Stop those negative thoughts! When it comes to brain power, it appears your thoughts matter. That was the eye-opening conclusion of a study published in the journal Alzheimer’s and Dementia.
For this study, scientists carefully measured the cognitive(认知)function of 292 middle-aged to older people over a four-year period. The cognitive assessments included measures of memory, attention and language.
The study subjects(实验对象)had their thinking patterns regularly monitored by responding to a series of questions over two of the four years. The thought-pattem questionnaires were designed to identify repetitive negative thinking (RNT for short). RNT includes often thinking about negative past events as well as future sources of anxiety.
About a third of the study subjects had PET scans(正电子发射计算机断层扫描)of their brains tomeasure levels of the abnormal brain protcins, tau and amyloid. Tau and amyloid build up in people affected with Alzheimer’s disease.
The findings? Study subjects with greater RNT-these repetitive negative thought patterns-exhibited a clear decrease in cognitive function and memory over the four-year period. What’s more, they had more tau and amyloid built up in their brains. It is well-documented that our thoughts have powerful, direct effects on our bodies, so these results aren’t surprising.
Thankfully, studies show that we can change our thought patterns through mental-training practices, with meditation(冥想)documented to be one of the very best.
As someone who often got trapped in negative memories of the remote past, I can speak personally to the remarkable power of meditation to relieve this destructive thinking pattern, and I encourage everyone to explore this practice. I meditate every day and gratefully achieve that goal about 90% of the time.
Feel free to share this post with friends and loved ones because one of the greatest gifts we can give is the gift of better health. Enjoy!
【小题1】How is the subjects’ RNT determined?| A．By measuring their blood level. |
| B．By analyzing their questionnaires. |
| C．By monitoring their behaviors. |
| D．By examining their signs of diseases. |
| A．Forgetting the negative past. |
| B．Changeable thinking patterns. |
| C．Worse body shape. |
| D．Poorer brain function. |
| A．Having brain scanned regularly. |
| B．Buiding up our strength. |
| C．Changing our study pattern. |
| D．Practicing mental training. |
| A．Favorable. | B．Doubtful. | C．Reserved. | D．Unclear. |
