We all have our own tricks to boost our mood when we’re feeling down; these little tricks can make you feel a little bit happier every day. While there are certainly happy memories tied up in the wedding ring you and your spouse purchased together years ago or your teddy bear from childhood, new research finds that we typically feel calmer and experience a greater sense of well-being when we focus on a place that reminds us of happier times rather than a thing, even if it holds sentimental value.
我們都有自己的小妙招讓自己心情低落的時(shí)候振作起來，這些小妙招能讓你每天都增添一點(diǎn)幸福感。多年前你和愛人一起買下的結(jié)婚戒指、童年的泰迪熊，這些東西都與幸福的記憶相關(guān)。不過新研究發(fā)現(xiàn)與某件物品相比——即使是具有重要意義的物品——當(dāng)我們集中精神回憶某個(gè)與美好時(shí)光相關(guān)的地方時(shí)，我們尤其會(huì)感到平靜，幸福感也更加強(qiáng)烈。

The report, called Places That Make Us, was commissioned the United Kingdom’s National Trust (NT) and conducted by Surrey University’s researchers. Experts performed functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans on 20 volunteers and conducted an online survey of 2,000 people to better understand this deep draw toward special places. The results were groundbreaking, as they revealed such places don’t just make us feel happy, but create a sense of calm and completeness.
這份報(bào)告名為“那些讓我們更加完整的地方”是由英國國民信托基金委任、英國薩里大學(xué)的專家們推出的。專家們對20位志愿者進(jìn)行了機(jī)能性磁共振成像檢查，同時(shí)對2000位志愿者進(jìn)行了網(wǎng)上調(diào)查，以求更好地了解特殊地域?qū)θ藗兙哂袕?qiáng)烈吸引力的原因。他們?nèi)〉昧送黄菩缘难芯砍晒l(fā)現(xiàn)這些特殊的地方不僅會(huì)使我們心情愉悅，還能產(chǎn)生一種平靜感和完整感。

“Working with leading researchers and academics, and using cutting-edge fMRI brain technology, we examined how places affect people, how they become special, and why we feel a pull towards them,” explained Nino Strachey, head of research for the NT.
“與領(lǐng)先的研究團(tuán)隊(duì)和學(xué)者一道，運(yùn)用先進(jìn)的機(jī)能性磁共振成像檢查技術(shù)，我們就特殊地方對人們的影響力、它們?yōu)楹翁厥猓约盀楹螌ξ覀兙哂袕?qiáng)烈的吸引力等問題進(jìn)行了研究，”英國國民信托基金負(fù)責(zé)人Nino Strachey說道。

The 20 volunteers were shown images of landscapes, houses, and other locations, as well as personally meaningful objects. Measuring their brain activity, the researchers found that it was the places, as opposed to the objects, that caused the brain to get the most excited. The part of the brain linked with emotional responses, the amygdala, was specifically roused.
研究人員給20位志愿者觀看了風(fēng)景、房屋和其他地方的圖片，還給他們觀看了具有重要私人意義的東西的圖片。通過檢測他們的大腦活動(dòng)，研究人員發(fā)現(xiàn)特定的地方，而不是物品，能讓大腦產(chǎn)生最為興奮的狀態(tài)。尤其是人腦中與情感反應(yīng)相聯(lián)系的部分——杏仁核——反應(yīng)非常強(qiáng)烈。

Volunteers were also interviewed at great length two times, once at home and the other time at their special place. According to the research, the favorite places evoked feelings of belonging, physical and emotional safety, and an intense internal pull to the place.
研究人員同時(shí)還對志愿者進(jìn)行了兩次長時(shí)間的采訪，一次是在家里，另一次是在對他們有特殊意義的地方。研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，那些人們最愛的地方能喚醒一種內(nèi)心的歸屬感，讓人感到身體和情感上的安全感，同時(shí)還感到自己強(qiáng)烈地被這些地方吸引。

According to the report, 86 percent agreed “this place is part of me,” 60 percent felt “I feel safe here,” and 79 percent said they were “drawn here by a magnetic pull.”
據(jù)研究報(bào)道稱，86%的人贊同“這個(gè)地方已經(jīng)成為我的一部分”，60%的人感到“我在這里很安全”，79%的人稱“我被一種強(qiáng)磁場吸引到了這里”。

Dr. Andy Myers, consultant on the research, weighed in on the findings, saying, “For the first time we have been able to prove the physical and emotional benefits of place, far beyond any research that has been done before. With meaningful places generating a significant response in areas of the brain known to process emotion, it’s exciting to understand how deep-rooted this connection truly is.”
該研究的顧問Andy Myers博士這樣評論這項(xiàng)研究的意義：“這是我們第一次了解到了地域?qū)θ松眢w和情感的有益影響，其意義遠(yuǎn)超之前的任何研究。我們了解到了具有特殊意義的地方會(huì)讓大腦中處理情感的部分產(chǎn)生強(qiáng)烈的反應(yīng)，這種聯(lián)系如此深刻，真是一項(xiàng)令人驚喜的發(fā)現(xiàn)?！?/div>

（翻譯：小木）