Lying Will Steal Some Brainpower说谎会消耗脑力

Avery Elizabeth Hurt　笪景行

Like Pinocchio， everyone sometimes tells a lie. Lying wont stretch1 your nose.Most people dont lie often. But research shows that even small lies can take a toll2on your brain.

Most of us have told a lie at one time or another. Some lies are harmful. Othersare mostly harmless. Still other lies， such as those used to protect other people， mayeven be created with the best of intentions3. But no matter what kind of lie you tell，it takes a surprising amount of brainpower to pull it off.

Using up that brainpower can be costly. The brain drain4 it causes just mightprevent you from performing some task or skill thats important to you.

When you tell the truth， your brain doesnt have to do anything out ofthe ordinary. You think of what you want to say， and you say it. Lying takesmuch more work.

When you decide to lie for some reason， you have to come up with a story andyou must decide how to respond immediately.

Even though youre only two sentences into the lie， and already youve beenscrambling5 to make up a story， thinking about the various directions theconversation might take， and figuring out what you need to say to keep this whole liefrom falling apart.

You might not be aware of it， but you just gave your brain a ton of extra work.One study done by scientists found that the brain is slower and more likely to makemistakes when it shifts6 between lying and truth-telling. The research has also shownthat someones mental workload7 will be heavier and their reaction time longerwhen lying.

So its important that you find trustworthy people to whom you can safelytell truths.

像匹诺曹一样，每个人有时都会说谎。说谎不会让你的鼻子变长。大多数人不常撒谎。但研究表明，即使是小小的谎言也会对你的大脑造成伤害。

我们大多数人都曾在某个时候撒过谎。有些谎言是有害的。其他的大多是无害的。还有一些谎言，比如那些用来保护他人的谎言，甚至可能是出于善意而制造的。但无论你说什么样的谎言，都需要惊人的脑力才能完成。

使用这些脑力可能代价高昂。它所造成的脑力流失可能会使你在一些对你来说很重要的任务或技能上表现不佳。

当你说实话时，你的大脑不必做任何不寻常的事情。你想好你想说的话，然后说出来。撒谎则需要更多的精力。

當你因为某个原因决定撒谎时，你必须想出一个故事，并且必须立即决定如何做出反应。

即便只说了两句话，你已经在匆忙编造一个故事，思考谈话各种可能的走向，并想想你该怎么说才能让整个谎言不被拆穿。

你可能没有意识到，但你确实给了你的大脑大量额外的工作。科学家们的一项研究发现，当在说谎和讲真话之间转换时，大脑会变得更慢，更容易出错。该研究还表明，说谎时，一个人的心理负担会更重，反应时间也更长。

因此，找到可以放心地向其透露真相的值得信赖的人是非常重要的。

（英语原文选自院snexplores.org）