During the COVID-19 pandemic, many people in lockdown felt lonely and bored. “There is a loneliness epidemic,” said John Dattilo, a professor at Pennsylvania State University, US.
新冠肺炎疫情流行期間，許多被隔離的人感到孤獨、無聊。美國賓夕法尼亞州立大學教授約翰·達蒂洛說:“孤獨成了一種流行病?！?/span>

Together with an international team of researchers, Dattilo studied how to reduce loneliness and increase positive feelings during the pandemic.
達蒂洛與一個國際研究團隊共同研究了疫情期間如何減少孤獨感，提振積極情緒。

According to their new study, reduced loneliness has something to do with doing enjoyable activities that require both concentration and skill.
根據(jù)該團隊的新研究，減少孤獨感與進行愉快的活動有關，這些活動需要我們全神貫注，施展技能。

“When people are absorbed in what they are doing, they enter a state called ‘flow’,” Dattilo explained. “Flow can be achieved by doing activities that we value and that require us to concentrate fully to use our skills.”
“人們專注于正在做的事情時，會進入一種叫做‘心流’的狀態(tài)?！?達蒂洛解釋說，“做一些我們重視的、需要充分集中精力施展技能的活動，可以達成心流。”

To achieve a state of flow, there must be a balance between the challenge of the task and your skill level. For example, if you’re trying to create a complex computer program but your skill level is low, then you’re likely to feel stressed instead of achieving flow. On the contrary, if the task is too easy, then boredom will set in and flow will not appear, either.
為了達到心流狀態(tài)，必須平衡任務的挑戰(zhàn)性和你自身的技能水平。例如，如果你試圖編寫一套復雜的計算機程序，但你的計算機水平很低，那么就可能會感到壓力，而無法達成心流。相反，如果任務太簡單，你就會產生厭倦感，也不會出現(xiàn)心流狀態(tài)。

If you have artistic skills, for example, playing the piano or painting can lead to flow. So can things like skiing, writing and storytelling, depending on who you are.
如果你有諸如彈鋼琴或繪畫的藝術技能，那么可以達成心流?；懽?、講故事的技藝也可以，這取決于你的自身情況。

“When we enter a state of flow, we become absorbed and focused, and we experience momentary enjoyment,” Dattilo said. “When we leave a state of flow, we are often surprised by how much time has passed.”
“進入心流狀態(tài)時，我們會變得專注，體驗到片刻的快樂?！?達蒂洛說，“而離開心流狀態(tài)后，我們常常會驚訝于時間的流逝?！?/span>

However, watching television usually doesn’t help people enter flow, according to Dattilo, because there aren’t any challenges.
然而，根據(jù)達蒂洛的說法，看電視通常無法讓人進入心流狀態(tài)，因其不具有任何挑戰(zhàn)性。

“Loneliness is very connected to our health,” Dattilo explained. “Psychological, emotional, and cognitive health are all challenged when people are lonely. Loneliness is associated with depression and other mental health challenges.”
“孤獨感與我們的健康息息相關，”達蒂洛解釋道，“人們感到孤獨時，心理、情感和認知健康都會遭受挑戰(zhàn)。孤獨感還與抑郁及其他心理健康問題有關。”

“People tend to thrive on healthy activities and challenge,” said Dattilo. “We hope this research will help people live fuller, happier, healthier lives.”
“健康的活動和挑戰(zhàn)往往會令人煥發(fā)生機，”達蒂洛說，“我們希望心流的研究能幫助大家生活得更充實、快樂和健康?！?/span>

以上文章內容選自《21世紀學生英文報高中版》，詳情請見《21世紀學生英文報高中版》高一869期