小译说
“失眠的夜慢慢飘过来......”,劳累了一天，你终于回到久违的小床，幻想着做个好梦。然而一个小时过后，你却在他人均匀的呼吸声中，翻来覆去怎么都睡不着，没错吧？睡不着的时候，你在想什么呢？要知道，想太多对身体所产生的影响，比我们想象中的要大很多哦，快和小译一起去看看吧！
If you rehash past conversations, dwell on your choices or get trapped in a tunnel of “what if” scenarios, there’s a pretty good chance you’re an overthinker.
若你时常想起从前说过的话、喜欢细细回想做过的选择或是陷入一系列“要是......可就好了”的悔恨，那么你很可能是思虑过度了。
This widespread rumination and over-obsessing has become somewhat of an epidemic. One study from the University of Michigan found that 73% of adults between the ages of 25 and 35 overthink, as do 52% of 45- to 55-year-olds.
思虑过度这种现象很普遍，在某种程度上已经成了一种流行病。密歇根大学的一项研究显示，在25到35岁的成年人中，73%的人都会过度思考；45到55岁的中年人中有52%也是如此。
Interestingly, research has found that many overthinkers believe they’re actually doing themselves a favor by cycling through their thoughts. But the truth of the matter is that overthinking is a dangerous game that can have a lot of negative consequences on our well-being.
有趣的是，调查发现，许多过度思考的人都以为胡思乱想对自己有益。事实上，过度思考可不是什么好玩的事儿，还可能对我们的健康产生许多负面影响。
As David Spiegel, the director of the Center on Stress and Health at Stanford Health Care, puts it, “There are times when the worry about the problem is a lot worse than the problem itself.”
斯坦福大学医疗中心（Stanford Health Care）压力与健康部的负责人大卫·施皮格尔（David Spiegel,）说：“有时候，比问题本身更糟的是我们担忧的情绪。”
Here’s what happens to your body when you overthink:
在你胡思乱想的时候，身体会出现以下反应：
01 You’re less likely to take action
行动力降低
Overthinking creates so many options, choices and scenarios that you end up unable to make a decision — a concept called analysis paralysis.
想太多的后果就是选择过多，因此你无法做出决定，这也叫分析瘫痪症。
“You could get stuck in potential consequences that may not even happen, just worrying about certain outcomes, and that can paralyze us or freeze us from taking an action,” said Rajita Sinha, the director of the Yale Stress Center.
耶鲁大学压力中心（the Yale Stress Center）负责人拉吉塔·辛哈（Rajita Sinha）表示：“过度思考可能会让你想一些也许根本就不会发生的事儿，并深受其困。你会过分关注结果，而这样的想法会降低我们的行动力。”
If you don’t try things, you don’t fail, which may be a potential concern ― but you also don’t succeed, she added. When you do finally move forward with a decision, you might wind up making the wrong one because you got so mixed up by all the competing thoughts.
不尝试，也就谈不上失败，但你也没机会成功，辛哈（Sinha）说。你好不容易决定了继续向前，内心却思绪万千，于是你又可能因为害怕做了错误决定而“瑟瑟发抖”。
“Your gut feeling or instinct gets overridden because you have so much other input … and you maybe end up not making the choices that are right for you in that moment,” said Laura Price, a clinical assistant professor in the department of psychiatry at NYU Langone Health.
纽约大学朗格尼健康中心（ NYU Langone Health）精神病学系临床副教授劳拉·普莱斯（Laura Price）称：“思虑过多会对直觉产生影响......即使那个决定在当时是正确的，你可能也无法抉择。”
02 You’re less creative
创造力低下
A study from the U.K. discovered that when certain parts of your brain and cognitive processes are quiet, you’re more creative. Overthinking — which can lead to a “mental rut,” as the study notes — can essentially cause you to get stuck and run out of ideas or new solutions.
英国的一项研究发现，大脑的某些部分和人的认知过程处于平静状态时，我们更有创造力。研究指出，思虑过度会导致“思维定势”，你的思想会停滞不前，没什么想法或者新思路。
While some overthinking can lead to fresh, new ideas, it can also backfire and create mental roadblocks that make it challenging to think outside the box.
尽管过度思考有时可能会让人产生新的想法，但也可能事与愿违，你的思想会因此受阻，难以摆脱固有的思维模式。
Another study from Stanford came to the same conclusion. While hooked up to magnetic resonance imaging machines (MRIs), participants were asked to draw a series of images — some easy to illustrate, some difficult.
斯坦福大学的另一项研究也得出了相同的结论。除了使用磁谐振成像机，受试者还需要画一些难度不一的图。
The more difficult the images were to draw, the more the participants had to think, and the less creative their drawings were. On the flip side, the less thought involved, the more creative the drawings were.
图越难画，受试者想得就越多，作品也就越缺乏创造力。相反，想得越少，作品越有创意。
In short, too much thinking seems to put a cap on creativity.
简言之，过度思虑会限制创造力的发挥。
03 Your sleep may take a hit
影响睡眠
Lots of overthinkers struggle with falling asleep, shuffling through thoughts rather than shutting down and getting some shut-eye.
多数爱胡思乱想的人都有入睡困难，他们心乱如麻，根本做不到什么都不想、闭上眼睛就睡觉。
Your body needs to get into a state of calm in order to sleep — your heart rate needs to go down, as does your blood pressure and breathing. Overanalyzing can be arousing, especially when the thoughts are more anxious. This can pull you out of the soothing state your body needs to be in for sleep, according to Spiegel.
施皮格尔（Spiegel）说，要想睡觉，你的身体就得进入平静的状态——心率要变慢、血压降低、呼吸也要放缓。想太多会让你越想越兴奋，尤其是想到很渴望的事情，这样一来，睡觉所需的舒缓状态也就不复存在了。
And once your sleep starts suffering, it’s easy to get stuck in a nasty whirlwind of exhaustion and sleep deprivation.
一旦你睡不好，你就很容易陷入疲惫和失眠的恶性循环。
04 Your appetite might change
胃口发生变化
Overthinking can have a profound impact on people’s appetites. For some, it can suppress appetite, and for others, it can boost it — which is more common.
思虑过度对人们的胃口有很大影响。有些人可能因此吃不下饭，但更常见的是胃口大开。
Spiegel calls this “worry eating,” and said people do it because it can be distracting or even soothing. Many people tend to go for the tastiest and unhealthiest things when they’re stressed, Spiegel said, noting there’s a reason high-fat, sugary foods are called “comfort foods.”
施皮格尔（Spiegel）称之为“焦虑性进食”。他说人们之所以这么做是想分散注意力，甚至从中寻求安慰。很多人在压力大的时候，都会想吃最可口却也最不健康的东西，这也是为什么人们会把高脂的甜食叫做“慰藉心灵的食物”。
Additionally, cortisol — that stress hormone we talked about earlier — increases your appetite along with your motivation to eat, according to Harvard University.
另外，哈佛大学称，之前提过的应激激素——皮质醇会使你胃口大开，让你总是想吃吃吃。
05 Here’s how to control your tendency to overthink
如何避免过度思考呢？答案就在这里
海量双语资讯，尽在百度翻译>>
The first step is to notice that you’re overthinking and become aware of what’s going on. According to Sinha, one way to think about it is if you have more than three potential, or “what if,” scenarios, you’re thinking about it too much.
首先，你要意识到自己思虑过度，并加以重视。那么如何断定自己是否思虑过度呢？辛哈（Sinha）说，如果你的身体有上文提到的三种以上的变化或是你常有“如果......就好了”的想法，那你就是在过度思考。
Next, you’re supposed to find a way to distract yourself and get into your physical body to free up your cognitive systems (think going for a jog or trying yoga). You should also try to practice diaphragmatic breathing or deep belly breathing. This helps lower your heart rate, slow your breathing and get in touch with your body — which, in turn, clears your head.
其次，你要找到分散注意力的方法，了解你的身体并放空自己（试试慢跑或者瑜伽吧）。尝试膈式呼吸或腹式呼吸，这两种呼吸法有助于你放慢心率、放缓呼吸，让你真正感受自己的身体，进而清除杂念。
Lastly, mindfulness or meditation can also help you reset and declutter your mind, according to Spiegel, though this will likely take a bit of practice and patience.
最后，施皮格尔（Spiegel）说，正念或冥想也可以帮你摒弃杂念，不过要做到这一点可能需要些耐心和练习。
“Don’t fight the problem — let it flow through you like watching the storm pass by,” he said.
施皮格尔（Spiegel）说：“不要和问题对抗，等着它慢慢解决，就像静静等待暴风雨过去一样。”
别胡思乱想啦，多思无益，愿你今晚好梦。
本文为百度翻译原创内容
翻译：张卓 （北语）
编辑：Judith
文章来源：Huffpost
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