A better life 拥抱更健康的生活

陈小将

我们给自己制定健康生活计划的出发点很好，但要按计划执行却不容易。比如：吃得更好，做更多的运动，少花点时间看手机。英国广播公司的一档电视节目“健康生活指南”（Easy Ways to Live Well）提出了一些生活小妙招，帮大家实现自己的目标和计划。本文将讨论其中一些帮助改善身体和思想健康的方法。
Vocabulary: lifestyle 词汇：生活方式
How are you feeling today? Often when we ask people that question, they reply ‘not bad’, or ‘could be worse’. But what would make us feel ‘perfect’? Maybe we could live better by being healthier, less stressed, more motivated – but how?
Of course there are many remedies for improving our mental health, but sometimes there are small and simple solutions to help improve our wellbeing. It’s something the BBC TV programme Easy Ways to Live Well has been looking at.  It suggested several ‘health hacks’ which the programme’s presenters tried and gave their ‘seal of approval’. And maybe they could help us too.
Firstly, to tackle putting on weight and to cut the calories, the programme found sniffing peppermint stops our craving for a snack.  Presenter, chef and writer Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall says “a scientific theory called ‘mutual competition’ shows that a strong smell can distract our brain from the food we’re thinking about.”
If your addiction to your smartphone is getting you down, it’s suggested that turning your phone screen grey helps you reduce screen time because a black and white screen becomes less attractive to look at. With recent studies showing our phones can make us 26% less productive and increase our stress, it seems like a no-brainer to try this ‘dim’ idea.
Fancy a swim in ice-cold water? Well, the BBC programme found a daily dip in freezing water gets you used to the stress of doing it and therefore prepares you for other life stresses. And another way to ‘chill out’ is to leave your smartphone at home, immerse yourself in a forest, and breathe in the fresh air. Forest bathing is the perfect tonic for the stresses of urban life.
Other life-improving ideas included things such as singing to reduce pain and fidgeting more to get away from our sedentary lives. But whatever therapy we choose to adopt, it seems any change to our lifestyle can help improve our body and mind.