坚持运动锻炼可以保护你的大脑

Older people who regularly exercise at moderate to intense levels may have a 40% lower risk of developing brain damage linked to ischemic strokes, certain kinds of dementia and mobility problems.

有规律地锻炼且锻炼强度适中的老人可以降低脑危害的风险，这个风险可能是缺血性脑中风、某些各种各样的脑中风和流动性问题。

New research published Wednesday in the journal Neurology says the MRIs of people who exercised at higher levels were significantly less likely to show silent brain infarcts — caused by blocked arteries that interrupt blood flow and are markers for strokes — than people who exercised lightly.

发表在周三的神经病学杂志说高水平锻炼人的核磁共振的图像说明患病的情况要明显地少于那些表现的沉寂的大脑，很少锻炼的人的大脑可能引起动脉阻塞，动脉阻塞就会打乱血流，这就是脑中风的标志。

Until now, studies have shown exercise helps lower blood pressure, bad cholesterol and insulin levels, all risk factors for strokes causing brain damage. Treating those conditions is helpful, but often brain damage from multiple infarctions is not reversible.

直到现在，研究显示运动可以降低血压、降低胆固醇和胰岛素水平。脑中风的高危因素能引起大脑危害。处理这些因素是非常有用的。但是受到多重梗塞的经常性的脑危害是不可逆的。

"It's not good enough just to exercise, but the more (intense) the better," says physician Joshua Willey, a co-author of the study and researcher at Columbia University's Department of Neurology. "We think exercise is protecting against the development of brain infarcts, and the hope is with lower risk of having these events, you'd also be at lower risk of dementia or stroke."

但是仅仅靠锻炼是不够的，但是越多越好，哥伦比亚大学神经病学院的Joshua Willey内科医生说，他是学习和研究该项目的合作者之一。我们认为运动可以保护我们的大脑免于大脑梗塞，可以降低这些事件的风险，也可以降低痴呆和中风的危险。

The research involves 1,238 participants in a study started in 1993 at Columbia University and the University of Miami and focuses on risk factors for vascular disease.

这项研究包括了1238个参加者，并且这项研究开始于1993年的哥伦比亚大学和迈阿密大学。而且把精力放在血管疾病的风险上。

Participants completed a questionnaire about how often and how intensely they exercised at the beginning of the study and then had MRI scans of their brains six years later, when they were an average of 70 years old.

在研究开始前，参与者完成了一份问卷，这份问卷是关于锻炼的次数和强度是怎么样的。6年后，给他们的大脑做核磁共振扫描，此时他们平均年龄是70岁得时候，

Forty-three percent of participants reported that they had no regular exercise; 36% engaged in regular light exercise, such as golf, walking, bowling or dancing; and 21% engaged in regular moderate to intense exercise, such as hiking, tennis, swimming, biking, jogging or racquetball. There was no difference between those who engaged in light exercise and those who did not exercise.

43%的参与者说他们没有进行有规律地运动，36%做了有规律地轻运动，比如高尔夫、走路、保龄球和跳舞。21%的参与者则做了从中等到高强度的运动。比如远足、兵乓球、游泳、骑自行车、慢跑、短网拍墙球。轻微运动和不运动的没有什么区别。

The American Heart Association's guidelines for ideal cardiovascular health includes 150 minutes of moderate-intensity or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity exercise a week.

美国心脏协会指出理想的心血管健康包括每周参与中等强度的运动2个半小时或者高强度的运动75分钟。

"We did not want this to discourage anyone from exercising, even if it's light exercise," Willey says. "The benefits of exercise are proven. We feel that's an integral part of general good health."

willey说，我们不想使任何人从运动中感到沮丧，即使是轻微的运动。运动的好处都是经过证实的，我们感觉到运动是构成健康身体的一部分。

More research is needed, says Joseph Boderick, a stroke specialist at the University of Cincinnati who was not associated with the study. The research did not look at obesity. One of the major reasons people don't exercise, he says, is because they're obese.

Joseph Boderick说更多的研究还是需要的，辛辛那提市大学的中风专家（它和这项研究无关联），他说，这项研究不是研究肥胖的，主要原因是他们不肥胖，所以他们不去运动。

"Maybe the people who exercised less already had some infarcts and were less steady on their feet," he says.

他说，可能这些少运动的人有一些受到梗塞的危机和不能站稳。

The study did not address why more strenuous exercise appears to be helpful. Willey, however, says, "Some of the effects of exercise appear to be related to improving other health conditions that affect the risk of stroke, such as hypertension, obesity, high cholesterol and low HDL, diabetes, atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) and heart disease."

Willey说，然而这项研究没有说明更高强度的运动为什么有益。一些锻炼的效果似乎和提高其他的健康条件有关，这样可以降低中风的危险，比如高血压、肥胖、高胆固醇和低HDL、糖尿病、动脉粥样硬化和心脏疾病。