Just when you need to remain calm, your heart's racing, your palms are sweaty, your voice sounds strange and your mind goes blank.

當你需要冷靜時，你卻心臟狂跳、手心冒汗、聲音聽起來很奇怪、腦袋一片空白。

Well, with a little help from neuroscience, here are three easy and reliable techniques you can use to literally keep calm and carry on, no matter what.

在神經科學的幫助下，你可以使用以下三種簡單且可靠的方式，讓你無論在何種情況下都可以保持冷靜並前進。

Of course there are other things you can do to combat stress but this trio of tips will hopefully give you instant calm.

當然還有其他對抗壓力的方式，但希望這三招能讓你立即恢復冷靜。

First, a breathing exercise.

第一招，做呼吸練習。

I want you to take a deep belly-breath through your nose for five seconds.

用鼻子深吸一口氣做五秒鐘的腹式呼吸。

Hold it for a second, then push all the air out through your nose, slowly, counting to five.

停頓一秒，接著數五秒將氣用鼻子全部送出。

Repeat a few times and you'll feel calmer.

重複幾次後，你會感到放鬆一些。

For centuries, yogis and Buddhists have used controlled-breathing techniques like this to gain the upper hand over the nervous system, and science is beginning to understand how it works.

數百年來，瑜伽士和佛教徒使用類似的方式控制呼吸並戰勝神經系統，而科學也開始了解這種方式是如何達到效果的。

Research has identified a specific network of neurons in the brain stem called the pre-Botzinger complex that regulates breathing and communicates with other parts of the brain.

研究發現一種在腦幹的特定神經網絡——前包欽格複合體，這個神經網絡可以調節呼吸並與腦中其他部分做溝通。

Under stress we tend to breathe very quickly as our body prepares for danger, which is useful if you need to run away but not if you're about to speak in public.

我們在有壓力的情況下呼吸會加快，因為身體會準備好面對危險以防你需要跑走，但這不適用於你即將上台演講的時候。

The good news is that by breathing deeply and slowly you can change the message your brain's receiving from "danger" to "all is well."

好消息是，藉由慢慢地深呼吸，腦袋接收到的訊息會因此而改變，從「危險」變成「一切安好」。

So the next time you feel panic rising, use deep breathing through your nose to force your body into a state of calm.

所以下一次你感到驚慌即將襲捲而來時，用鼻子深呼吸，使身體恢復至平靜的狀態。

And the best thing is, no one will notice, not even your audience.

最棒的是，不會有人發現，即使是台下的觀眾。

Now you're ready for the humming.

現在你準備好哼歌了。

A single note, your favourite tune, literally anything will do.

無論是哼單一音符或是你最喜歡的曲調，都可以幫助你冷靜。

Why?

為什麼？

Well, studies in how we regulate heart rate have shown that humming can stimulate one of the most important parts of the body you've never heard of—the vagus nerve.

有關人類如何調節心律的研究指出，哼歌可以刺激身體最重要的部分之一——迷走神經。

It was named 'the wanderer' in Latin because it emerges from the brain and meanders up and down the body like a superhighway of communication, connecting the brain to organs like the heart, lungs and stomach, voice box and ears.

迷走神經以拉丁文命名，意思為「漫遊者」，因為它發自於腦且像是一條溝通的高速公路蔓延至全身上下，將腦連接至器官如心臟、肺、胃、喉嚨和耳朵。

A 2013 study of choristers showed that singing, humming and mantras all help keep the heart's rhythm in step.

在 2013 年對合唱團成員所做的研究顯示，唱歌、哼歌或頌歌都有助於保持心臟規律跳動。

So the next time you feel your heart racing, sing a song or just hum a note and let your own wanderer nerve restore calm.

所以下一次當你心臟狂跳時，唱一首歌或是哼個音符，讓你漫遊的神經回復冷靜。

The final tip is to focus.

最後一招是保持專注。

When you're busy, it's tempting to multitask, but if you want to stay calm and actually get stuff done, don't.

當你很忙時總是想要身兼數職，但如果你想要保持冷靜並順利將事情做好，千萬不要這麼做。

Scans show your brain can only do one thing at a time.

腦部掃描顯示，你一次只能做好一件事。

When you do two things at once it has to switch between them very rapidly and gets overstimulated and floods your body with stress hormones.

當你同時做兩件事時，腦必須在兩者間快速轉換，而會因此受到過度地刺激而產生壓力賀爾蒙將你淹沒。

By working the way your brain is wired and doing one thing at a time, you can quickly go from feeling overwhelmed to calm.

腦袋充滿線路，因此一次只做一件事的話，你可以很快地從不知所措轉變為冷靜的狀態。

So break your task down into small parts or steps, circle the one thing you need to do next and forget about the other tasks until their time comes.

將你要做的事分為幾個小部分或步驟，圈出下一件你需要做的事，並將其他要做的事暫時先忘記直到要做他們的時候。

This is sometimes called "process thinking" and is used by sports coaches to help athletes focus.

這有時稱作「思考歷程」，為了幫助運動員保持專注而被運動教練使用。

Doing just one thing at a time with your fullest attention keeps your mind in the here and now and is a great habit to develop.

全心專注在一件事上並專心於當下是一個值得養成的好習慣。

So next time you feel panic rising, stop and remember to breathe, hum and focus.

下一次當你感到驚慌時，停下來呼吸、哼歌並保持專注。

Let us know how you get on.

讓我們知道你是如何應對的。

Thanks for watching.

感謝觀看。

Don't forget to subscribe and click the bell to receive notifications for new videos.

記得訂閱並開啟小鈴鐺接收最新的影片消息喔。

See you again soon!

下次見！