Next time you're craving a bar of chocolate, give in. Your waistline might not thank you for it - but your brain will。
當下次你特別想吃巧克力的時候，請一定要放棄，你的腰圍可能不會因此受益，可你的大腦卻會受益頗多。
Research has revealed that obsessing over a sweet treat is such a drain on the brain that it makes it difficult to concentrate on other tasks。
此前有研究證明，過度迷戀甜食對大腦消耗特別大，會讓人無法集中精力做好工作。
Fighting an all- consuming desire for chocolate HobNobs or strawberry ice cream can have consequences ranging from simple memory lapses to car crashes, say scientists。
然而這次科學家們又說，就算在心理上對甜食的渴求也會讓你遭遇各種各樣的不測——小到健忘，大到車禍!
The research centres on cravings for specific foods and brands。
此項實驗選取幾種特定食物為研究重點。
Someone experiencing a craving isn't just hungry, they want to eat a particular brand of biscuits or flavour of ice cream - and nothing else will do。
有的人想吃東西時不一定是因為餓，而可能是對某種食物垂涎已久，比如某個牌子的餅乾或者某種心儀的冰激凌等。
The Australian research team set out to see whether the intensity of these desires affects our ability to concentrate on other things。
澳大利亞的研究機構想通過這項實驗來驗證，人們對食物的渴求是否會影響其專注其他事物的注意力。
They found that volunteers whose favourite chocolate bar was unwrapped and within their reach while they sat a series of tests had slower reactions and poorer memories than those who did the same tests in a chocolate-free zone。
他們徵集了一些熱衷吃巧克力的志願者，並把他們分成兩組，一組只能看著沒打開包裝的巧克力，另一組卻可以自由地享用巧克力。結果顯示，第一組的人比第二組反應更慢，記憶力也相對下降了。
The researchers, from Melbourne's Flinders University believe that when we crave a food we draw a mental picture of it。
來自墨爾本弗林德斯河大學的研究者相信，當我們渴求某種食物的時候，會同時在頭腦中浮現出食物的樣子。
Writing in the journal Current Directions in Psychological Science, the researchers, from Melbourne's Flinders University, said: 'Although cognitive effects of individual food cravings are likely to be small, in practice even small reductions in cognitive resources have the potential to compromise optimal performance in everyday situations, thereby reducing work efficiency or increasing the likelihood of accidents.'
這種幻化現象會「佔用」大腦的計算和記憶功能。研究者在心理學雜誌上寫到，雖然渴求食物這種現象看似很微弱，但引起的間接影響很大，會降低工作效率甚至發生交通事故。
But the researchers also believe that when we crave a food we draw a mental picture of it - and that filling the brain with competing images, such as visualising a rainbow, can ease cravings。
但同時研究者也認為，當我們在頭腦中幻化食物圖像的時候，就像一個人想像彩虹就能感覺到美好一樣，可以減輕那種渴求程度。