Reader’s Digest
● Keep Fit to Prevent Flu
Regular exercise bolsters immunity to colds and flu, and sporty types who do succumb to colds tend to get off lightly. New researches found people who were physically active on five or more days a week were ill for almost half the time of those who managed only one workout a week. Cold symptoms were also up to 41% less severe in the very fit. (RD2012, January, p.18)
多運動 防流感
經常運動可加強免疫系統對抗感冒及流感；運動型的人即使患了感冒也比較容易痊癒。新的研究發現，身體比較活躍的人(每星期至少運動五天)比起每星期勉強運動一次的人，生病時間幾乎只有一半；感冒的症狀也比較輕微(降低41%)。 (RD2012, 1月號, 18頁)
● Laughter
A man and his wife were arguing about who should make the coffee each morning.
The wife says, “You should do it, because you get up first.” The husband says, “No! Since you’re in charge of the cooking, you should do it.”
The wife replies, “No, even the Bible says that the man should make the coffee.” The husband is incredulous. He says, “I don’t believe that! Show it to me.”
So his wife opens the Bible, and points out how the top of several pages read: “HEBREWS”. (RD2012, January, p.145)
笑 譚
有一個人正在跟太太爭辯誰應該每天早上起來煮咖啡。太太說：「你該起來煮，因為你比較早起。」先生說：「錯了，煮東西是妳負責的，所以該妳煮。」太太反駁說：「錯的是你，連聖經都說該男人煮咖啡。」這位先生很懷疑，他說：「我不相信！除非妳指出來給我看。」
於是他老婆打開聖經，指出裡面有好幾頁最上頭都寫著：「HE BREWS。」 (RD2012, 1月號, 145頁)
【譯註】其實聖經上寫的是HEBREWS，是《希伯來人書》的意思，但這位太太硬把它拆成HE BREWS，變成「HE(他)BREWS(煮)。」
● Get a Better Sleep (II)
- For a man, how he slept the night before will predict the quality of his interactions with his spouse the next day. For a woman, how she interacted with her spouse that day affects how she’ll sleep that night. So practice healthy conflict resolution during the day. In other words, avoid name-calling, and belittling the other person.
- If you like a firmer mattress and she likes a softer one, you don’t have to compromise. Get two singles, push them together, and use king sheets. Or you can buy a strap that attaches the mattresses to each other.
- Watching TV at night may seem relaxing, but it beams light into your eyes, which is an “alert” signal for the brain. Read a book before bed instead.
- One of the best cues for the body to go to sleep is a decrease in body temperature. I recommend sleeping in a very cool environment, about 19° C. A hot bath will increase your skin temperature, which eventually decrease your core body temperature. Take a bath a half hour or so before bedtime.
- If you have allergies, you’re probably better off with a feather pillow than one made of foam. Feather pillows are more likely to be enclosed in a tightly woven fabric that keeps dust mites out. Relatively few people are allergic to feathers. Besides, foam can exacerbate allergies because of its moisture content. (RD2012, January, p.74~75)
如何睡得更好(下)
1. 從一個男人前一夜睡得好不好，可以預知他隔日與配偶互動的品質。而一個女人白天與她的配偶互動好不好，會影響她當晚的睡眠品質。因此，在白天要練習解決衝突的健康方法，避免作人身攻擊，或貶損對方。
2. 如果你喜歡硬一點的床墊，而老婆喜歡軟一點的，那麼不必要遷就對方。買兩張單人床墊，並在一起，然後舖上特大號床罩。或者，你可以買一條寬布帶，把兩張床墊綁在一起。
3. 以為晚上看電視可以使人放鬆，其實它的光線映入眼簾時，對大腦卻是個「警示」訊號。因此，睡前看看書比較好。
4. 暗示身體該睡的最佳訊號是體溫的降低。我一向建議在非常涼爽的環境下睡覺(約攝氏19度)。洗個熱水澡會升高皮膚溫度，相對的會降低體內的溫度；因此在睡前約半個小時洗個熱水澡吧。
5. 如果你有過敏的問題，使用羽毛枕頭可能比使用泡沫塑膠枕頭好。羽毛枕頭使用的布料通常織得比較細密，塵蟎不容易跑出來；而對羽毛過敏的人相對而言非常少。另外，泡沫塑膠枕頭經常含有濕氣，會加劇過敏症狀。 (RD2012, 1月號, 74~75頁)
● Get a Better Sleep (I)
- You don’t need a really expensive mattress or one with a lot of space-age bells and whistles. There’s really only one good study on mattresses, and it confirmed the Goldilocks theory: most people prefer a mattress that’s not too hard and not too soft. So look for something medium firm.
- If the mattress is eight to ten years old, you should probably get a new one. Seventy-two percent of people we recently surveyed said they slept far better on their new mattress than they did on their old one.
- We expect to sleep for eight solid hours, but that’s actually not normal compared with global populations and our own evolutionary history. People naturally wake up two or three times a night. It’s worrying about it that’s the problem.
- If you’re not sleeping well, you may have acid reflux, even if you don’t feel heartburn. Try elevating your head by putting blocks under the top of the bed and sleeping on your left side.
- The classic line is that you shouldn’t go to bed angry, but that’s sometimes impossible. If you’re lying in the same bed but mentally throwing darts at each other, go and sleep on the couch. (RD2012, January, p.72~73)
如何睡得更好(上)
1. 你不一定需要一張昂貴的、具有一大堆花俏功能的床墊。我曾徹底地做過一個有關床墊的研究，結果證實了所謂的「中庸理論」：大多數的人喜歡不太硬又不太軟的床墊；因此賣一張軟硬適中的吧。
2. 如果一張床墊已經用了八到十年，你可能應該換一個新的。根據我們最近的調查，72%的人都說睡新床墊比睡舊床墊更有助於好眠。
3. 我們總希望能一次睡足八個鐘頭，但無論與世界各地的人相對照，或者從人類進化的歷史來看，那是不切實際的。一般人晚上都會自然甦醒兩三次；為此擔心才是真正的問題。
4. 如果你睡不安穩，你可能患了胃酸逆流(即使沒有感到胃痛)。想辦法用木塊將床頭墊高，使頭部高起，並且採取左側躺的姿勢睡覺。
5. 一個經典的說法是：勿含著怒氣上床；但通常不容易做到。如果你們倆同床共枕，但不斷將怒氣擲向對方，那麼請離床去睡沙發。 (RD2012, 1月號, 72~73頁)
