他山之石 | 文字之外：为什么诗歌对健康有益

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嗨，小号的朋友们！全新改版的［他山之石］栏目上线啦！在［是光的小号］这片聊天的自留地里，我们也一直在想还可以给大家分享哪些好玩有用的东西💡

琢磨了一大阵子，决定推出升级版［他山之石］。简单来说，就是通过定期翻译国外有趣的诗歌教学和实验相关文献，看看别人都是怎么做的！与志愿者、诗歌老师和月捐人一起，分享更广阔可爱的🌏世界。

写在前面

这篇文章来自约翰·霍普金斯大学医学院的国际艺术与心理实验室。文章介绍了一些关于诗歌如何影响人体健康的研究。他们将诗歌的作用总结为两个方面：一是读诗、写诗能给各类人群（儿童、青少年、大学生、癌症患者、看护者、医疗工作者）带来心理疗愈；二是诗歌中富有的韵律和节奏能促进大脑的发展和运作，提升人们对情绪的感知能力。

More Than Words: Why Poetry is Good for Our Health

文字之外：为什么诗歌对健康有益

Amanda Gorman, the 2017 National Youth Poet Laureate, spoke these powerful words at the 2020 presidential inauguration from the dais of the United States Capitol where, just weeks prior, a violent insurrection had erupted.

在2020年美国总统乔·拜登（Joe Biden）的就职典礼上，2017年度“国家青年桂冠诗人”阿曼达·戈尔曼（Amanda Gorman）站在美国国会大厦的讲台上朗读出这番有力的话语。而就在几周前，这里曾爆发过一场暴力叛乱。

For millions of viewers watching virtually, amidst a raging pandemic and tumultuous political moment, her words provided solace and healing.

在这个疫情肆虐、政治动荡的时刻，她的话安慰并治愈了数百万的线上观众。

Gorman’s performance was a testament to the power of poetry and its delivery through spoken word to express our collective fears and most fervent hopes. Research shows that poetry—reading, writing, speaking it—can help support our mental health, especially in times of great need.

戈尔曼的演说诠释了诗歌的力量，她诗句般的话语传达出了弥漫在人们心中的恐慌和与之共存的最热切的希望。已有研究表明，在我们需要慰藉的时候，阅读、创作或朗诵诗歌是保持心理健康的一剂良药。

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The Healing Word

治愈之言

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Poetry can provide comfort and boost mood during periods of stress, trauma and grief. Its powerful combination of words, metaphor and meter help us better express ourselves and make sense of the world and our place in it.

诗歌能在我们承受压力、创伤和悲痛的时候提供心理安慰、改善不良情绪。它是文字、比喻和韵律强有力的集合，能帮助我们更好地表达自己，更深入地理解世界以及我们在其中的位置。

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Different research studies have found evidence that writing or reading poetry can be therapeutic for both patients dealing with illness and adversity as well as their caregivers. A 2021 study of hospitalized children found that providing opportunities for them to read and write poetry reduced their fear, sadness, anger, worry, and fatigue. A group of 44 pediatric patients was given poetry-writing kits containing writing prompts, samples of selected poems, colorful construction paper, pens, and markers. The majority of children reported that they felt happy after the poetry activity. The post-poetry surveys also found that writing and reading poetry gave the children a welcome distraction from stress and an opportunity for self-reflection.

不同研究已经证实写诗或读诗对经历疾病和逆境的病人以及他们的看护者都有疗愈作用。2021年的一项对住院儿童的研究发现，为他们提供阅读和写诗的机会可以缓解他们的恐惧、悲伤、愤怒、担忧和疲劳。研究人员给44名儿科病人提供了“诗歌创作包”，其中包含写作提示、诗歌范例、彩色卡纸、圆珠笔和马克笔。大多数受试儿童反馈，他们在参与了诗歌活动后感到愉悦。实验后的问卷还表明，写诗和读诗让孩子们的注意力从压力上转移开来，并引导他们进行自我反思。

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Another study found that guided poetry writing sessions significantly alleviated both symptoms of depression and trauma in adolescents who have been abused. Other studies found that poetry therapy with a certified therapist helped cancer patients improve emotional resilience, alleviate anxiety levels and improve their quality of life.

另一项研究发现，指导性的写诗课程大大缓解了受虐待青少年的抑郁和创伤症状。更有研究指出，职业治疗师提供的诗歌治疗能帮助癌症患者提高情绪复原力，缓解他们的焦虑症状并改善他们的生活质量。

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Poetry therapy also may support the emotional well-being of caregivers, including domestic violence counselors, family members of dementia patients and frontline healthcare workers. A systematic review published in 2019 found that poetry can help healthcare workers combat burnout and increase empathy for patients, giving the frontlines another arts-based tool to turn to during the pandemic and beyond.

诗歌疗法也有益于看护者的情感健康，这些群体包括家庭暴力咨询师、痴呆症患者的家庭成员和一线医疗工作者。2019年发表的一项研究综述发现，诗歌可以帮助医护人员对抗职业疲倦，增加他们对病人的同情心，在疫情期间乃至以后给一线工作者提供一种艺术性的疗愈工具。

插画：西村

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And the healing benefits of poetry can extend to just about anyone: one study of undergraduate students in Iran found that reading poetry together reduced signs of depression, anxiety, and stress. Using poetry to find our voice can open up new ways of expressing ourselves that cannot be traversed with everyday words, and open up ways to heal and restore us particularly in times of stress. As UCLA psychiatrist and poetry therapist Robert Carroll once put it: “Our voices are embodiments of ourselves, whether written or spoken. It is in times of extremity that we long to find words or hear another human voice letting us know we are not alone.”

其实诗歌的疗效几乎可以惠及任何人：一项由伊朗大学生参与的研究发现，与其他受试者一起读诗可以减少他们身上抑郁、焦虑和压力的迹象。当我们通过诗歌找到自己的“声音”，也就开辟了新的方式来表达自己，而这些方式是难以用日常用语达成的。尤其是在有压力的时候，诗歌能提供一种自我治愈和修复的方法。正如加州大学洛杉矶分校的精神病学家、诗歌治疗师罗伯特·卡罗尔（Robert Carroll）所说：“无论是书面语还是口语，声音都是自我的体现。在极端时期，我们会渴望找到一些文字或倾听另一个人的声音，让我们知道自己并不孤单。”

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Rhythm and Rhyme on the Mind

心中的节奏和韵律

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Our brains are highly attuned to rhyme and rhythm in poetry. Even newborn infants respond to rhymes. In one 2019 study, researchers measured the surface brain activity of 21 Finnish newborn babies listening to regular speech, music, or nursery rhymes. Only the nursery rhymes produced a significant brain response when the rhymes were altered, suggesting that the infants’ brains were trying to predict what rhyme should have occurred.

我们的大脑对诗歌的韵律和节奏有高度的感知性，即使是新生婴儿也会对韵律做出反应。在2019年的一项研究中，研究人员监测了21名芬兰新生儿在听日常对话、音乐或童谣时的大脑表面活动。研究者发现他们只有在听到童谣中的韵律改变时会产生明显的大脑反应。这表明婴儿的大脑在试图预测接下来应该出现怎样的韵律。

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Of course, even adults appreciate rhythmic and rhyming poems. One study found that the brain can automatically detect poetic harmonies and patterns even when the reader had not read much poetry before. In particular, stanzas with rhymes and a regular meter, or rhythm, led to a greater aesthetic appreciation and more positively felt emotions. This may be because, according to the cognitive fluency theory, we tend to enjoy things that are easier for us to mentally process, and both rhyme and repeated patterns do just that.

当然，成年人也能欣赏节奏性强并且押韵的诗歌。一项研究发现，即使以前没有读过很多诗，读者的大脑也能自动察觉到诗歌中的和声和格律，而押韵、有音律和节奏的诗句尤其能让读者产生更强烈的审美欣赏和更积极的情绪感受。根据认知流畅性理论，这可能是因为我们倾向于喜欢那些容易在感知上被接受的东西，而韵律和重复的格律正符合这一特征。

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Rhyme and rhythm in poetry also intensify all emotional responses, be it joy or sadness. And like music, poetry can give us the chills, producing literal goosebumps with a good stanza. One study found that recited poetry could cause participants to feel intense emotions and subjective feelings of chills. Surprisingly, even subjects with little prior experience with poetry were moved; 77% of them said they experienced chills listening to unfamiliar poems. Video recording of the participants’ skin (via a “goosecam”) captured objective evidence of goosebumps during the readings.

无论是喜悦还是悲伤，诗歌中的韵律和节奏会加强我们所有的情绪反应。就像音乐一样，诗歌可以令人感到颤栗，而一段好的诗句甚至能让我们起鸡皮疙瘩。一项研究发现，朗诵诗歌可以使参与者感受到强烈的情绪和身体的颤栗。令人惊讶的是，即使是以前几乎没有诗歌经验的受试者也会在读诗活动中深受感动。其中77%的参与者表示，他们在听陌生的诗歌时感到了颤栗。研究人员通过一种探测摄像机记录参与者的皮肤反应，发现他们的确会在朗诵诗歌的过程中产生鸡皮疙瘩。

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These poetry-induced chills activate parts of the brain’s frontal lobe and ventral striatum, which are involved with reward and pleasure. The insular cortex, a brain area associated with bodily awareness, was also activated during these moving passages which may explain why poetry can feel like a full-body experience.

这些由诗歌引起的身体颤栗会激活大脑额叶和腹侧纹状体的部分区域，而这些区域会参与大脑产生“奖励”和“快乐”的过程。岛状皮层是一个与身体意识（对自己身体的感知和连结）有关的大脑区域，这个区域在我们阅读这些动人的诗歌段落时也会被激活。这或许能够解释为什么我们会感觉诗歌是一种全身的体验。

插画：珏希

The words matter too, of course. The right words in a poem elevate the intensity of positive emotions the reader has.

当然，文字本身也很重要。诗中贴切的用词可以增强读者从中感受到的积极情绪。

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The use of metaphor—making comparisons and drawing connections between different concepts—in particular has been found to activate the right hemisphere of the brain. Normally, our brain’s left hemisphere is far more involved in helping us understand language, but research has found that the right hemisphere may be critically important for integrating meanings of two seemingly unrelated concepts into a comprehensible metaphor.

使用比喻，即在不同的概念之间进行比较、建立联系，还可以有效地激活大脑的右半球。通常在我们理解语言时，大脑左半球参与得更多。但研究发现，当我们需要将两个看似不相关的概念整合成一个可理解的比喻时，大脑右半球可能会起到至关重要的作用。

In times of trauma, our language centers may go offline, making it difficult to fully express ourselves. By activating a different part of the brain through metaphor, poetry may help us again find our voice.

在经历创伤的时候，我们的语言中心可能会处于“脱机状态”，使我们难以充分地表达自己的情绪和感受。通过（在诗歌中）理解和运用比喻来激活大脑的不同部分，有助于我们再次找到自己的“声音”。

Though more research still needs to be conducted to understand all the ways poetry impacts our health, this much is clear: beyond rhyme or reason, poetry is good for our health and soul.

虽然我们仍然需要更多的研究来了解诗歌影响我们健康的所有方式，但有一点是明确的：在韵律或理性之外，诗歌对我们的健康和灵魂是有益的。

如何在我们的生活里融入诗歌呢？结合文章末尾的建议，我们总结了几条诗歌小贴士供大家参考：

大声朗读是光诗歌公众号的《孩子的诗》栏目，重温以孩童视角观察世界的方式。

关注诗歌相关的公众号或播客，在闲暇时间感受诗歌的美好和温暖。

每周举办一次“家庭诗歌阅读日”，和家人一起朗读、学习、探讨诗歌。

如果你喜欢音乐的话，可以给自己喜欢的诗歌加上旋律唱出来。

买一本感兴趣的诗集放在床边，夜深人静时乘着诗歌的翅膀入眠。

尝试自己写一首无拘无束的小诗（敬请期待我们之后会推出的“写诗小贴士”）。

翻译 | 雨晴

编辑 | 晶晶

校对 | 小骜

插画 | 西村、珏希

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