A new study from the Florida State University suggests that inadequate amount of stimulation in the workplace and an unclean working environment can both affect the brain functions of employees on the long run。
来自佛罗里达州大学的新研究显示，工作场所刺激量的不足和不洁净的工作环境从长远来看均会影响员工的大脑功能。
Previously， researchers have been debating whether dirty workplace or working in an unstimulating environment that took the biggest toll on brain health as people aged。
此前，研究人员一直在争论，随着年龄增长，肮脏的工作场所或不刺激的工作环境是否会对人的脑部健康产生最大的影响。
“Psychologists say that the brain is a muscle， while industrial hygienists point to chemicals in the work environment that may cause decline，” explained Joseph Grzywacz， the Norejane Hendrickson Professor of Family and Child Sciences and lead researcher on the study， in a statement。
“心理学家说脑是肌肉，而工业卫生学家指出工作环境的化学物质可能导致其衰退，”家庭和儿童科学教授及该研究的首席研究员Joseph Grzywacz在一份声明中说。
The new study， published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine， suggests that both workplace cleanliness and stimulation plays an important role in the long-term cognitive well-being of employees。
这个新研究发表在《职业和环境医学》期刊上，它介绍了工作场所的清洁和刺激在长期来看对员工的认知健康起着重要的作用。
“There are real things in the workplace that can shape cognitive function： some that you can see or touch， and others you can’t。 We showed that both matter to cognitive health in adulthood，” Grywacs added in a press release。
“工作场所的一些东西真的能够塑造认知功能：一些东西你看得见摸得着，一些却不能。我们展示了这些东西对成年人的认知健康有影响，”Grywacs在一份媒体稿件上说道。
For the study， researchers analyzed the data of 4，963 adults aging from 32 to 84 from the 48 contiguous states。
在研究中，研究员分析了4963名年龄32至84岁之间，来自48个州的成年人的数据。
The researchers the individual workplace of each participant and their ability to maintain and later use information they learned。
研究员分析了每个参与者的工作场所，和他们的保持以及随后运用所获取的信息的能力。
Executive functioning skills such as their ability to complete tasks， manage time and pay attention were also observed。
他们还观察其执行功能能力，如完成任务，管理时间和专注力等。
Each participant was also asked if they are experiencing any issues in their memory。
每个参与者还被问到他们的记忆是否正在经历一些问题。
Their study resulted into two major findings。
他们的研究得出了两大结论。
First， researchers discovered that learning new skills and facing new challenges resulted in stronger cognitive performance particularly for women as they aged。
一，研究员发现学习新技能和面对新挑战特别是对于女性来说，随年龄增长，会导致更强的认知能力。
On the other hand， cognitive decline were observed in both men and women exposed to dirty working environment。
另一方面，无论男女，当暴露于肮脏的工作环境中，都出现了认知衰退的现象。
Their findings suggests that higher stimulation in the workplace can improve the cognitive performance of the employees， but at the same time， maintaining clean working environment is also very important to prevent possible decrease in brain function of the employees。
他们的研究结果表面，工作场所的高刺激能改善员工的认知能力，但同时，保持工作环境的清洁也十分重要，以避免员工脑功能的可能性衰退。
