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貓咪是一個能舒緩我們情緒的存在,根據一項研究結果,他們可以降低40%的心臟病風險.
Cats are such a calming presence in our lives that they reduce the risk of having a heart attack by 40 percent, according to a research study.
我並不驚訝. 把臉埋在貓咪溫暖柔順的毛裡曾經幫助我冷靜下來很多次.
I’m not surprised. Burying my face in my cat’s warm, silky fur has helped me calm down numerous times.
她可能是正在救我的命.
She may even be saving my life.
在那個研究中,明尼蘇達大學的腦中風研究中心花了十年觀察4435個美國人(年齡介於30~75歲),他們發現貓咪可以降低30%腦中風及其他心臟疾病的死亡風險.
The study, a 10-year endeavor from the Stroke Research Center at the University of Minnesota looked at 4,435 Americans aged 30 to 75, and also found that cats reduce the risk of dying from other heart diseases and stroke by 30 percent.
更特別的是,可能是貓呼嚕讓心臟舒緩了下來.
More specifically, it could be a cat’s purr that’s putting hearts at ease.
動物行為顧問Steve Dale在芝加哥論壇上說貓咪利用他們的呼嚕做為一個冷靜的方法以和他們的小貓們溝通. "他們在感覺滿足時會呼嚕,但他們同時也會在即將要被安樂死前呼嚕."
Animal behavior consultant Steve Dale told the Chicago Tribune that cats use their purr as a calming mechanism to communicate with their kittens. “They’ll purr when they’re content, but they’ll also purr when they’re about to be euthanized.”
以這樣說來,他們或許也是用呼嚕在跟我們溝通.
In that way, they may be communicating with us as well.
這種動物間的連結, Dale解釋, "這會改變我們的神經化學反應." 貓咪就像在安撫自己的小貓一樣安撫我們.
This animal connection, Dale explained, "alters our neurochemistry.” Our cats are helping us relax just like they do their own kittens.
我曾經覺得我的小黑貓不可能對我產生母愛,因為她很笨. 但這個念頭是有想過.
I’ve often dismissed the idea of my tiny black cat mothering me as being silly. But I have thought about it.
舉例來說, 當我特別感到壓力大時, 我會在睡眠時上氣不接下氣的從噩夢中驚醒在溫暖的床上.
For instance, when I’m particularly stressed, I have the less than delightful habit of of shooting up out of a deep sleep, gasping for breath, caught somewhere between a bad dream and my warm bed.
在這些時候,我的貓咪會溜進我的視線. 她聽見我的聲音, 然後從她睡覺的溫暖地方跳到我的大腿上, 不斷的呼嚕. 她讓我回到安全的現實世界, 然後讓我快速的又回復睡眠.
At these times my cat shimmers into existence without fail. She hears me and hops up to my lap from her own warm sleeping spot, purring away. She anchors me in my safe reality then helps me quickly fall back to sleep.
想想這個簡單卻重要的儀式, 其實可能不只能降低40%, 因為不是所有人都有養貓.
Thinking about this simple, but vital ritual of ours makes that 40 percent seem a lot less astounding, and the fact that not everyone has a cat more so.
如果你曾考慮領養一隻貓咪, 你做的是拯救兩個生命.
If you’ve been considering adopting a cat, you might be saving two lives.
你的貓咪曾用呼嚕來讓你冷靜下來嗎?
Has your cat ever calmed you down with a purr?
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