We all have our own tricks to boost our mood when we’re feeling down; these little tricks can make you feel a little bit happier every day. While there are certainly happy memories tied up in the wedding ring you and your spouse purchased together years ago or your teddy bear from childhood, new research finds that we typically feel calmer and experience a greater sense of well-being when we focus on a place that reminds us of happier times rather than a thing, even if it holds sentimental value.

我們都有自己的小妙招讓自己心情低落的時候振作起來，這些小妙招能讓你每天都增添一點幸福感。多年前你和愛人一起買下的結婚戒指、童年的泰迪熊，這些東西都與幸福的記憶相關。不過新研究發現與某件物品相比——即使是具有重要意義的物品——當我們集中精神回憶某個與美好時光相關的地方時，我們尤其會感到平靜，幸福感也更加強烈。

The report, called Places That Make Us, was commissioned the United Kingdom’s National Trust (NT) and conducted by Surrey University’s researchers. Experts performed functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans on 20 volunteers and conducted an online survey of 2,000 people to better understand this deep draw toward special places. The results were groundbreaking, as they revealed such places don’t just make us feel happy, but create a sense of calm and completeness.

這份報告名為“那些讓我們更加完整的地方”是由英國國民信托基金委任、英國薩里大學的專家們推出的。專家們對20位志愿者進行了機能性磁共振成像檢查，同時對2000位志愿者進行了網上調查，以求更好地了解特殊地域對人們具有強烈吸引力的原因。他們取得了突破性的研究成果，發現這些特殊的地方不僅會使我們心情愉悅，還能產生一種平靜感和完整感。

“Working with leading researchers and academics, and using cutting-edge fMRI brain technology, we examined how places affect people, how they become special, and why we feel a pull towards them,” explained Nino Strachey, head of research for the NT.

“與領先的研究團隊和學者一道，運用先進的機能性磁共振成像檢查技術，我們就特殊地方對人們的影響力、它們為何特殊，以及為何對我們具有強烈的吸引力等問題進行了研究，”英國國民信托基金負責人Nino Strachey說道。

The 20 volunteers were shown images of landscapes, houses, and other locations, as well as personally meaningful objects. Measuring their brain activity, the researchers found that it was the places, as opposed to the objects, that caused the brain to get the most excited. The part of the brain linked with emotional responses, the amygdala, was specifically roused.

研究人員給20位志愿者觀看了風景、房屋和其他地方的圖片，還給他們觀看了具有重要私人意義的東西的圖片。通過檢測他們的大腦活動，研究人員發現特定的地方，而不是物品，能讓大腦產生最為興奮的狀態。尤其是人腦中與情感反應相聯系的部分——杏仁核——反應非常強烈。

Volunteers were also interviewed at great length two times, once at home and the other time at their special place. According to the research, the favorite places evoked feelings of belonging, physical and emotional safety, and an intense internal pull to the place.

研究人員同時還對志愿者進行了兩次長時間的采訪，一次是在家里，另一次是在對他們有特殊意義的地方。研究發現，那些人們最愛的地方能喚醒一種內心的歸屬感，讓人感到身體和情感上的安全感，同時還感到自己強烈地被這些地方吸引。

According to the report, 86 percent agreed “this place is part of me,” 60 percent felt “I feel safe here,” and 79 percent said they were “drawn here by a magnetic pull.”

據研究報道稱，86%的人贊同“這個地方已經成為我的一部分”，60%的人感到“我在這里很安全”，79%的人稱“我被一種強磁場吸引到了這里”。

Dr. Andy Myers, consultant on the research, weighed in on the findings, saying, “For the first time we have been able to prove the physical and emotional benefits of place, far beyond any research that has been done before. With meaningful places generating a significant response in areas of the brain known to process emotion, it’s exciting to understand how deep-rooted this connection truly is.”

該研究的顧問Andy Myers博士這樣評論這項研究的意義：“這是我們第一次了解到了地域對人身體和情感的有益影響，其意義遠超之前的任何研究。我們了解到了具有特殊意義的地方會讓大腦中處理情感的部分產生強烈的反應，這種聯系如此深刻，真是一項令人驚喜的發現。”

We all have our own tricks to boost our mood when we’re feeling down; these little tricks can make you feel a little bit happier every day. While there are certainly happy memories tied up in the wedding ring you and your spouse purchased together years ago or your teddy bear from childhood, new research finds that we typically feel calmer and experience a greater sense of well-being when we focus on a place that reminds us of happier times rather than a thing, even if it holds sentimental value.

我們都有自己的小妙招讓自己心情低落的時候振作起來，這些小妙招能讓你每天都增添一點幸福感。多年前你和愛人一起買下的結婚戒指、童年的泰迪熊，這些東西都與幸福的記憶相關。不過新研究發現與某件物品相比——即使是具有重要意義的物品——當我們集中精神回憶某個與美好時光相關的地方時，我們尤其會感到平靜，幸福感也更加強烈。

The report, called Places That Make Us, was commissioned the United Kingdom’s National Trust (NT) and conducted by Surrey University’s researchers. Experts performed functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans on 20 volunteers and conducted an online survey of 2,000 people to better understand this deep draw toward special places. The results were groundbreaking, as they revealed such places don’t just make us feel happy, but create a sense of calm and completeness.

這份報告名為“那些讓我們更加完整的地方”是由英國國民信托基金委任、英國薩里大學的專家們推出的。專家們對20位志愿者進行了機能性磁共振成像檢查，同時對2000位志愿者進行了網上調查，以求更好地了解特殊地域對人們具有強烈吸引力的原因。他們取得了突破性的研究成果，發現這些特殊的地方不僅會使我們心情愉悅，還能產生一種平靜感和完整感。

“Working with leading researchers and academics, and using cutting-edge fMRI brain technology, we examined how places affect people, how they become special, and why we feel a pull towards them,” explained Nino Strachey, head of research for the NT.

“與領先的研究團隊和學者一道，運用先進的機能性磁共振成像檢查技術，我們就特殊地方對人們的影響力、它們為何特殊，以及為何對我們具有強烈的吸引力等問題進行了研究，”英國國民信托基金負責人Nino Strachey說道。

The 20 volunteers were shown images of landscapes, houses, and other locations, as well as personally meaningful objects. Measuring their brain activity, the researchers found that it was the places, as opposed to the objects, that caused the brain to get the most excited. The part of the brain linked with emotional responses, the amygdala, was specifically roused.

研究人員給20位志愿者觀看了風景、房屋和其他地方的圖片，還給他們觀看了具有重要私人意義的東西的圖片。通過檢測他們的大腦活動，研究人員發現特定的地方，而不是物品，能讓大腦產生最為興奮的狀態。尤其是人腦中與情感反應相聯系的部分——杏仁核——反應非常強烈。

Volunteers were also interviewed at great length two times, once at home and the other time at their special place. According to the research, the favorite places evoked feelings of belonging, physical and emotional safety, and an intense internal pull to the place.

研究人員同時還對志愿者進行了兩次長時間的采訪，一次是在家里，另一次是在對他們有特殊意義的地方。研究發現，那些人們最愛的地方能喚醒一種內心的歸屬感，讓人感到身體和情感上的安全感，同時還感到自己強烈地被這些地方吸引。

According to the report, 86 percent agreed “this place is part of me,” 60 percent felt “I feel safe here,” and 79 percent said they were “drawn here by a magnetic pull.”

據研究報道稱，86%的人贊同“這個地方已經成為我的一部分”，60%的人感到“我在這里很安全”，79%的人稱“我被一種強磁場吸引到了這里”。

Dr. Andy Myers, consultant on the research, weighed in on the findings, saying, “For the first time we have been able to prove the physical and emotional benefits of place, far beyond any research that has been done before. With meaningful places generating a significant response in areas of the brain known to process emotion, it’s exciting to understand how deep-rooted this connection truly is.”

該研究的顧問Andy Myers博士這樣評論這項研究的意義：“這是我們第一次了解到了地域對人身體和情感的有益影響，其意義遠超之前的任何研究。我們了解到了具有特殊意義的地方會讓大腦中處理情感的部分產生強烈的反應，這種聯系如此深刻，真是一項令人驚喜的發現。”