光是款一眼手機,就能讓你腦力下降大綱
Just being near your smartphone can be enough to reduce your brain power, even when it's switched off, according to a new study – so you might want to give yourself and your mobile some alone time in the future.
最新研究發現，即使關掉手機，只是把手機放到身邊就足以使人腦力下降，所以你可以考慮一下未來給自己和手機一點單獨的空間。The research shows the way our smartphones have become a constant source of distraction, whether or not we're actually using them, and could lead to a better understanding of the dangers of being always connected and available.
該研究顯示，不管我們用不用手機，我們的智能手機都會讓人一直分神，此項研究可能會讓我們更清楚地認識到手機時刻處於連接在線狀態的危害。According to the team from the University of Texas at Austin, the study demonstrates how having phones within sight or within easy reach means some of our brainpower is inevitably used up as we try not to be distracted.
據德克薩斯大學奧斯汀分校的研究團隊所說，此項研究證明，即使我們不想分神，但當把手機置於眼前或觸手可及的地方時，腦力會不可避免地下降。
"We see a linear trend that suggests that as the smartphone becomes more noticeable, participants' available cognitive capacity decreases," says one of the researchers, Adrian Ward.
該研究的研究者艾阿德里安?沃德說，“我們發現了一個線性趨勢，那就是手機放到越是顯眼的位置，參與者可調動的認知能力越低。”"Your conscious mind isn't thinking about your smartphone, but that process – the process of requiring yourself to not think about something – uses up some of your limited cognitive resources. It's a brain drain."
“即使你沒有想着手機，但是這個過程，要求自己不要分心的過程也佔用了你有限的認知資源，也會讓大腦疲勞。”Those conclusions were reached after two experiments. In the first, 520 smartphone users were told to turn their phones to silent then either leave them in another room, place them face down on a desk, or put them in a pocket or a bag.
該研究結果來自於兩次實驗。第一次實驗時，研究者要求520名智能手機使用者將手機調到靜音狀態後把手機放到另一間房間，或將手機倒扣置於桌子上，或把手機放進口袋或包裏。The volunteers were then asked to complete a series of computer tests that required serious concentration to score highly.
研究者要求實驗參與者完成一系列需要高度集中力的電腦測試。The participants who left their phones in another room "significantly outperformed" those with their phones on the desk, and "slightly outperformed" those with their phones in a pocket or a bag, report the researchers.
研究報告稱，把手機放到另一間房間的參與者在測試中的表現“完全超出”了把手機放在桌子上的參與者，“略優於”把手機放到口袋或包裏的參與者。Based on a follow-up survey, however, the participants themselves didn't feel the location of their phones had any effect on their ability to concentrate on the test.
但是根據後續調查來看，參與者們並沒有覺得手機的位置對他們參加測試的集中力有任何影響。Next, 275 volunteers were asked to go through the same process, but this time they were asked in advance how much they felt they depended on their phones.
另一次實驗有275名志願者參與，實驗過程相同，但這次研究者提前詢問了參與者依賴手機的程度。Again, phones had to be left on a desk, in a pocket or bag, or in another room, but this time some participants were asked to turn their phones off as well.
再一次，研究者要求參與者或把手機放桌子上，或放口袋或包裏，或是放到另一個房間，但是這次不同的是參與者還被要求將手機關機。
Those who said they were most dependent on their phones performed worse on the tests, but only when the phone was placed on a desk or in a pocket or a bag. If the phone was in another room, phone dependency had no significant impact on the test scores.
那些表示自己離不開手機的參與者在測試中表現最差，但是僅限於手機放到桌上或是放在口袋或包裏的時候。如果把手機放到另一個房間，即便依賴手機對測試分數也沒有很大影響。Whether or not the phone was on or off, or placed face up or face down on a desk, didn't make any difference to overall performance either, the researchers found.
研究者們發現，手機開機與否，正面朝上還是倒扣到桌上，參與者的整體表現都沒有任何不同。In other words, the only way to really make sure your phone isn't distracting you is to physically remove it from the room you're in. Switching it off or placing it face down just isn't enough.
換句話說，確保手機不使你分神的唯一方法就是把手機放到另一間房間，關機或是倒扣放置都不夠。You probably don't need telling that having a smartphone around can be distracting, but it's interesting that just having a phone close by – even if it's turned off or in silent mode – is enough to reduce our mental capacity for other tasks.
你可能不需要人告訴就知道手機在身邊會讓人分神，但是有趣的是即使把手機關掉或調到靜音模式，只要手機在你附近，就足以把你做其他任務的腦力分走。"It's not that participants were distracted because they were getting notifications on their phones," says Ward. "The mere presence of their smartphone was enough to reduce their cognitive capacity."
“參與者分心不是因爲手機有消息提示，” 沃德說，“單是手機的存在就足以使他們的認知能力下降。”
