研究：無聊至死真有可能

It really is possible to be bored to death, scientists have found, after research showed those who live tedious lives are twice as likely to die young.

People who complain of “high levels” of boredom in their lives are at double the risk of dying from from heart disease or a stroke than those who find life entertaining, researchers at University College London found.

Of more than 7,000 civil servants who were monitored over 25 years, those who said they were bored were nearly 40 per cent more likely to have died by the end of the study than those who did not.

People who are bored are more likely to turn to unhealthy habits like drinking and smoking, which can cut their life-expectancy, the scientists said.

Specialists from the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health at University College London, studied the responses of 7,524 civil servants aged between 35 and 55 who were interviewed about their levels of boredom in the mid eighties. They then found out whether they had died by April last year.

The original survey found that one in ten civil servants had been bored within the past month, with women more than twice as likely to suffer than men. Younger employees and those with more menial jobs were also more prone to boredom.

Martin Shipley, who co-wrote the report published in the International Journal of Epidemiology, said: “The findings on heart disease show there was sufficient evidence to say there is a link with boredom.

“It is important that people who have dull jobs find outside interests to keep boredom at bay, rather than turn to drinking or smoking.”

Graham Price, a psychologist, said those who are bored should lift their spirits by thinking more about the needs of others.

“From being all me, me, me, they should be thinking, what can I do for my family, my friends, my colleagues, even my boss,” he said

科學家日前稱，人真的可能會無聊至死。因爲有研究顯示，生活單調乏味的人英年早逝的可能性爲正常人的兩倍。

倫敦大學學院的研究人員發現，那些抱怨生活“極度”無聊的人死於心臟病或中風的風險是那些覺得生活愉快的人的兩倍。

研究人員在25年間對七千多名公務員進行了跟蹤調查。調查結果發現，那些稱生活無聊的人在研究結束前死亡的可能性比生活愉快的人高近40%。

科學家說，覺得生活無聊的人更容易染上抽菸喝酒等不健康的生活習慣，而這些不良習慣會縮短他們的壽命。

來自倫敦大學學院流行病學與公共衛生系的專家們對7524名年齡在35歲到55歲之間的公務員的情況反饋進行了研究。研究人員於上世紀80年代中期就這些人的無聊程度對他們進行了訪問。去年四月份，又對他們的死亡情況進行了跟蹤調查。

最初的調查發現，十分之一的公務員在過去一個月中感到無聊，女性感到無聊的可能性爲男性的兩倍多。較年輕的職員和那些做輔助性工作的人更容易感到無聊。

該研究報告在《國際流行病學期刊》上發表。報告撰寫人之一馬丁•敘普利說：“心臟病方面的發現表明，有充分的證據證明心臟病與無聊有關。

“工作比較枯燥的人應該找些業餘愛好來打發無聊，而不是去抽菸喝酒，這很重要。”

心理學家格蘭姆•普萊斯說，那些覺得無聊的人應該多想想他人的需要，以此來振奮自己的精神。

他說：“這些人不應該總想着我，我，我，而是我能爲家人、朋友、同事甚至老闆做些什麼。”

Vocabulary:

menial: (of work)not skilled or important, and often boring or badly paid（工作）不需技巧的；枯燥的；報酬低的

keepsth./sb. at bay: to prevent something or someone unpleasant from coming too near you or harming you 不讓（敵人）接近；防止（問題惡化）