There Are Benefits to Spending Time Alone1独处有益

Set aside blocks of solitude for recharging and reflecting.

留出独处时间段，自省又充电。

Being lonely hurts—it can even negatively impact your health. But the mere act of being alone with oneself does not have to be bad， and experts say it can even benefit your social relationships， improve your creativity and confidence， and help you regulate your emotions so that you can better deal with adverse situations.

孤独难熬难耐，甚至影响健康。但自个儿一人就那么待着，并不一定是件坏事。有专家说，独处甚至可以改善人际关系、提高创造力、增强自信心，有助于调节情绪，积极应对逆境。

“It is not that solitude is always good， but it can be good2”， if you’re open3 to rejecting the idea that time by yourself is always a negative experience you’re being forced into， according to Thuy-vy Nguyen， an assistant professor in the department of psychology at Durham University， who studies solitude.

“这并不是说独处总是好，但好处还是会有的”，前提是你不认可“独处总是被迫的消极体验”这种说法，杜伦大学心理系研究独处的助理教授阮翠微（音）女士如是说。

“We have some evidence to show that valuing solitude doesn’t really hurt your social life; in fact， it might add to it，” she said， pointing out that because solitude help us regulate our emotions， it can have a calming effect that prepares4 us to better engage with others5.

“我们有证据表明，珍视独处时光非但不会给个人社交生活造成不利影响，反而助益良多。”她指出，独处可调整情绪，故而有镇定效果，之后再与人相处，状态更佳。

Choosing to spend time doing things by yourself can have mental， emotional and social benefits， but the key to reaping those positive rewards comes from choosing to spend time alone. In a culture where we often confuse being alone from loneliness， the ability6 to appreciate time by ourselves prevents us from processing the experience as a negative thing. In fact， getting better at identifying moments when we need solitude to recharge and reflect can help us better handle negative emotions and experiences， like stress and burnout， said Emily Roberts a psycho-therapist.7 The added bonus？ Getting started is easy—all you need is yourself.

把时间花在独自做事上，对人的精神、情感和社交都有益。但要获得这诸般好处，关键在于要独处得心甘情愿。当下的文化常常把独处和孤独混为一谈，而学会独享时光才不会把独处看作一次负面的经历。精神治疗医师埃米莉·罗伯茨说，事实上，学会分辨何时该独处一下，充充电，做做自我反思，这让我们在应对不良情绪和体验，如压力山大、心力交瘁时，也能从容不少。想知道独处的其他好处吗？那就试试呗，简单得很，有你自个儿就万事俱备啦。

The choice8 of solitude

情愿独处

“Historically， solitude has had a pretty bad rap” because it is sometimes used as a form of punishment， said Robert Coplan， a developmental psychologist and professor of psychology at Carleton University.

一直以来，独处都背着个相当不好的名声，因为它有时候会被当作惩罚手段。卡尔顿大学发展心理学家、心理学教授罗伯特·科普兰如是说。

The problem is that we forget solitude can also be a choice—and it doesn’t have to be full time. Because there is so much research demonstrating that humans are social creatures who benefit from interacting with others， “people will try to dismiss that it’s also important to spend time alone9，” he said， “It’s hard for them to imagine that you can have both.”

但有一点我们忘记了，那就是独处也可以是情愿的选择，况且不必每时每刻都在独处状态。因为许多研究证实，人类是群居动物，彼此能从交往互动中获益。科普兰说：“‘独处也必要’这个想法，人们老想摒除，毕竟都觉得社交和独处实在难以兼得。”

“Some people make their solitude experience entirely about10 other people，” Dr. Nguyen added. Research has shown that people often feel inhibited from enjoying activities alone， especially when they think others are watching them. Overestimating how much other people are paying attention to us， and worrying that we’re being judged， can stop us from doing things that would otherwise bring us joy.

“有的人在独处时总是心里装着别人。”阮博士说。研究表明，自个儿一个人做事，常常感到不大自在，特别是觉得有人盯着的时候。高估别人对自己的关注程度、担心被评头论足，本该令人开心的事也就做不成了。

Being alone with your thoughts， and giving yourself the space and unstructured time to let your mind wander without social distractions， can also sometimes feel intimidating， said Angela Grice， a speech language pathologist who has conducted research on executive functions at Howard University.

独自思考问题，享有自我空间和闲暇时间，毫无外来干扰，思绪自由驰骋，这种状态有时也令人望而却步，霍华德大学研究执行功能的语言病理学家安杰拉·格赖斯如是说。

“There have been studies that when we are by ourselves， what is uncomfortable is the lack of stimuli， that you can’t rely on other people to shape11 your experience in a certain way.” Dr. Nguyen said.

“已经有研究表明，独处时觉得不自在，原因在于缺乏外界刺激；独处是不能指望别人以这样或那样的方式来主导的。”阮博士说。

Our aversion to being alone can be quite drastic. A quarter of the women and two-thirds of the men in a University of Virginia study chose to subject themselves to electric shock rather than do nothing and spend time alone with their thoughts.

人们对独处的抵触情绪可能十分强烈。弗吉尼亚大学的一项研究中，四分之一的女性和三分之二的男性宁愿承受电击，也不愿无所事事，就在那儿神游。

Good to go solo12

不妨孑然

An online survey called The Rest Test showed that the majority of activities people defined as most restful are things that are done solo.

一项名为“休息测试”的在线调查显示，最令人惬意的事，大部分都是自己独立完成的。

Despite the social stigma and apprehension13 about spending time alone， it’s something our bodies crave. Similar to how loneliness describes being alone and wanting company， “aloneliness14” can be used to describe the natural desire for solitude， Dr. Coplan said. Since we’re not used to labeling that feeling， it can easily be confused for， and15 feed into， other feelings like anxiety， exhaustion and stress， especially since “we might not know that time alone is what we need to make ourselves feel better，’’ Dr. Coplan added.

虽说独处不受待见、令人顾虑，但那是我们肌体的需求。科普兰博士说，正如“独孤”形容独自一人缺少陪伴的状态，“孑然”可以用来形容身体对独处的渴望。由于我们还不习惯给孑然的感觉取个名头，所以很容易把孑然感混同于焦虑、疲惫、压力等其他感受，乃至于真的变成这样。“不明白独处乃舒展自我之必需”的时候，尤其如此。