Uh-oh, the new year's just begun and already you're finding it hard to keep those resolutions to junk the junk food, get off the couch or kick smoking. There's a biological reason a lot of our bad habits are so hard to break – they get wired into our brains.
噢喔，新的一年才剛剛開始，你就發(fā)現(xiàn)很難堅持“告別垃圾食品、遠(yuǎn)離沙發(fā)、戒煙”這些新年決心了吧？我們很難改掉壞習(xí)慣是由于生物學(xué)的原因——這些壞習(xí)慣根植于我們的大腦中。

That's not an excuse to give up. Understanding how unhealthy behaviors become ingrained has scientists learning some tricks that may help good habits replace the bad.
這并不是讓人放棄新年決心的借口。了解不健康的習(xí)慣怎樣變得根深蒂固可以啟發(fā)科學(xué)家研究出一些讓好習(xí)慣代替壞習(xí)慣的“技巧”。

"Why are bad habits stronger? You're fighting against the power of an immediate reward," says Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse and an authority on the brain's pleasure pathway.
諾拉?沃爾科夫博士說：“為什么壞習(xí)慣更加頑固？因為它能帶來即時的犒賞，而這種即時犒賞的力量很強(qiáng)大?！蔽譅柨品虿┦渴敲绹鴩宜幬餅E用研究所主任，同時也是大腦快樂通道方面的權(quán)威。

"We all as creatures are hard-wired that way, to give greater value to an immediate reward as opposed to something that's delayed," Volkow says.
沃爾科夫博士說，“我們的這種天性決定了我們會更看重眼前的好處，而不是遲來的好處?！?/div>

Just how that bit of happiness turns into a habit involves a pleasure-sensing chemical named dopamine. It conditions the brain to want that reward again and again – reinforcing the connection each time – especially when it gets the right cue from your environment.
那么這一點快樂的感覺是怎樣轉(zhuǎn)化為一種習(xí)慣的呢？這與一種感知快樂的化學(xué)物質(zhì)多巴胺有關(guān)。多巴胺使大腦不斷期望得到這種犒賞，從而不斷加強(qiáng)快樂感與這種行為之間的聯(lián)系，特別是當(dāng)它能從周圍環(huán)境中得到正確的暗示時。

People tend to overestimate their ability to resist temptations around them, thus undermining attempts to shed bad habits, says experimental psychologist Loran Nordgren, an assistant professor at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management.
西北大學(xué)凱洛格管理學(xué)院副教授、實驗心理學(xué)家羅蘭?諾德格倫說，人們往往高估自己抵抗身邊誘惑的能力，這使他們?yōu)閿[脫壞習(xí)慣而做出的努力毀于一旦。

Even scientists who recognize it can fall prey."I don't like popcorn. But every time I go to the cinema, I have to eat it," Volkow says. "It's fascinating."
即使是能意識到這一點的科學(xué)家，也難以幸免。沃爾科夫說：“我不喜歡吃爆米花，但每次去電影院我都會吃。它讓我很難抗拒?！?/div>

A movement to pay people for behavior changes may exploit that connection, as some companies offer employees outright payments or insurance rebates for adopting better habits.
一項“為行為變化買單”的運動可能會對這種聯(lián)系加以利用，在這項運動中，一些公司給雇員提供“即時報酬”或是“保險回扣”，以激勵他們形成更好的習(xí)慣。

However paying for behavior plays out, researchers say there are some steps that may help counter your brain's hold on bad habits:
不管這項運動結(jié)果如何，研究人員說我們的確可以采取某些行動來對抗壞習(xí)慣對大腦的吸引力。

Repeat, repeat, repeat the new behavior – the same routine at the same time of day. Resolved to exercise? Doing it at the same time of the morning, rather than fitting it in haphazardly, makes the striatum recognize the habit so eventually, "if you don't do it, you feel awful," says Volkow the neuro scientist, who's also a passionate runner.
那就是，重復(fù)，重復(fù)，再重復(fù)你的新行為，使之成為每天固定時間的例行活動。下決心鍛煉？那就每天早上固定時間鍛煉，而不要隨意找時間，這樣會使大腦紋狀體最終接受這個新習(xí)慣。神經(jīng)學(xué)家沃爾科夫也是一個熱愛跑步的人，他說：“如果你哪天沒鍛煉，就會感覺很糟糕?！?/div>