If you're forgetting to show up

如果你忘記了出現

for your four o'clock meeting,

為你的四點鐘會議。

or you forgot the actor who played Tony Soprano

或者你忘記了扮演託尼-索普拉諾的演員

in the HBO series 'The Sopranos.'

在HBO劇集《黑道家族》中。

"Can't remember that guy's name, what is it?"

"不記得那個人的名字了，是什麼？"

A lot of us tend to blame ourselves.

我們很多人傾向於責備自己。

This absent-mindedness is a sign of mental weakness,

這種心不在焉是精神脆弱的表現。

or a failing memory, or a lack of character,

或記憶力下降，或缺乏性格。

but 99% of forgetting that happens to all of us,

但99%的遺忘發生在我們所有人身上。

is normal.

是正常的。

So there are things that we can do

是以，有一些事情我們可以做

to be less afraid, less panicked,

不那麼害怕，不那麼驚慌。

to have a better relationship with our memory today-

與我們今天的記憶有更好的關係 --

because forgetting is a normal part of being human.

因為遺忘是做人的一個正常部分。

My name is Lisa Genova.

我的名字是麗莎-吉諾瓦。

I am an author and neuroscientist.

我是一名作家和神經科學家。

The name of my book is "Remember: The Science of Memory

我的書的名字是 "記住。記憶的科學

and the Art of Forgetting."

和遺忘的藝術"。

So how do we reinforce our memories?

那麼，我們如何強化我們的記憶呢？

How do we make our memories stronger, resilient to time,

我們如何使我們的記憶更強大，對時間有彈性。

so that we can recall them decades later?

以便我們能在幾十年後回憶起它們？

The first essential ingredient in creating a memory

創造記憶的第一個基本要素

that's going to last longer than this present moment

將會比此刻更持久的

is attention.

是注意。

If I put my glasses down

如果我把眼鏡放下

and don't give it a moment's attention

一刻也不留神

to notice where I've put this,

來注意我把這個放在哪裡。

I can't remember where they are because I never formed

我不記得它們在哪裡，因為我從來沒有形成過。

that memory to begin with.

那段記憶的開始。

Your brain will never remember

你的大腦將永遠不會記得

what you don't pay attention to.

你不注意的東西。

Chronic stress is really bad for our memory.

長期的壓力對我們的記憶力真的不好。

Stress hormones mobilize your brain and body to respond,

壓力荷爾蒙會調動你的大腦和身體作出反應。

to fight, to flee, to react quickly-

戰鬥、逃亡、快速反應

not to think.

不去想。

Stress is meant to be an acute, quick,

壓力是指一種急性的、快速的。

on and off phenomenon.

開和關的現象。

So what happens in your brain and body

那麼，在你的大腦和身體裡發生了什麼

if you're exposed to chronic, unrelenting stress,

如果你暴露在長期、無情的壓力下。

and how does that affect your memory?

以及這對你的記憶有什麼影響？

Under chronic stress, your body will just keep dumping

在長期的壓力下，你的身體就會不斷地傾倒

adrenaline and cortisol, and it can't shut off.

腎上腺素和皮質醇，而且它不能關閉。

This is bad for memory.

這對記憶力不好。

You are actually shrinking your hippocampus-

你實際上是在縮小你的海馬體 --

the part of your brain that's essential

你的大腦中必不可少的部分

for forming consciously-held memories

用於形成有意識的記憶

is going to be smaller.

將會更小。

You'll be inhibiting 'neurogenesis,'

你將會抑制 "神經發生"。

the birth of new neurons.

新神經元的誕生。

The very good news about all of this,

關於這一切，有一個非常好的消息。

because I've probably just scared everyone,

因為我可能剛剛嚇到了所有人。

is that there are things that we can do to combat stress.

是有一些我們可以做的事情來對抗壓力。

This is where things like yoga, meditation,

這就是像瑜伽、冥想這樣的東西。

mindfulness, and exercise come into play.

正念，和鍛鍊的作用。

All of these have been shown

所有這些都已被證明

to restore the size of people's hippocampus

恢復人們的海馬體的大小

who have been chronically stressed.

長期受壓的人。

A quick word on meditation:

關於冥想，簡單說一下。

A lot of people are intimidated by meditation.

很多人對冥想感到畏懼。

They sort of know that this is probably good for them

他們知道這可能對他們有好處。

in lots of ways, but maybe don't know how to do it.

在很多方面，但也許不知道如何去做。

Here's a nine-second meditation

這裡有一個九秒鐘的冥想

to help restore your cortisol levels,

以幫助恢復你的皮質醇水準。

and to help save your hippocampus

並幫助拯救你的海馬體

and your ability to remember.

和你的記憶能力。

Close your eyes if you can.

如果可以的話，請閉上你的眼睛。

Breathe in through your nose to the count of four.

用你的鼻子吸氣，數到四。

Hold it for a second, and then breathe out through your nose

保持一秒鐘，然後用鼻子呼氣。

to the count of four.

數到四的時候。

And notice how you feel.

並注意你的感受。

Here's what's going on:

以下是發生的情況。

Stress response causes you to breathe like this-

應激反應導致你這樣呼吸------。

By breathing slowly in and out through your nose,

通過鼻子慢慢吸氣和呼氣。

you are telling your brain and body that you are safe.

你在告訴你的大腦和身體，你是安全的。

We also wanna get enough sleep.

我們也想獲得足夠的睡眠。

Sleep is not a state of doing nothing

睡眠不是一種無所事事的狀態

where you're unconscious and it's a waste of time.

在那裡你是無意識的，這是浪費時間。

You're very biologically busy while you sleep,

在你睡覺的時候，你在生物學上是非常忙碌的。

and there are a number of super-important things

而且有一些超級重要的事情

that are going on in your brain with respect to memory.

在你的大腦中正在發生的與記憶有關的事情。

For example, if I got a horrible night's sleep last night,

例如，如果我昨天晚上睡得很糟糕。

I'm gonna wake up today and my frontal lobe

我今天一覺醒來，我的額葉

is gonna have a hard time dragging itself to its day job-

將很難把自己拖到日常工作中去---。

and one of its most important jobs is paying attention.

而它最重要的工作之一就是關注。

And if I can't pay attention to what's going on today,

如果我不能注意今天發生的事情。

what am I not gonna be able to do well today?

我今天有什麼事做不好呢？

Form new memories.

形成新的記憶。

Also, your hippocampus consolidates the information

此外，你的海馬體還能鞏固資訊。

you're learning into a lasting memory

你所學到的東西變成了持久的記憶

that you can consciously retrieve while you sleep.

你可以在睡覺時有意識地檢索。

So what happens if you don't get enough sleep?

那麼，如果你沒有得到足夠的睡眠會怎樣？

Your hippocampus might not have had enough time

你的海馬體可能還沒有足夠的時間

to do the job, and so your memories

來完成這項工作，是以你的記憶

from what happened yesterday and the stuff

從昨天發生的事情和那些

you learned yesterday, might not be fully formed today,

你昨天學到的東西，今天可能還沒有完全形成。

or they might not be formed at all.

或者它們可能根本就沒有形成。

Caffeine is actually good for memory,

咖啡因實際上對記憶力有好處。

because caffeine increases your attention.

因為咖啡因會提高你的注意力。

So anything that's an attention booster

是以，任何能提高注意力的東西

is gonna be a memory booster.

是會成為記憶的助推器。

We know that sleep is super important for forming memories,

我們知道，睡眠對於形成記憶是超級重要的。

so caffeine's good for memory.

所以咖啡因對記憶力有好處。

You just wanna be careful

你只是想小心點

that it's not compromising your sleep.

這並不影響你的睡眠。

Our brains are not designed to remember people's names.

我們的大腦不是為了記住人們的名字而設計的。

These are abstract concepts.

這些都是抽象的概念。

They live in neurological cul-de-sacs.

他們生活在神經系統的死衚衕裡。

Ultimately, there's only one way into that house

歸根結底，只有一條路可以進入那所房子

that lives at the end of that street,

住在那條街盡頭的人。

and there's no other way to get there.

而且沒有其他方法可以到達那裡。

So can we supply more associations to the person's name

那麼，我們能否為這個人的名字提供更多的聯想？

to give us a chance?

來給我們一個機會？

In psychology, this is called the 'Baker-Baker Paradox.'

在心理學中，這被稱為 "貝克-貝克悖論"。

If I'm trying to remember your name

如果我想記住你的名字

and your name is Mr. Baker,

而你的名字是貝克先生。

that's really tough for me to remember-

這對我來說真的很難記住 --

abstract concept.

抽象的概念。

But if I were asked to remember the word "baker,"

但如果讓我記住 "麵包師 "這個詞，那麼

I can picture him wearing an apron,

我可以想象他穿著圍裙的樣子。

and he's got flour on his face and,

他的臉上有面粉，而且。

"Oh, I remember the bakery I used to love as a kid

"哦，我記得我小時候喜歡的那家麵包店

and we used to get danishes there on Sundays."

我們以前在星期天在那裡吃丹麥餅。"

So now I've got all of these associations in my brain,

所以現在我的大腦中已經有了所有這些聯想。

attaching to that word "baker,"

附在 "麵包師 "這個詞上。

and gives me a chance to hook into it.

並給我一個機會去勾引它。

For all of these memories, they benefit from repetition.

對於所有這些記憶，它們都從重複中受益。

The more we repeat, the more we practice,

我們重複得越多，就越是練習。

the more we rehearse a memory,

我們越是排練一個記憶。

we are strengthening those neural connections,

我們正在加強這些神經連接。

making that neural circuit stronger,

使該神經迴路更加強大。

and more likely to be fully retrieved.

而且更有可能被完全檢索到。

One of the ways that we can repeat a memory

我們可以重複記憶的方式之一是

is by writing it down.

是通過寫下它。

If I've experienced a certain number of things today,

如果我今天經歷了一定數量的事情。

and I keep a journal-

我還寫了一篇日記-

what I've chosen to write down

我選擇寫下的東西

will become a stronger, more reinforced memory in my brain.

將成為我大腦中更強大、更強化的記憶。

I will also have the opportunity to revisit

我也將有機會重新審視

that memory by reading it later.

通過以後的閱讀，可以看到那段記憶。

So many people come up to me, so worried, saying,

有很多人過來找我，非常擔心，說。

"If I don't write what I need to do later down,

"如果我不把以後需要做的事情寫下來。

I'm gonna forget to do it.

我會忘記做的。

That's gotta mean I'm getting Alzheimer's."

這肯定意味著我得了老年痴呆症。"

And I tell all of them, "No, it's your prospective memory.

我告訴所有的人，"不，這是你的前瞻性記憶。

It's terrible.

這很可怕。

It's not cheating to write it down.

把它寫下來並不是欺騙。

It's actually good practice."

這實際上是很好的實踐。"

Airline pilots do not rely on their brains

航空公司的飛行員不依靠他們的大腦

and their prospective memories

和他們的前瞻性記憶

to remember to lower the wheels before landing the plane.

要記得在飛機著陸前放下機輪。

They outsource the job to a to-do list, a checklist.

他們把工作外包給一個待辦事項清單，一個檢查表。

We should all write it down, put it in your phones,

我們都應該把它寫下來，放在你們的手機裡。

put it in your calendar alerts, make to-do lists.

把它放在你的日曆提醒中，制定待辦事項清單。

If you wanna remember to pick up milk at the grocery store,

如果你想記得在雜貨店買牛奶。

write it down.

把它寫下來。

Another way to better remember this information

另一種方法可以更好地記住這些資訊

has to do with self-testing.

與自我測試有關。

If I'm trying to consolidate something into memory,

如果我想把一些東西鞏固在記憶中。

and I'm only putting the information in,

而我只是把資訊放進去。

I'm traveling one way on the neurons.

我在神經元上單程旅行。

If I then try to recall the information,

如果我再試著回憶一下這些資訊。

I'm pulling the information out-

我把資訊拉出來-

now I'm going the other way.

現在我走的是另一條路。

Going over those circuits in both directions

在兩個方向上都要經過這些電路

will help reinforce and make that memory stronger.

將有助於加強並使這種記憶更加牢固。

Okay, having a word stuck on the tip of your tongue

好吧，有一個詞卡在你的舌尖上

is a normal glitch in memory retrieval.

是記憶檢索中的一個正常故障。

It's just a byproduct of how our brains are organized.

這只是我們大腦組織方式的一個副產品。

So looking up a word, Googling a word

是以，查找一個詞，在谷歌上搜索一個詞

that's on the tip of your tongue isn't cheating.

在你的舌尖上，這不是作弊。

It will not cause digital amnesia.

它不會導致數字失憶症。

It will not make your memory weaker in any way.

它不會以任何方式使你的記憶力變弱。

It frees you up.

它使你得到了解放。

We can Google anything that we can't remember

我們可以用谷歌搜索任何我們記不住的東西

in a moment's notice, and then use that information

瞬間的通知，然後使用該資訊

to continue thinking, to continue the conversation,

繼續思考，繼續對話。

to learn more.

以瞭解更多資訊。

You have my permission to Google it and look it up.

我允許你在谷歌上搜索並查找。

What I would love for you to take away from all of this

我希望你能從這一切中得到的是

is that your memory is amazing.

是，你的記憶力很驚人。

It is limitless in what it's capable of remembering

它能夠記住的東西是無限的

if you supply it with the right kind of information,

如果你向它提供正確的資訊。

if you supply it with the

如果你給它提供了

right kind of tools and associations.

正確的工具和協會。

And it's wildly imperfect,

而且它非常不完美。

and that's just the price of owning a human brain.

而這只是擁有一個人腦的代價。

Forgetting is a normal part of being human.

遺忘是做人的一個正常部分。