研究表明多读小说有助于提高记忆力Studies show that reading more novels helps improve memory

As we age, our memory declines. This is an ingrained assumption for many of us; however, according to neuroscientist Dr. Richard Restak, a neurologist and clinical professor at George Washington Hospital University School of Medicine and Health, decline is not inevitable. Here are some of Dr. Restak’s tips for developing and maintaining a healthy memory.

随着年龄增长，记忆力会衰退。这是许多人根深蒂固的想法。但乔治华盛顿大学医学院神经学家、临床医学教授理查德·雷斯塔克博士认为，记忆力衰退并非必然。以下是雷斯塔克博士给出的，培养并维持良好记忆力的建议。

PAY MORE ATTENTION

提高专注力

Some memory lapses are actually attention problems, not memory problems. For instance, if you’ve forgotten the name of someone you met at a cocktail party, it could be because you were talking with several people at the time and you didn’t properly pay attention when you heard it.

有些健忘是注意力问题，而非记忆力问题。例如，如果你忘记了在鸡尾酒会上遇到的某人的名字，可能是因为当时你在和几个人交谈，听到名字时没有集中注意力。

“Inattention is the biggest cause for memory difficulties,” Dr. Restak said. “It means you didn’t properly encode the memory.”

雷斯塔克博士说:“注意力不集中，是记忆力变差的最大原因。这意味着你的大脑根本没有把这段信息好好储存编码。”

One way to pay attention when you learn new information, like a name, is to visualize the word. Having a picture associated with the word, Restak said, can improve recall.

在接收新信息(比如人名)时，有一个集中注意力的方法:在脑海中进行画面联想。雷斯塔克表示，把文字和画面绑定，能有效提升回忆能力。

For instance, he recently had to memorize the name of a doctor, Dr. King,(an easy example, he acknowledged). So he pictured a male doctor “in a white coat with a crown on his head and a scepter instead of a stethoscope in his hand.”

举例来说，他最近要记住一位金医生的名字(他坦言这是个很简单的例子)。于是他在脑海里想象:一位身穿白大褂的男医生，头戴王冠，手里不拿听诊器，而是握着权杖。

FIND REGULAR EVERYDAY MEMORY CHALLENGES

在日常生活中刻意锻炼记忆力

There are many memory exercises that you can integrate into everyday life. Dr. Restak suggested composing a grocery list and memorizing it. When you get to the store, don’t automatically pull out your list (or your phone)- instead, pick up everything according to your memory.

有很多记忆力训练可以融入日常生活。雷斯塔克博士建议:先列好购物清单，然后把它背下来。到了超市，不要立刻拿出清单或手机，试着凭记忆选购所有物品。

“Try to see the items in your mind,” he said, and only consult the list at the end, if necessary.

他说:“试着在脑海里回想每一样商品，最后实在想不起来，再拿出清单核对。”

If you’re not going to the store, try memorizing a recipe. He added that frequent cooking is actually a great way to improve working memory.

如果不去超市，可以试着记住一份菜谱。他还补充，经常下厨，其实是提升工作记忆的绝佳方式。

Once in a while, get in the car without turning on your GPS, and try to navigate through the streets from memory.

偶尔开车出门时，不开导航，试着凭记忆认路、行驶。

A small 2020 study suggested that people who used GPS more frequently over time showed a steeper cognitive decline in spatial memory three years later.

2020年一项小型研究显示：长期频繁依赖导航的人，三年后空间记忆力的认知衰退会更明显。

PLAY GAMES

玩益智游戏

Games like bridge and chess are great for memory, but so is a simpler game, said Dr. Restak.

雷斯塔克博士表示，桥牌、象棋这类棋牌游戏对记忆力很有帮助，一些简单的小游戏同样有效。

For instance, Dr. Restak’s “favorite working memory game” is 20 Questions — in which a group (or a single person) thinks of a person, place or object, and the other person, the questioner, asks 20 questions with a yes-or-no answer.

比如他最喜欢的工作记忆训练游戏是「二十个问题」：一人心里想好一个人物、地点或物品，另一人只能用可以「是/否」回答的问题提问，总共问二十个问题来猜出答案。

Because to succeed, he said, the questioner must hold all of the previous answers in memory in order to guess the correct answer.

他解释，想要猜对，提问者必须牢牢记住前面所有的回答，十分锻炼记忆。

Another of Restak’s tried-and-true memory exercises simply requires a pen and paper or audio recorder.

雷斯塔克还有一个屡试不爽的记忆训练法，只需要纸笔或录音设备即可。

First, recall all of the U.S. presidents, starting with President Biden and going back to, say, Franklin D. Roosevelt, writing or recording them.

首先，从拜登开始，往回回忆直至罗斯福等历任美国总统，把名字写下来或录下来。

Then, do the same, from F.D.R. to Biden.

接着反过来，从罗斯福回忆到拜登。

Next, name only the Democratic presidents, and only the Republican ones.

然后只说出民主党总统、只说出共和党总统。

Last, name them in alphabetical order.

最后按字母顺序把名字罗列一遍。

If you prefer, try it with players on your favorite sports team or your favorite authors.

如果不喜欢这个，可以换成回忆你喜欢的球队队员名字、喜爱的作家名字。

The point is to engage your working memory, “maintaining information and moving it around in your mind,” Restak wrote.

雷斯塔克写道，核心目的是调动工作记忆，在脑海里储存信息、梳理信息。

READ MORE NOVELS

多读小说

One early indicator of memory issues, according to Dr. Restak, is giving up on fiction.

雷斯塔克博士认为，记忆力开始衰退的一个早期信号，就是主动放弃读小说。

“People, when they begin to have memory difficulties, tend to switch to reading nonfiction,” he said.

他说：“人一旦感觉记性变差，往往会转而只读纪实类、实用类书籍。”

Over his decades of treating patients, Dr. Restak has noticed that fiction requires active engagement with the text, starting at the beginning and working through to the end.

在数十年问诊行医中，他发现：读小说需要全程主动投入、从头读到尾。

“You have to remember what the character did on Page 3 by the time you get to Page 11,” he said.

他解释：“读到第11页时，你必须还记得第3页人物的经历与情节。”

BEWARE OF TECHNOLOGY

警惕过度依赖电子产品

Among Dr. Restak’s three new sins of memory, two are associated with technology.

雷斯塔克博士提出了损害记忆力的三大坏习惯，其中两项都和电子产品有关。

First is what he calls “technological distortion.” Storing everything on your phone means that “you don’t know it,” Dr. Restak said, which can erode our own mental abilities.

第一点是他所说的「科技惰性」。所有东西都存在手机里，久而久之自己就记不住了，进而削弱大脑自身的记忆能力。

“Why bother to focus, concentrate and apply effort to visualize something when a cellphone camera can do all the work for you?” he wrote.

他写道：“手机拍照就能记录一切，人们自然不愿再专注、用心去记忆和在脑海里构图。”

The second way our relationship with technology is detrimental for memory is because it often takes our focus away from the task at hand.

电子产品损害记忆力的第二点：容易分散我们当下的专注力。

“In our day, the greatest impediment of memory is distraction,” Dr. Restak wrote.

雷斯塔克博士写道：“在当下，记忆力最大的敌人就是分心。”

As many of these tools have been designed with the aim of addicting the person using them, and, as a result, we are often distracted by them.

很多数码产品和应用本身就以让人沉迷为设计目的，导致我们极易被干扰。

People today can check their email while streaming Netflix, talking with a friend or walking down the street.

如今人们可以一边刷剧、一边回邮件，一边走路、一边和朋友聊天。

All of this impedes our ability to focus on the present moment, which is critical for encoding memories.

这些多任务行为，都会破坏专注当下的能力，而专注，正是大脑储存记忆的关键。

WORK WITH A MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONAL IF YOU NEED TO

必要时寻求心理健康专业帮助

Your mood plays a big role in what you do or do not remember. Depression, for instance, can greatly decrease memory.

情绪，对记忆力有着很大影响。比如抑郁，会大幅削弱记忆能力。

Among “people who are referred to neurologists for memory issues, one of the biggest causes is depression,” Dr. Restak said.

雷斯塔克博士表示：“因记忆力衰退就诊神经内科的人群中，很大一部分诱因是抑郁情绪。”

Your emotional state affects the kind of memories you recall.

情绪状态还会影响你回忆起的内容。

The hippocampus (or “memory entry center,” according to Dr. Restak) and the amygdala (the part of the brain that manages emotions and emotional behavior) are linked – so “when you’re in a bad mood, or depressed, you tend to remember sad things,” Dr. Restak said.

海马体 (雷斯塔克称之为「记忆录入中枢」)和杏仁核 (大脑情绪管理中枢)紧密相连。因此他说:“当你心情低落、陷入抑郁时，脑海里往往只会想起悲伤的往事。”

Treating depression – either chemically or via psychotherapy – also often restores memory.

通过心理疗愈改善抑郁情绪，记忆力往往也会随之恢复。

文章总结

本文围绕“提升记忆力”核心，整合神经学家理查德·雷斯塔克博士的科学建议，系统阐述了记忆力维护与增强的方法。开篇破除“年龄增长必然记忆力衰退”的固有认知，指出衰退可通过训练避免；继而从专注力训练（画面联想记名字）、日常记忆挑战（背购物清单、记菜谱、凭记忆认路）、益智游戏（二十个问题、回忆历任总统）、多读小说（避免转向纪实类书籍）、警惕科技依赖（科技惰性、分心危害）、关注情绪健康（抑郁削弱记忆、海马体与杏仁核关联）六大维度展开，强调主动投入、循序渐进、调动工作记忆的重要性。全文以中英对照呈现，理论与实践结合，为读者提供了可操作的记忆力提升路径，核心启示在于：记忆力的强弱并非天赋，而是可通过科学方法与心态调整主动塑造的能力。