I prioritized my research at the expense of my health—until I crashed
介绍:
有人早八晚十007成常态。
有课题组“卷”到飞起，博士5年发上8篇SCI才能毕业。
……
然而，疯狂工作，压榨自己的身体和生活，真的值得吗？
来自贝尔实验室的一位华人科学家Mingde Zheng，最近就在Science上发文，对此现象说了一个大大的“不”字。
正文
After drawing blood and running a CT scan, the doctor had questions for me. “What is a typical day like for you?” he inquired. “I am a graduate student with a packed schedule that usually keeps me at work late into the night,” I replied. Next, he turned to diet. I paused when this question came, embarrassed by my answer. “I only have coffee for breakfast. For lunch and dinner, I usually grab something from a fast-food vendor on campus.” The doctor seemed aghast(吃惊的,惊骇的). As more questions followed about my stress levels and lifestyle, my unhealthy state began to sink in.
抽完血和做完CT之后, 医生问了我一些问题:”你的日常是怎样的?” 我回答:”我是名研究生, 日程排满, 通常需要熬到深夜”. 随后, 他问起了我的饮食问题. 我懵住了, 尴尬地回答:”早餐只喝咖啡. 午餐和晚餐的话, 通常就是校园里的自动售货机那儿买点东西. “ 医生惊了Σ(っ °Д °;)っ. 接下来, 医生问了更多关于我个人压力程度与生活习惯方面的问题, 这让我的不健康状态实锤了.
It was easier to live a well-rounded(全面发展的) life and stay healthy when I was an undergraduate student. I had fewer responsibilities—succeeding in classes was the main priority. I lived in a dorm with resident assistants who advised us about our personal lives, showing us where to eat and exercise. The cafeteria served healthy food options. And I had a built-in group of friends through the dorm, which made it easy to participate in social activities.
上大学的时候, 我过着面面俱到的生活, 保持身体健康也更简单. 承担的压力不大, 认真上课就行. 我住的宿舍配备了生活辅导员, 他们会指导一下我们生活, 告诉我们到哪里吃饭, 到哪里锻炼. 而且校园餐厅的一些菜品都挺健康. 宿舍内也交到了一群朋友, 所以参加社交活动方便很多.
That all changed in graduate school. I was laser focused(专注) on my dissertation project and doing what I could to become a successful scientist. I lived off campus, and I didn’t feel I had the time or energy to shop for groceries and cook. I stopped exercising and didn’t spend as much time socializing. My drive to succeed blinded me from seeing any potential problems with my lifestyle.
可是成为研究生之后, 一切都变了. 我一股脑地钻进论文项目里, 竭尽全力成为一名成功的科学家. 我住在校外, 而且感觉也没时间或精力去商店买东西, 去做饭. 我没有继续锻炼了, 也没有花太多时间社交. 我想要成功的渴望蒙蔽了我的双眼, 让我看不到生活习惯中潜伏的毛病.
Sometimes, I could feel that I was becoming sluggish(反应迟钝的). But instead of giving my mind and body a rest, I drank energy boosters to maintain my stamina and continued to work long hours. I became an abusive overlord(封建君主) of my body. But it could only take so much before it crashed and burned.
有时候, 我能感觉自己反应迟钝. 尽管如此, 我也没有停下来放松身心, 而是靠喝功能饮料来充能, 继续长时间地工作. 我开始透支我的身体了, 就这样透支着, 我的身体离垮掉也不远了.
As I progressed through my Ph.D. program, I gained an unhealthy amount of weight. I got tired easily. Energy drinks no longer worked, and my body would react violently to them, with nausea, chills, and shakes. I often caught colds or the flu. And I started to have sporadic(零散的) abdominal pains, which I tried my best to ignore.
在我投入到我的博士项目过程中, 体重减轻了很多. 我容易感到疲劳. 充能饮料已经没用了, 喝完我会反应强烈, 会出现恶心, 打寒颤和颤抖的症状. 还有, 我开始时不时地感到腹痛, 但我会尽量忍着.
Eventually, the abdominal pains were so bad they drove me to the emergency room. That’s when the doctor peppered (一连串地(提问))me with questions. As my wife sat terrified by my side, he diagnosed me with a gastrointestinal disorder(肠胃失调) and told me in no uncertain terms(直接了当地,绝不含糊地) that I would need to change my lifestyle. No pill would fix my problem; in the long term, eating well, exercising, and trying to minimize stress would be the only way to keep the pain from recurring and turning into something worse.
果然, 有一次腹痛太猛了, 不得不去了急诊室. 就是这一次医生问了我一连串的健康问题. 我被诊断为肠胃失调, 医生明确告知我要改变生活习惯了. 我老婆当时在旁边陪着我,她很害怕. 医生还说吃药改善不了症状, 需要长期地锻炼, 尽量降低承担的压力, 只有这样才能防止疼痛复发, 病情恶化.
I worried that if I eased up on the gas pedal(汽车油门) at work, I wouldn’t be as productive. But after hearing the doctor’s warning, I knew I had no choice. I stopped working late into the night, which gave me more time to relax, sleep, and prepare my own meals. I read up on dietary recommendations and began to choose nutritious and healthy foods. I also gave up energy drinks and switched to tea.
虽然我担心如果在工作上放松的话, 成效将不如以前, 但听了医生一番话之后, 我想我没有选择的余地. 之后, 我停止了熬夜工作, 这样一来, 我就有时间放松放松, 睡个好觉, 自己做饭. 我看了一些饮食推荐, 开始吃营养丰富, 健康的食物. 同时, 我也不再喝功能饮料了, 改成了喝茶.
Many times, I was tempted to go back to my old routine. I placed sticky notes in my office and at home to remind myself that if I didn’t make healthy choices, I’d suffer consequences. Over time, though, it became easier, especially once my habits became more ingrained and I began to notice positive changes in my life.
期间, 很多次, 我想走老路了. 但不行, 所以我会在办公室和家里贴便利贴来提醒自己: 如果打破现在的健康习惯, 我将会吃到苦头. 幸好随着时间的推移, 我越来越适应了这种生活方式, 尤其是我的很多习惯已经根深蒂固了, 同时我开始注意到我的生活有了明显的改善.
It’s been 4 years now and, to my surprise, I have not only noticed gains in my health, I have also found it easier to be productive at work. I’m no longer plagued by stomach pains and constant fatigue. And I’m able to remain alert throughout the day without having to rely on energy boosters.
到现在已经4年了, 我惊喜地发现我不仅收获到了健康, 而且工作也更加容易有成效, 再也没有胃痛的感觉与持续的疲乏感. 而且即便不喝功能饮料, 我也能全天保持警醒的状态.
My unhealthy lifestyle may not have been the root cause of my health issues—I may have become ill regardless. But I am thankful I had an early warning that I was neglecting my physical health. I’ve noticed many other scientists making similar mistakes, and I worry their wake-up call (警示)won’t come until later in life, when it will be harder to reverse the damage. Our work as scientists is important, but we can only do that work if we take care of our bodies.
我的生活习惯不健康可能并非是引起我的健康问题的根源, 也许最终我无论如何都会生病. 但是我很庆幸我能在这么早就得到警示, 提醒我是在忽视自己的身体健康. 我已经注意到其他科学家也正在犯同样的错误, 还有我担心他们的健康警示会出现得很晚, 到那时就很难恢复对身体造成的伤害了. 身为科学家, 我们的工作固然重要, 但是只有我们养好自己的身体, 才能更好地投入工作.
来源:
https://www.science.org/content/article/i-prioritized-my-research-expense-my-health-until-i-crashed
