新的一年就要到了，一大批新年flag又要支棱起来了。
看着新年计划的清单，想象着自己一年之后读了N本书、掉了N斤肉、学习了N个新技能，真是喜不自禁，甚至要开始得意起来。
不过，一个残酷的现实是：多半的新年计划很快就会夭折。一声叹息之后，我们也许只能把希望寄托于下一个新年了。
等一下，难道你甘心就此放过自己，余下的大半年都活在充满罪恶感的逍遥自在中吗？
其实开始一项新计划，何须非得等一年呢？
读完下面这篇文章，你可能会松一口气：
只要开始，什么时候都不晚。
Tradition suggests that January 1 is the perfect time to decide to improve your health. But our collective success rate there is grim: one survey found that only about 17 percent of people who make New Year’s resolutions stick them out for more than one month. So when do we make behavior changes that really stick?
传统表明，1月1日是下决心改善自身健康状况的最佳时间，但我们总体的成功率却很惨淡：一项调查发现，在制定新年计划的人群中，只有大约17%的人能够坚持实施一个月以上。那么我们什么时候才能做出真正持久的行为转变呢？
Research has shown that more people start diet and exercise regimes, quit smoking, and make doctors’ appointments on Mondays than any other day of the week. Now, a new analysis of online search queries show that health-related contemplations are also most likely to take place on a Monday.
已有研究表明，更多的人会在周一开始执行节食和锻炼的养生计划、戒烟以及预约看医生，比一周中的其他任何一天都要多。现在，针对网上搜索查询的一项新分析表明，与健康相关的思考也最有可能在周一出现。
“These findings show that healthy thinking and behavior is synced to the week, with Monday being the day we’re most likely to start healthy,” said Morgan Johnson, a co-author of the study. “This suggests that people see the new week much like a new beginning—a January 1st that happens every seven days.”
“这些研究结果表明，与健康相关的想法和行为是与星期同步的，周一是我们最有可能开启健康生活的一天，”该研究的一位合著者摩根·约翰逊说，“这表明人们将新的一周视为一个新的开端——就像是每七天就要过一次1月1日似的。”
Similar to the 24-hour circadian rhythm that serves as a natural “body clock,” a 7-day cycle known as our circaseptan rhythm governs numerous biological functions. Monday spikes, in particular, have been associated with several cardiovascular events, such as high blood pressure, heart attacks, and stroke, as well as infectious disease. Now, says Johnson, it appears that healthy considerations follow the same kind of rhythm.
人体具有24小时的昼夜节律，这是一种天然的“身体时钟”。与之类似，一种被称为“每周节律”的为期七天的周期控制着很多生理机能。特别是在周一，一些心血管疾病，如高血压、心脏病发作和中风，以及传染性疾病都会激增。约翰逊说，现在看来，人们对健康问题的考虑也遵循同样的节律。
As part of the study, Johnson worked with researchers from San Diego State University, the Santa Fe Institute, and Johns Hopkins University to monitor queries from 2004 to 2012 for searches that included the word “healthy” or that were Google classified as “health-related” (e.g. healthy diet). Data showed that health-related queries on Monday and Tuesday were 3 percent greater than Wednesday, 15 percent greater than Thursday, 49 percent greater than Friday, 80 percent greater than Saturday and 29 percent greater than Sunday.
作为该研究的一部分，约翰逊与来自圣迭戈州立大学、圣菲研究所和约翰·霍普金斯大学的研究者们合作，监测了2004年至2012年间包含“健康的”一词的搜索或是被谷歌归类为“健康相关”的搜索(如健康饮食)。数据表明，在周一和周二，与健康相关的查询比周三高出3%，比周四高出15%，比周五高出49%，比周六高出80%，比周日高出29%。
Johnson notes that the “rhythms were unfailingly consistent” across the weeks and were not influenced by factors such as media reporting on health. Knowing that healthy considerations follow a week-long cycle “opens the door for more targeted and, ultimately more effective, health promotion,” Johnson said.
约翰逊指出，在每一周，这种“节律始终不变”，也没有受到诸如媒体对健康问题的报道等因素的影响。认识到人们对健康问题的考虑遵循为期一周的周期，这“开启了更具针对性、最终也更加有效的健康促进活动”，约翰逊说。
An estimated $76.2 billion is spent annually on health promotion programs—money Johnson suggests could be better spent “if everyone were timing their health messages to days of the week when people were most open to hearing them.”
据估计，每年投入健康促进计划的资金达762亿美元。约翰逊认为“如果大家都选择好时机，在每周中人们最愿意听取健康信息的日子发布这些信息”，这笔钱就能得到更好的利用。
That’s precisely the idea behind the Monday Campaigns, a joint project of Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins’ Bloomberg School of Public Health, and the Syracuse University Newhouse School of Public Communications, where Johnson serves as research director. The Monday Campaigns’ mission is simple: to make Monday the day we associate with healthy behaviors.
这正是“周一运动”背后的理念。“周一运动”是哥伦比亚大学梅尔曼公共卫生学院、约翰·霍普金斯大学布隆博格公共卫生学院和雪城大学纽豪斯公共传播学院的一个联合项目，由约翰逊担任研究主任。“周一运动”的宗旨很简单：让周一成为我们的健康行为日。
“Friday is payday. Saturday is play day. Sunday is pray day. We’re trying to make Monday the ‘all health breaks loose’ day,” said Sid Lerner, a former advertising executive who founded the Monday Campaigns.
“周五是发薪日。周六是娱乐日。周日是祈祷日。我们正努力让周一成为‘健康解放’日。”席德·勒纳说。他曾是一位广告经理，是“周一运动”的发起人。
So far, the Monday Campaigns’ most successful initiative has been Meatless Monday, a movement that asks carnivores to give up meat one day a week for both health and environmental reasons. On average, Americans consume 8 ounces of meat per day—45 percent more than the USDA recommends.
迄今为止，“周一运动”最成功的一项倡议是“素食周一”，该活动呼吁肉食者每周有一天不吃肉，这既是为了健康，也是为了环境。美国人平均每天食用8盎司(译注：约227克)肉——比美国农业部的推荐量高出45%。
Cutting-back on red meat consumption, in particular, can reduce one’s risk for chronic preventable illnesses—such as colon cancer and heart disease—and help people live longer, healthier lives. The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization also says reducing meat consumption can also help reduce greenhouse gas emissions—a leading cause of climate change—produced by the meat industry, and conserve natural resources, such as fresh water and fossil fuel, that are used to raise livestock.
减少红肉的食用量尤其能够降低人们患上可预防慢性病的风险——比如结肠癌和心脏病——并有助于人们过上更长寿、更健康的生活。联合国粮农组织也表示，减少肉类的食用量还有助于减少肉类工业所产生的温室气体排放——而温室气体是气候变化的一个主要原因，并有利于节约喂养牲畜所消耗的自然资源，例如淡水和化石燃料。
Based on Meatless Monday’s success, the Monday Campaigns has launched several additional campaigns, including Move It Monday (a day to jumpstart physical activity for the week), Monday 2000 (a day to balance our daily recommended calorie count), Kids Cook Monday (a day for children and families to prepare healthy meals together) and Man-Up Monday (a day for young men to get screened HIV and STDs). More campaigns are also under development, including one set to launch later this year that focuses on stress reduction.
在“素食周一”获得成功的基础上，“周一运动”又发起了其他几项运动，包括“周一动起来”(开启整周体育活动的一天)、“周一2000卡”(平衡每日推荐卡路里值的一天)、“孩子下厨周一”(孩子和家人共同烹调健康饮食的一天)以及“男子汉周一”(年轻男士进行艾滋病和性传播疾病检查的一天)。还有更多运动正在准备中，包括计划于今年晚些时候发起的一项以减压为重点的运动。
Lerner attributes the Monday Campaigns’ successes to the fact that they build upon an existing pattern—the week—instead of creating a new one or tying behavior change to a specific date, such as New Year’s Day or a birthday or anniversary.
勒纳认为“周一运动”获得成功的原因是它们依赖于一个现成的模式——星期，而非创造出一个新的模式，或将行为的转变与某个具体的日期(如元旦、生日或周年纪念日)相关联。
“If you believe that you can only change on January 1st—the inherent message of New Year’s resolutions—you will have to wait a whole year before you get another shot,” said Lerner. “When you associate getting healthy with Monday, you have 52 cues every year to take action.”
“如果你认为自己只能在1月1日改变——这是新年计划的固有含义——你必须等整整一年才能得到另一次机会，”勒纳说，“当你把追求健康与周一联系起来时，你每年会得到52次提示，促使你采取行动。”
Lerner also thinks the Monday Campaigns’ success-factor lie in their focus on incremental changes that will translate into making healthier choices overall.
勒纳还认为“周一运动”成功的因素在于这些运动关注循序渐进的改变，这将转化为在各方面做出更健康的选择。
“Going meat-free or whatever change you want to make for one day won’t leave most people feeling like they have to deprive themselves,” he said. “It’s the kind of easily achievable goal that people can build on over time.”
“一天不吃肉，或者在某一天进行你要做出的任何改变，这不会让大多数人觉得他们必须苛求自己，”他说，“这是那种易于实现的目标，随着时间的流逝，人们可以积沙成塔。”
And, Lerner adds, “Even if you do slip up or fall off the wagon there’s always another Monday less than a week away to get it together again.”
而且，勒纳补充道：“即便你真的失败了，或是半途而废了，在不到一周之后，总会有另一个周一能够让你重整旗鼓。”
