舒缓压力的好方法：按摩对儿童的影响

　　Scientists are finding that it can help to get outside your head completely. In a study of 60 schoolchildren traumatized by Hurricane Andrew, Tiffany Field, director of the University of Miami's Touch Research Institute, found that depression dropped in kids who received 30 minutes of massage twice a week for a month; kids who watched a relaxing video showed no improvement. And cortisol levels, the body's marker for stress, declined significantly in the massage group. If massage isn't your thing, go for a vigorous walk, swim or bike ride. Exercise is not only good at keeping you fit; it reduces anxiety and depression, too.

　　科学家发现彻底不考虑这些问题很有帮助。迈阿密大学触觉研究所所长Tiffany Field在对由于安德鲁飓风而受到心理创伤的60名在校儿童的研究中发现，连续一个月、每周接受两次30分钟按摩的孩子其忧郁情况有所下降；而那些看放松内容的录像片的孩子则没有什么改观。作为人的压力标记的皮质醇水平在接受按摩的一组中也出现了相当程度的下降。如果你不喜欢按摩，那也可以出去好好走一走、游游泳或骑骑车。锻炼不仅有利于保持身体健康，而且能减少焦虑和忧郁。

　　It may be difficult, but in troubled times, researchers say, people need to take comfort from life' s simplest pleasures.In a small study at the University of Rochester School of Medicine, Dr. O. J. Sahler found that bone-marrow transplant patients who listened to music reported less pain and nausea, and their transplants took less time to become functional. And, yes, laughter may be good medicine, too. Dr. Lee Berk, of the Loma Linda University School of Public Health, discovered that a group of students who watched a comic video for an hour had marked reductions in epinephrine and cortisol levels. "If fear is too great," says Berk,"send in the clowns." Now that's something we can all meditate on.

　　研究者们说，尽管做起来很难，但是在多事之秋，人们需要从生活的最简单的快乐中获取安慰。在Rochester大学医学院进行的一次小范围调查中，O. J. Sahler博士发现在骨髓移植病人中，那些听音乐的反应感到的疼痛和恶心程度比较轻，而且他们移植的骨髓也更早就开始工作。另外，笑可能确实是良药。Loma Linda大学公共卫生学院的Lee Berk博士发现一组看了一小时喜剧录像的学生其肾上腺素和皮质醇水平都出现了显著下降。“如果你非常害怕，”Berk说，“那就看小丑表演吧。”这才是值得我们好好考虑的东西。