我們的時間觀念正在被擾亂

我們的時間觀念正在被擾亂

"What day is it, again?"

“再說一遍，今天是星期幾?”

It's become a common refrain during the coronavirus pandemic, a reflection of both how all of the days seem to blur together and how lately, we find ourselves forgetting even the simplest of details.

在冠狀病毒大流行期間，這已經(jīng)成為一種常見的重復，反映了所有的日子是如何模糊在一起的，以及最近，我們發(fā)現(xiàn)自己甚至忘記了最簡單的細節(jié)。

Our internal clocks are shot. There are no weekdays, or weekends. There is only yesterday, today and tomorrow.

我們的生物鐘被打亂了。沒有工作日，也沒有周末。只有昨天、今天和明天。

Along with these feelings of disorientation, it may seem like it's getting harder to concentrate and taking longer to complete tasks, as if our brains are just working more slowly.

伴隨著這些迷失方向的感覺，我們似乎越來越難以集中注意力，完成任務的時間也越來越長，就好像我們的大腦運轉(zhuǎn)得越來越慢。

If it feels like your brain is turning into mush, you're not alone. Experts say it all has to do with how the pandemic is affecting our cognitive health -- meaning, our ability to clearly think, learn and remember.

如果你感覺你的大腦正在變得一團糟，你并不孤單。專家表示，這一切都與大流行如何影響我們的認知健康有關(guān)，也就是說，我們清晰思考、學習和記憶的能力。

"It is a perfect storm between changes in environment and increases in cognitive stress," said Elissa Epel, a professor of psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco. "And then on top of that, most of us are not getting the quality sleep that we used to."

加州大學舊金山分校的精神病學教授埃莉薩·埃佩爾說，“這是一場完美風暴，它夾在環(huán)境變化和認知壓力的增加之間。”“最重要的是，我們大多數(shù)人的睡眠質(zhì)量都不如以前。”

Here's what's going on, and what we can do about it.

這是正在發(fā)生的事情，我們可以做些什么。

Our usual routines are gone

我們的日常生活已經(jīng)消失了

Much like our bodies depend on environmental cues like sunlight to regulate our circadian rhythms, they also rely on physical and social cues, explains Epel.

埃佩爾解釋說，就像我們的身體依賴陽光等環(huán)境信號來調(diào)節(jié)晝夜節(jié)律一樣，它們也依賴于身體和社會信號。

Those cues include routines like morning and evening commutes, set mealtimes or weekly religious services that help us keep track of what day it is.

這些提示包括像早晨和晚上的通勤，固定的用餐時間或每周的宗教儀式，幫助我們了解今天是什么日子。

For those confined to our homes, those routines have largely disappeared. Days have lost their usual structure, meaning once-clear boundaries are now blurred.

對于那些被限制在家里的人來說，這些日常生活基本上已經(jīng)消失了。日子已經(jīng)失去了它們通常的結(jié)構(gòu)，這意味著曾經(jīng)清晰的界限現(xiàn)在變得模糊。

We're multitasking a lot more

我們要做更多的多重任務

Another reason we can't keep track of the days?

另一個我們記不住日子的原因是什么?

We're multitasking a lot more. Many people are finding themselves balancing multiple responsibilities, such as homeschooling children or caring for an elderly family member -- all while holding down a full-time job or coping with the stress of a layoff.

我們要做更多的多任務處理。許多人發(fā)現(xiàn)自己要同時兼顧多項責任，比如在家輔導孩子或照顧家里的一位老人，但同時又要保住一份全職工作或應對裁員帶來的壓力。

Because all of those things are now happening in the same place, and often at the same time, we may find ourselves switching in between tasks more frequently. All of these things, Epel said, increase our cognitive load -- in other words, they use up more of our mental resources.

因為所有這些事情都發(fā)生在同一個地方，而且經(jīng)常同時發(fā)生，我們可能會發(fā)現(xiàn)自己更頻繁地在任務之間切換。埃佩爾說，所有這些都增加了我們的認知負荷，換句話說，它們消耗了我們更多的精神資源。

Those disruptions are causing stress

這些干擾正在造成壓力

Not being able to remember what day it is can also be a symptom of stress, explains Burnett-Zeigler.

伯內(nèi)特-齊格勒解釋說，記不住今天是哪一天也是壓力的一種癥狀。

High stress levels impair our concentration and attention, and can affect short-term memory.

高壓力會削弱我們的凝聚力和注意力，并會影響短期記憶。

Another effect of stress? It can worsen our quality of sleep.

壓力的另一個影響?它會使我們的睡眠質(zhì)量變差。

"Often if you're feeling stressed or you're feeling anxious, those thoughts and feelings can show up and either make it more difficult to fall asleep or more difficult to stay asleep," Burnett-Zeigler said.

伯內(nèi)特-齊格勒說:“通常情況下，如果你感到緊張或焦慮，這些想法和感覺就會出現(xiàn)，要么讓你更難入睡，要么讓你更難保持睡眠。”

So what can we do about all this?

那么我們能做些什么呢?

The psychiatrists and psychologists we spoke to recommended trying to maintain a sense of structure, to the extent possible. Going to bed and waking up at the same time each day is one strategy.

與我們交談過的精神病學家和心理學家建議盡量保持一種結(jié)構(gòu)感。每天在同一時間睡覺和起床是一種策略。

They also recommended taking frequent breaks, exercising, eating healthy and limiting news consumption.

他們還建議經(jīng)常休息、鍛煉、健康飲食、少看新聞。