Quitting smoking reduces anxiety 戒菸降低緊張感

Smokers who successfully quit feel less anxious afterwards — despite the belief that smoking relieves stress, researchers say.

The British Journal of Psychiatry study followed nearly 500 smokers attending National Health Service Stop Smoking Clinics in England. It found a “significant” decrease in anxiety levels among the 68 smokers who had quit after six months.

The effect was greater among those who had mood and anxiety disorders than those who smoked for pleasure.

The researchers — drawn from several universities including Cambridge, Oxford and King’s College London — said the findings should be used to reassure smokers attempting to quit that concerns about increased anxiety levels were unfounded.
(Liberty Times)

研究人員說，雖然一般認為吸菸可舒緩壓力，但吸菸者成功戒菸後，反而比較不會覺得緊張。
《英國精神病學期刊》刊登的這份研究，追蹤在英格蘭向「國民保健服務處」戒菸診所求助的近五百名吸菸者。研究發現，六十八名在六個月後戒菸的吸菸者，緊張感「顯著」降低。
戒菸對有情緒與緊張失調者的影響，比為了愉悅感而吸菸者來得大。

選自劍橋、牛津與倫敦國王學院等大學的研究人員說，這項研究發現應該用來說服欲戒菸者，戒菸會增加緊張感的憂慮並沒有根據。

（自由時報／翻譯：自由時報國際新聞中心）

TODAY’S WORDS 今日單字

1. afterwards adv.
後來 (hou4 lai2)
例: We had tea, and afterwards we sat in the garden for a while.
(我們喝了茶，然後在花園裡坐了一會兒。)

2. relieve v.
舒緩 (shu1 huan3))
例: She was given a shot of morphine to relieve the pain.
(她打了一針嗎啡舒緩疼痛。)

3. unfounded adj.
無根據的 (wu2 gen1 ju4 de5)
例: I’m pleased to see that our fears about the weather proved totally unfounded.
(我很高興我們對天氣的擔心最後是多慮了。)

Links:
http://www.spiritvoyage.com/blog/index.php/stop-smoking-with-kundalini-yoga/

Using the Internet to reduce stress at work 求職網：聊天、上網、臉書 上班族紓壓三寶

Apart from performing proper tasks, what else are office workers preoccupied with on the job? A survey conducted by the online job board yes123 found that chatting, using the Internet and Facebook are office workers’ three main ways of relaxing at work, with 54.4 percent saying that it helps reduce work-related stress.

The survey found that the majority of office workers spend on average six hours per day performing work-related tasks (24.9 percent), followed by people who spend seven hours (21.9 percent), or more than two-thirds of their time at the office. When answering multiple-choice questions, it was discovered that the rest of their time is spent chatting with coworkers (66.4 percent), surfing the Internet (43.2 percent) or using Facebook (42.3 percent).

Although it may be a form of escapism, most office workers (54.4 percent) think that such distractions are helpful ways to relieve work-related stress, while some (9.7 percent) believe that it helps them work more efficiently, and is a necessary distraction (7.3 percent). In comparison, only 5.2 percent believe that surfing the Internet is lazy and irresponsible behavior, while 4.5 percent said it is a failure to perform their proper duties and 3 percent feel pangs of conscience when they engage in such activities.

As for exactly how much time office workers spend on Facebook, Internet auctions or chatting at work, the survey found that more than half spend 1.5 hours on average surfing the Internet every day. Around 59 percent of the respondents said that they spend half an hour on Facebook every day, while 21 percent said they spend an hour on the social networking site. Among the respondents, 64 percent said they usually spend around half an hour every day on Internet auctions or group buying sites. Around 57 percent said that they spend approximately half an hour every day using chatting software.

TODAY’S WORDS今日單字

1. relieve v.
緩和；減輕 (huan3 he2; jian3 qing1)
例: I took some medicine to relieve my upset stomach.
(我吃了緩和腸胃不適的藥。)

2. efficiently adv.
有效率地 (you3 xiao4 lu4 de5)
例: Using water more efficiently can mitigate the effects of drought.
(有效率地用水可以減輕旱災的影響。)

3. pang of conscience n. phr.
良心不安 (liang2 xin1 bu4 an1)
例: Hank had a sudden pang of conscience and decided to tell her the truth.
(漢克突然良心不安，決定跟她說實話。)