郵局◆英文題庫下載題庫

 For many years, stress has been perceived as a possible cause of illness. Now some health experts have begun to look into the positive effects that stressful activity can have on people. It has been observed that patients report feelings of greater well-being after completing stressful tasks that have been set for them by their doctors. It is believed that such mildly stressful activities— organizing the children to go on vacation, preparing for a dinner party in just one afternoon— can improve our health and help to protect us from illness such as heart disease. New research supports thes...

 For many years, stress has been perceived as a possible cause of illness. Now some health experts have begun to look into the positive effects that stressful activity can have on people. It has been observed that patients report feelings of greater well-being after completing stressful tasks that have been set for them by their doctors. It is believed that such mildly stressful activities— organizing the children to go on vacation, preparing for a dinner party in just one afternoon— can improve our health and help to protect us from illness such as heart disease. New research supports these views. When we are forced to carry out a task under pressure, the stress caused can damage cells in both our brain and body. The cells react to this “attack” by producing proteins to repair themselves. Through this process of self-repair, cells become stronger and more resistant to future stress and even disease. The reason for investigating “stress therapy” was the observation that, as we get older, the body becomes increasingly less efficient. That’s why the body needs to be continually put under low levels of stress, to stimulate the mind and body. However, it is important that this is the right kind of stress. Short-term stress is beneficial as long as it is not too intense and will give a sense of achievement, like that gained by completing a task like putting together furniture following the instruction manual. Long-term stress can be harmful as it is often associated with situations for which there is no easy solution.

多年來，人們一直認為壓力可能是引起疾病的原因。現在，一些健康專家已經開始研究壓力活動對人們的積極影響。已經觀察到，患者在完成由醫生為其設定的壓力任務後會感覺到幸福感。人們認為，這種輕度的壓力活動（組織孩子們去度假，準備一個下午的晚餐會）可以改善我們的健康狀況，並有助於保護我們免受心髒病等疾病的侵害。新的研究支持了這些觀點。當我們被迫在壓力下執行任務時，所產生的壓力會損害我們的大腦和身體的細胞。細胞通過產生自我修復的蛋白質來對這種“攻擊”做出反應。通過這種自我修復過程，細胞變得更強壯，並且對未來的壓力甚至疾病具有更強的抵抗力。研究“壓力療法”的原因是，隨著年齡的增長，身體的效率越來越低。這就是為什麼身體需要持續處於低壓力狀態以刺激身心的原因。但是，這是正確的壓力，這一點很重要。短期壓力是有益的，只要它不會太緊，就會給人一種成就感，就像通過按照說明手冊完成家具之類的任務所獲得的那樣。長期壓力可能是有害的，因為它常常與無法輕鬆解決的情況相關。