If crosswords¹ are too easy and Sudoku a touch boring, why not go and climb a tree?

如果你觉得填字游戏太过简单，数独（一种运用纸、笔进行演算的逻辑游戏）又难的有点单调，为什么不去爬爬树呢？

A study found that childish pastimes such as climbing trees, running barefoot and crawling dramatically boost memory.

一项研究证明，爬树、赤脚跑、爬行等儿时的娱乐活动能够有效的提高记忆力。

Working memory - the type of memory we use every day to remember phone numbers, follow directions and use a shopping list - improved by 50 per cent.

这些儿童游戏能让我们的工作记忆——即我们每天用以记住电话号码，认清方位，写出购物清单的记忆能力——提升了50%之多。

The University of North Florida researchers put 72 men and women aged between 18 and 59 through a test of working memory, in which they had to remember lists of numbers in reverse order.

北佛罗里达大学的研究人员对72名年龄在18-59岁之间的男女进行了研究，他们让这些调查对象记住若干写满倒序数字的数列，从而测定他们的工作记忆力。

Some then spent two hours doing a range of obstacle course-like activities.

之后，一些调查对象参加了2小时类似障碍跑之类的体育活动。

These included climbing trees, running barefoot and crawling along a narrow beam.

这些活动包括爬树，赤脚跑步和沿着一根狭窄的木道爬行。

Others listened to a lecture or did a yoga class, before working memory was tested again.

另一些调查对象则去听了一场演讲或参加了一节瑜伽课，然后研究人员再次测量了他们的工作记忆。

Only those who had done the obstacle course did better.

只有那些进行了障碍赛跑活动的调查对象在第二次测试中成绩有所提高。

Climbing a tree and balancing on a beam hone ‘proprioceptive’ skills – the brain’s ability to sense where the legs, arms, hands and feet are in space without looking.

爬树和走横木等活动能够锻炼人的“本体感受力”——通过这种能力，我们不用看到自己的四肢和手脚，就能感受到这些身体组织的存在。