音樂的力量--它是心的開啟者

原載出處：2009 05 12 CNN健康版
The power of music: It's a real heart opener
(吳海聰翻譯)
(CNN) -- If you didn't catch the white coat and the stethoscope, you might take Dr. Mike Miller for a middle-aged rocker, roaming the halls of the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore.
Playing or listening to music can create a feeling of well being, which affects the vascular system.

如果你不想看醫生，你可能要運用一下麥克米勒醫生的方法，搖滾在巴爾地摩馬利蘭醫院的走廊...。
根據研究，欣賞或演奏音樂能讓人們有蠻好的感覺，如此，可以影響心臟系統的運作。

For years, Miller, a research cardiologist, has been studying the effects of happiness -- or things that make people happy -- on our hearts. He began his research with laughter, and found watching funny movies and laughing at them could actually open up blood vessels, allowing blood to circulate more freely.

多年來，從事心臟專科的米勒醫生一直在研究喜悅或是從事讓人快樂的事對心臟有怎樣的影響。他從笑或看一些好笑的影片開始作研究，發現它會影響心臟血液更加順暢的效果。

Miller thought, if laughter can do that, why not music? So, he tested the effects of music on the cardiovascular system. "Turns out music may be one of the best de-stressors -- either by playing or even listening to music," said Miller.

米勒心想，假如笑可以造成這樣的結果，音樂為什麼不呢?所以他嚐試用音樂作心臟功能的實驗。他說：「聽或演奏音樂或許是最有效的方式之一」。

The setup was basically the same as with the laughter study: Using
high-tech imaging, Miller measured blood vessel size as people listened to music.

他設定了如同笑的機制: 當人們聽音樂的狀況下，運用專業的技術量測血管流暢情形。

The results did not surprise Miller. "The inner lining of the blood vessel relaxed, opened up and produced chemicals that are protective to the heart," he said.

結果不出所料，他說："心臟血管開始放鬆及展開，而且製造一種保護心臟的化學物質" 。

But when participants listened to music they didn't particularly enjoy, Miller said, "the vessels actually began to close up." Watch Dr. Gupta explain how music helps the heart »

但是，當參與實驗的人如果聽到特別不喜歡的音樂時，心血管活絡的效應馬上終止。 看古達醫生解釋音樂如何幫助心臟>>

That's exactly what tension -- or stress -- does.

緊張或壓力造成心臟的負荷。

Don't Miss
· Health Minute archive
· What really makes people happy

不要忘記：
一 、時時刻刻關照健康。
二、找快樂的事物。


Long-term stress can wreak havoc on the cardiovascular system. Over time, it can cause blood vessels to stiffen and become rigid, constricting blood flow. As people get older, arteriosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries, becomes a problem. Constricted vessels can cause blood pressure to rise and increase the risk of heart attack and stroke. Stress can also suppress the immune system, contribute to infertility and impotence, speed the aging process and even rewire the brain, leaving people more vulnerable to anxiety and depression.

長期緊張或壓力，將對心臟功能一大打擊，過度操勞，將造成心肌哽塞，心管硬化等問題。嚴重的話，會造成心臟病或中風。 壓力同樣能造成免疫能力降低，減少壽命， 腦力退化， 讓人抗壓減低及意志消沉。

But music can counter the effects of stress. "It gives us an overall feeling of good, well-being -- a sense of euphoria in some cases," Miller said.

但是，音樂可以減少壓力，米勒說:"在某些狀況下，音樂讓人感覺心情好，陶醉在舒適的環境中，可以帶來全面性良好的覺受"

A recent study out of Stanford University found elderly patients who were diagnosed with depression gained self-esteem and saw an improvement in their mood when they were visited by a music therapist.

史丹佛大學最近的研究指出，音樂治療對老人憂鬱症及提升自信力浮現很好的療效。

In fact, many hospitals across the country use music therapy to help patients heal. The Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, uses music as part of its cardiovascular surgery healing program to "promote relaxation and reduce tension, stress and anxiety." Because music helps these patients relax, it decreases their pain, improves their moods and helps them to sleep better, especially during recovery.

事實上，全世界有很多的醫院運用音樂治療確實收到療癒之效。
在明里蘇達州羅徹斯特的馬友診所，以音樂運用在心臟手術中，讓患者感覺放鬆， 減低疼痛，幫助心情好轉，在恢復期患者更好入眠。

Miller has not only seen these same results in some of his patients who use music therapy, but he said he also believes music can be so relaxing that it can actually keep the body young. "We would like to believe that it may slow down the aging process," he said.

米勒不只是看到這樣病患在音樂治療有好的結果，他更相信，音樂讓人放鬆及減少老化的神奇功效，他說: "我們相信音樂可以抗衰老"。

But be careful what you listen to. Whether you like Beyoncé or the B-52s, Chopin or Johnny Cash, Miller found that listening repeatedly to the same tune diminished the music's effects on the body. "You just don't get that boost if you listen to the same song over and over again," he said. "You need to vary your songs, so when you hear the song fresh, it brings back the sense of joy and opens up the system."

但是，要注意你所聽的音樂，不管你聽甚麼， Beyoncé、B-52s 、蕭邦的啦，或是Johnny Cash，米勒發現重複聽會減少效果。他說"一直聽同一首音樂無法提升好的效果。所以，每次聽新的音樂，快樂及歡笑會再次產生，系統再次開啟"

So, the next time your boss gets on your nerves, or the kids are driving you crazy, or the car breaks down, don't start pulling out your hair. Instead, turn on the radio, grab your iPod or pop in a CD, and let the music carry you away

so ，下一次，你的老闆讓你不爽， 或是小孩搞得讓你快要發瘋，或是愛車拋錨， 讓你怒髮衝冠，記得:打開收音機，轉動你的iPod 或是聽cd， 讓音樂趕走牠們。

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