCI.

研究人員發現，在中年使用電腦會降低48%的輕度認知障礙風險。

❷ Engaging in social activities, like going to movies or going out with friends, or playing games, like doing crosswords or playing cards, in both middle-age and later life were associated with a 20 percent lower risk of developing MCI.
無論是在中年還是晚年，參加諸如看電影、和朋友出去玩、玩填字遊戲，或者打撲克牌之類的社交活動都會降低20%患輕度認知障礙的風險。

❸ Craft activities were associated with a 42 percent lower risk, but only in later life.
參加手工活動幫助人們降低了42%的風險，但僅在晚年有效。

研究人員還發現，用電腦、打紙牌、看電影等活動還有疊加效應。

簡而言之就是，晚年玩得越嗨，腦子就越好。

Those who engaged in two activities were 28 percent less likely to develop memory and thinking problems than those who took part in no activities, while those who took part in three activities were 45 percent less likely, those with four activities were 56 percent less likely and those with five activities were 43 percent less likely.
參加兩項活動的人比不參加任何活動的人出現記憶和思維問題的可能性要低28%，而參加三項活動的人比不參加任何活動的人低45%，參加四項活動的人要低56%，參加五項活動的人要低43%。

研究者同時也指出，雖然該項研究發現了這些活動與輕度認知障礙低風險之間的相關關係，但這並不是說患有輕度認知障礙的人就可以經常去參加這些活動。

有網友表示自己終於找到了記性不好的原因了，評論說：

I knew it. Now I have a source to prove that mentally demanding games are a good brain exercise!
我就知道！現在總算有科學研究證明燒腦的遊戲是鍛鍊大腦的好方法了。

還有網癮少年表示：

I knew spending over eight hours on the internet was not for nothing!
每天網上衝浪8個小時以上還是有點道理嘛，我早知道了。

有人認爲鍛鍊大腦跟跑步擼鐵是一個道理：

It makes sense that using your brain makes it stronger. Just like what happens with muscles. For example, reading is a task where the brain is used — therefore, learning video games is even a harder training. There is a fact about nuns' brains: because they read so many biblical books, Alzheimer's didn't hit them at all.
使用大腦可以讓它更強健，這不錯。就和鍛鍊肌肉一個道理。比方說閱讀是要用腦的，所以玩電子遊戲應該是對大腦更劇烈的鍛鍊。有一個關於修女大腦的研究就顯示，她們根本就不會得阿爾茨海默病，因爲每天讀書（聖經之類的）。

But it should be noted that reading itself isn't a complex task. Being able to analyze, debate and form rational ideas while reading is the key. Reading is only as complex as the material you're engaging with.

但也要注意，閱讀活動本身不是一個很具有挑戰性的任務。閱讀的同時，認真分析、仔細思考、組織理性的觀點纔是關鍵。你閱讀的材料越難，閱讀活動才越難。

那麼問題來了，記單詞之前，要不要先去看場電影呢？

希望你不要從入門就放棄哦。

stimulating /ˈstɪmjuleɪtɪŋ/ adj 增加活力的
cognitive /ˈkɒɡnətɪv/ adj 認識的；認知的；感知的
dementia /dɪˈmenʃə/ n 癡呆；精神錯亂
Alzheimer’s disease /æltsˈhaiməz/ n 阿爾茨海默病
neurology /njʊəˈrɒlədʒi/ n 神經學；神經病學
demanding /dɪˈmændɪŋ/ adj 要求高的；費力的