Name: 終於知道它為何對你這麼好！ (We finally know why it's so good for you)
Uploaded: 2026-01-06T08:12:40.000Z
Duration: 6 min 48 s

If you look at the brain of somebody about to zone out 12 seconds before it happens, we see a specific brain signal.

如果你觀察一個人即將走神前的 12 秒大腦，我們會看到一個特定的腦部訊號。

情態副詞

But it's when their attention finally wanes that something spectacular happens to the brain.

但當他們的注意力終於減弱時，大腦裡就會發生一些驚人的事情。

情態助動詞 B1

And it turns out that this brain activity while you're zoning out may not only be good for you, it might actually be essential for your brain health.

結果發現，你走神時的腦部活動，不僅對你有益，甚至可能對你的大腦健康至關重要。

Breakthrough research took a group of otherwise healthy people and first tracked their brain activity with EEGs and FMRI scans after having a normal amount of skin sleep, and

一項突破性的研究，找來一群健康的人，首先在他們正常睡眠後，用 EEG 和 fMRI 掃描追蹤他們的大腦活動，

then brought them into the lab overnight and kept them awake the entire time.

然後讓他們整夜待在實驗室，全程保持清醒。

Followed by another day of brain scans to see what was going on.

接著再進行一天的腦部掃描，看看發生了什麼事。

After sleep deprivation, obviously they had more lapses in attention or moments of zoning out when sleep deprived.

睡眠剝奪後，顯然他們在睡眠不足時，注意力更容易渙散或走神。

But it's what scientists saw in the brain that was most surprising.

但最令人驚訝的是科學家在大腦中看到的現象。

Every time a person would zone out or lose attention, cerebrospinal fluid would flow out of the brain and then return one to two seconds later.

每次一個人走神或失去注意力時，腦脊髓液就會從大腦流出，然後在一到兩秒後流回。

And this would happen over and over every time the person zoned out.

而且每次這個人走神時，這種情況都會一再發生。

But perhaps even more interesting is that this flushing is almost identical.

但更有趣的是，這種沖刷作用幾乎是完全一樣的。

Identical to something that happens in a very specific window of sleep.

跟在一個非常特定的睡眠階段裡發生的事情一樣。

By now, you probably understand that every time you fall asleep, your brain runs through specific cycles.

到現在，你大概知道每次睡著時，大腦都會經歷特定的週期。

Your brain goes from light sleep to deep sleep to REM sleep, where you dream.

大腦會從淺層睡眠進入深層睡眠，然後進入快速動眼期睡眠，也就是你做夢的時候。

But this deep sleep section is super important for cleaning out your brain.

但這段深層睡眠對清理大腦來說非常重要。

There's something called the glymphatic system, which is a disposal system for your brain.

有一種叫做膠狀淋巴系統的東西，它是大腦的清除系統。

When you hit deep sleep, your brain cells actually shrink, and

當你進入深層睡眠時，腦細胞實際上會縮小，

so the space between them grows larger, which allows cerebrospinal fluid to flow, flow through more easily and flush out any waste.

所以它們之間的空間會變大，這讓腦脊髓液可以流動，更容易地流過並沖走任何廢物。

Why is there waste there even to begin with?

一開始為什麼會有廢物在那裡呢？

Well, besides the fact that scientists are finding more and more plastic in our brains than any other organ.

嗯，除了科學家發現我們大腦裡的塑膠比任何其他器官都多之外。

Your brain breaks down all sorts of chemicals and proteins throughout the day that are totally normal and useful, but

你的大腦在一天中會分解各種化學物質和蛋白質，這些都是正常且有用的，但

can create byproducts like beta amyloid and tau.

可能會產生 β澱粉樣蛋白和 Tau蛋白這類的副產品。

Proteins that, if not kept in check, can lead to long term issues.

這些蛋白質如果沒有受到控制，可能會導致長期的問題。

For example, their accumulation is actually linked to Alzheimer's disease.

例如，它們的累積其實跟阿茲海默症有關。

So the brain flushes fluid in and out of the brain during deep sleep in order to stop these from building up.

所以大腦在深層睡眠時會沖入和沖出腦脊髓液，以阻止這些東西堆積。

Turns out, zoning out may actually be doing something very similar.

結果發現，放空可能實際上正在做非常類似的事情。

If you don't sleep well or get enough deep sleep, these cerebrospinal fluid waves will hit you whether you want them to or not.

如果你睡不好或睡不夠深層睡眠，這些腦脊髓液的波動就會找上你，不管你願不願意。

And while they're happening, they come with an attention trade.

而且在這些情況發生時，會伴隨注意力上的交換。

Off, you aren't able to focus or pay attention.

It's almost like your brain is making the executive decision to catch up with the microburst of deep sleep at the cost of your attention in the moment.

這幾乎就像是你的大腦做出了「執行決策」，要藉由犧牲當下的注意力來補足快速的深層睡眠。

This research helps defeat the notion that zoning out might be some sort of lazy or low energy brain activity.

這項研究有助於駁斥那種認為放空是大腦懶惰或低能量活動的觀念。

But instead, it should be seen as a tightly orchestrated series of brain and body changes coupled with a system of fluid dynamics that has a real purpose.

而是應該將其視為一套精心策劃的大腦與身體變化，並結合一套具有真正目的的流體力學系統。

And while the fluid waves were the most pronounced effect seen 12 seconds before zoning out, the pupils would actually constrict.

而雖然腦脊髓液的波動是在放空前 12 秒觀察到的最明顯現象，但瞳孔實際上會收縮。

And the participants also showed slowed breathing and slowed heart rate during these moments.

參與者在這些時刻也出現呼吸減慢和心率減慢的情況。

Ironically, while these lapses in attention can be super dangerous if paired with driving or other important activities, they're actually the brain's way of trying to take care of and protect itself from the negative impacts of sleep deprivation.

諷刺的是，雖然這些注意力不集中可能會在開車或其他重要活動時非常危險，但這實際上是大腦試圖照顧自己，並保護自己免受睡眠不足負面影響的方式。

Now, most of the zoning out in this study was unintentional.

現在，這項研究中的大部分放空都是無意識的。

The participants were just so tired that it was basically an irrepressible need for the brain.

參與者實在太累了，這基本上是大腦無法抑制的需求。

But what about if you do it intentionally?

Initially, research into this kind of mind wandering actually came back pretty negative.

一開始，關於這種心不在焉的研究，結果其實 pretty negative。

What they found is that when people, or adults rather, were daydreaming, they were more likely to be unhappy because their brain would naturally think about stressful things or bring out their anxieties and worries.

他們發現，當人們，或者說成年人，在做白日夢時，他們比較容易不開心，因為他們的大腦會自然而然地想到壓力大的事情，或是勾起他們的焦慮和擔憂。

And you've probably heard about the studies where people were more likely to give themselves an electric shock than be sitting bored in a room for an extended period of time.

你可能聽過一些研究，說人們寧願給自己電擊，也不想在一個房間裡無聊地待著。

A handful of studies like these began to show that boredom and mind wandering can be associated with maladaptive or sadistic behavior.

像這樣的一些研究開始顯示，無聊和心不在焉可能與適應不良或殘忍的行為有關。

But more recent research has found that if you are doing it with more intention as opposed to it just happening to you, like if you stop, stop to take a break from something and decide you want to fantasize or have your mind wander, then the negative impacts aren't present and we start to see benefits.

但近期的研究發現，如果你是有意識地這麼做，而不是它自己發生，像是你停下來，從某件事中休息一下，然後決定你想幻想或讓你的思緒飄移，那麼負面影響就不存在了，我們開始會看到好處。

In particular, the default mode network in your brain gets more activated, which has a series of benefits.

特別是，你大腦中的預設模式網絡會更活躍，這帶來了一系列好處。

Research has found that creativity increases when there's more room for mind wandering.

研究發現，當有更多空間讓思緒飄移時，創造力會增加。

When you step away from a task that is challenging, your brain continues to work on it in the background.

當你暫時離開一個具挑戰性的任務時，你的大腦會在背景中繼續處理它。

And researchers call this the incubation effect.

random connections your brain wouldn't normally make with focused effort can, can be formed.

並且能形成你平常專注時大腦不會做的隨機連結。

And studies actually show that people who mind wander come up with more creative solutions to problems.

研究也確實顯示，那些思緒飄移的人能為問題找到更有創意的解決方案。

Daydreaming has even been shown to help with something called autobiographical planning.

白日夢甚至被證實能幫助進行所謂的個人傳記規劃。

The brain uses downtime to prepare and plan for future events and scenarios, and

大腦會利用休息時間來準備和規劃未來的事件與情境，

mentally rehearses reactions which help us prepare for obstacles before they even happen.

並在心裡預演反應，這能幫助我們在障礙發生前就做好準備。

But scientists even link mind wandering to the brain's way of finding meaning and purpose, working through bigger visions and goals, and

但科學家甚至將思緒飄移與大腦尋找意義和目標的方式連結起來，處理更宏大的願景與目標，

literally understanding our sense of of self.

And all of this is really important mental work that can't really be done if you're constantly engaging with your phone or other forms of mental stimulation, which I think is the real crux of the problem.

而這一切都是非常重要的心理工作，如果你不斷地滑手機或接觸其他形式的心理刺激，這些工作其實是無法完成的，我認為這才是問題的癥結所在。

Today we live in a world where it's difficult to even experience 10 seconds of boredom or zoning out without immediately reaching for something to engage us, and

我們現在生活的世界，即使是短短十秒鐘的無聊或放空，我們也會立刻伸手去尋找能讓我們投入的事物，

so we so often don't even experience these benefits.

所以我們常常無法體驗到這些好處。

The important thing with boredom in particular is to remember that it's a signal that isn't inherently good or bad, but

特別是無聊這件事，重要的是要記住，它是一個訊號，本身沒有好壞之分，

that signal usually means that whatever you seem to be doing in that particular or moment doesn't seem meaningful.

但這個訊號通常意味著，你當下正在做的事情似乎沒有意義。

Now, waiting for the subway doesn't need to feel meaningful, but

現在，等捷運不一定要有意義，但是

if you always pick up your phone to avoid that boredom, you're not only not addressing the underlying cause of meaning, but

如果你總是拿起手機來逃避這種無聊，你不僅沒有解決潛在的意義問題，

creating a strong feedback loop for every other time you feel bored.

反而會為每次感到無聊時創造一個強烈的迴圈。

The need to reach for an immediate solution or for stimulation in the future becomes harder and harder to avoid.

未來尋求立即解決方案或刺激的需求，會變得越來越難以避免。

So in the case of something like intentional daydreaming, you want to pick topics that feel meaningful to you, because if you just picture walking down the street, that probably won't do much for your brain.

所以，像是刻意做白日夢，你會想要選擇對你來說有意義的主題，因為如果你只是想像走在街上，那可能對你的大腦幫助不大。

And in the case of zoning out, simply knowing that it can be useful, that it can help clear out your brain, that it doesn't mean you're lazy, might be enough to make it more meaningful in your life and give you some inspiration to try it at the end of the day.

至於放空，單純知道它可以很有用，可以幫助清理你的大腦，這並不代表你懶惰，這可能就足以讓它在你的生活中更有意義，並給你一些靈感，讓你嘗試看看。

I know this stuff is nearly impossible with phones, but

我知道這件事有手機在，幾乎是不可能的，但是

for me, simply learning that there are actually benefits has given me some motivation to zone out more or to try and carry around my phone a little less.

對我來說，光是知道放空其實有益處，就已經給了我一些動力，讓我可以多放空一點，或是試著少帶點手機出門。

這樣我就不會那麼容易找藉口了。

So speaking of avoiding your phone and facing boredom, if you're looking for tips on how to actually accomplish this, like science backed research on the best ways to be less addicted to your phone, our latest podcast episode covers this.

所以，說到要放下手機、面對無聊，如果你想找些方法來達成這件事，像是科學研究怎麼幫我們擺脫手機成癮，我們最新的Podcast節目就有講到。

We not only talk about our personal experience and addictions, but

我們不只聊了個人的經驗和成癮狀況，

actually go through research backed techniques and tips on how to manage this relationship with our phones that we all seem to be struggling with.

還實際探討了有研究支持的技巧和方法，教我們怎麼管理跟手機的關係，這好像是我們大家都在努力克服的。

I'll link it here on screen and in the description below.

我會把連結放在螢幕上和下方的說明欄。

Like subscribe and we'll see you ASAP for some more science.

按讚訂閱，我們很快就會再見面，一起聊更多科學。