压力和免疫系统

1、压力和免疫系统Stress and the Immune System压力和免疫系统By the end of this lesson, you will be able to offer sympathy to someone experiencing a problem.NEWSCASTER: Picture this situation. You might recognize it.Its exam time. Youve been crammingfor weeks. Youre ready.NEWSCASTER1: You walk confidently into the exa

2、m hall, two ballpoint pens and a sharpened pencil at the ready. You feel confident. In fact, youre not stressed out at all. Your body and mind are one hundred per cent focused on passing this exam. And you sail through it!NEWSCASTER2: Three hours later, you walk out of the exam hall on cloud nine, a

3、bsolutely sure youre gonna get an A”. Even better, tomorrow youll be lying on a beach on a tropical island, your gift to yourself for all the hard work youve just done. And then what happens? The next day, instead of lying on a tropical beach, youre lying in bed with a fever. Suddenly, out of nowher

4、e, you got sick.NEWSCASTERS: Isn9t that just typical? After all that hard wo rk, now, when its time to relax, youve caught the flu! Why does this happen? Well, it doesnt just affect students whove been studying hard for an exam. If youve just completed a big project at work, competed in a sports eve

5、nt after training for months, got married or even just moved house, youre possibly at risk.NEWSCASTER4: What happens is when youre really busy for a period of time, your immune system steps up to help you get through it. However, after youve finished whatever it was you were doing, and youre now get

6、ting ready to take a break, your immune system goes on holiday. A part of your brain called the hypothalamus sends a signal to your immune system. Something like: Okay guys, works done here, take a break. So, just as you want to relax and have a good time, your immune system disappears for a while.N

7、EWSCASTERS: And that leaves you at risk of catching whatever viruses or illness is going around. So what can we do about it? Well, its believed that what causes the immune system to disappear is the force of the change that takes place. Think about it: your body is working at maximum capacity for mo

8、nths and months and then, suddenly, stops. One way to deal with this sudden lifestyle change is to make the change less sudden.NEWSCASTER6: In other words, just wind down. Instead of going from flat out busy to vegging out on the beach, slow down in stages. Dont be afraid to catch up on your sleep after months of hard work. But dont lie around all day. Its believed that both physical and mental exercise can help the winding down process, so go for a jog or do the crossword to keep body and mind stimulated.NEWSCASTER?: And when you do go on holiday,