六招教您如何保护记忆力.

译者 kffkenshin

Losing your memory is not necessarily an inevitable part of life. Though genetics plays a significant role in whether people develop dementia, more and more research is showing that having a healthy lifestyle and staying mentally challenged may lower your chance of losing your memory and your mind.

Laurie Tarkan
　　在生活中记忆的丧失并不是不可避免。虽然基因在人类是否患有痴呆症中起着重要作用，但越来越多的研究显示，拥有一个健康的生活方式且持续的接受智力上的刺激可能会降低记忆力丧失和精神错乱的机率。

Here are six lifestyle factors that will give your mind a boost:

1. Get Moving

A number of studies have shown that exercising, especially light exercise, slows the onset of memory loss and dementia. One study of older adults found that walking and doing other light activities like gardening preserved their memory longer than those who were sedentary. Another recent study found that exercise counteracts the brain shrinkage that occurs with age. While the older exercisers gained two percent of their brain volume, non-exercisers lost brain tissue.

　　大量研究表明运动，特别是轻度运动可以延缓记忆丢失或痴呆。一份对老年人的研究显示，進行散步或者做些轻度活动如园艺，此类人群比那些久坐不动的人更能保持记忆力。另一份最新报告表明运动可以缓解因年纪增大而引起的脑萎缩。当那些喜欢运动的老年人因此而增大脑容量的2%时，其他没有进行运动的老年人却失去了他们的脑组织. 

The benefits appear to start accruing early. One study found that exercise in midlife significantly reduced the incidence of dementia three decades later. And another study published in the Journal of Sports Science and Medicine looked at people in their 20s and found that young adults who followed exercise guidelines - moderate exercise five times a week for 30 minutes - had a better memory compared to those who didn’t.

　　运动的好处看似在变老之前就显现出来。一份报告表明中年时期就开始运动可以明显的把痴呆症推迟到30年后发生。 体育科学与医学杂志（ Journal of Sports Science and Medicine ）刊登出一份对20~30岁年龄层的人群进行调查的报告，发现有每周进行5次30分钟左右适度运动的年轻人的记忆力比那些缺乏运动的好。 

2. Eat Fruits and Veggies

　　2.多吃水果和蔬菜

A recent study found that elders who ate a diet high in fruits and vegetables when they 30 years younger had lower risks of dementia. Oxidative stress and inflammation are thought to be involved in dementia. Fruits and vegetables contain loads of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, which may protect the brain against this damage.

　　一份最新研究发现在30岁前多吃水果和蔬菜的老年人患有痴呆症的风险较低。氧化应激和发炎这两个因素被认为与痴呆症紧密相连。蔬菜水果富含抗氧化剂和抗炎性，这可以保护大脑不受损害。

3. Reduce Your Risk Factors for Heart Disease

　　3. 降低患有心脏病的风险

Risk factors for heart disease, like diabetes, chronic stress, high cholesterol, and being overweight or obese have also been implicated in dementia. Some of these factors, like diabetes, are particularly potent if they arise in midlife, rather than later in life. So getting these risk factors under control through exercising and diet when you’re young may delay cognitive losses later on.

　　患有心脏病的风险因素如糖尿病，慢性应激，高胆固醇和超重或肥胖都跟痴呆症有关系。这些因素如糖尿病在中年时期发病的威力比老年时期来的猛。所以在年轻时通过运动和饮食来控制这些因素会缓解认知能力的丧失。

4. Get Culture

　　4. 多接触文化新思想

Participating in cultural activities and reading are also protective. A new study found that being open to new ideas can also delay dementia. Being open means you are curious, have a thirst for knowledge and are able to think creatively about new ideas. In contrast, closed individuals are more rigid in their beliefs and less emotionally involved with experiences.

　　参加文化活动和阅读都有利于保护头脑。一份新的研究发现多接触新思想也可以延迟痴呆症的到来。保持思想开放意味着你好奇心强，渴望新知识，有创新思想。反之，思想保守的人固执地秉持他们的信条，较少涉及情感经历。

“Individuals with higher openness are more actively engaged in cognitively enriching activities and these activities are protective of cognitive performance,” the study authors wrote.

5. Take Care of Your Teeth

　　5.保护好牙齿 

Studies of twins have found that developing periodontal disease early in life is associated with a risk for developing Alzheimer's disease.

　　对双胞胎的研究报告指出早年患有牙周疾病与阿兹海默症（老年痴呆症）的诱发因素密切相关。 

"Over three times more often, the twin with more tooth loss is the twin who develops dementia, and we find the same for Alzheimer's disease," says the study author Margaret Gatz,, of the University of Southern California.

　　该份报告的作者------南加利福尼亚大学的玛格丽特.盖兹 （ Margaret Gatz）解释道：“比正常情况高出3倍，双胞胎中牙齿掉比较多的一方更容易患有痴呆症和阿兹海默症。 

6. Got a Difficult Job? Perfect!

　　6.找一份有挑战的工作？无敌！

The type of work you do may also protect you against cognitive decline. The research on twins shows that having a job that involves complex work with people—careers that involve persuasion, mentoring, instruction and supervision—is associated with a lower risk of Alzheimer's and dementia. Working with complicated data also reduces risk.

　　你工作的种类可能有助于延缓认知能力的衰退。一份研究双胞胎的报告指出拥有一份与人打交道的工作如劝说，指导，教导，监督有利于降低患有阿兹海默症和痴呆症的风险。一份与冗杂数据打交道的工作也有利于降低此类风险。