Millions of us reach for a coffee at least once a day to boost our alertness and counter flagging energy levels.
我們中有很多人每天都至少需要一杯咖啡來提神醒腦，來增加我們消耗的能量。

But what if there was a free alternative that worked even better?
但要是有免費甚至效果更好的法子呢？

Writer Gregory Ferenstein believes he has the answer - 30 seconds of high-intensity exercise such as push-ups whenever he feels drowsy.
作家格雷戈里·弗蘭斯坦覺得他就有這樣的方法——當感到昏昏欲睡的時候，他通常會選擇做30秒的高強度鍛煉，比如做俯臥撐等。

He discovered that the exercises gave him double the energy boost of his daily Starbucks - and saved him a considerable amount of cash in the process.
他發(fā)現(xiàn)鍛煉的提神效果是每日一杯星巴克咖啡的雙倍，而且鍛煉還能給他省掉一大筆咖啡錢。

He explained: 'Whenever I need a pick-me-up, I find a quiet corner and perform some form of body-weight exercise that jolts my heart up to at last 70 percent of the maximal beats per minute (for me, that's about 170).
他說：“當我需要提神了，我會去找一個安靜的角落來做一些負重鍛煉，來使我的心跳達到最快速度的70%（對我來說大約是每分鐘170次）?！?/div>

He added: 'I've found that 30 seconds of high-intensity body-weight exercise gives me the same mental boost as a shot of caffeine.'
他補充說：“我發(fā)現(xiàn)，30秒高強度的負重鍛煉和咖啡因一樣，可以給人同樣的精神刺激。 ”

For reference, a Starbucks Grande Cafe Americano has 225mg of caffeine. He found that his overall cognitive performance increased by six per cent after caffeine - but 12 per cent after exercise.
參考數(shù)據(jù)顯示，星巴克一杯大杯美式咖啡中含有咖啡因225毫克。弗蘭斯坦發(fā)現(xiàn)，咖啡因使他的整體認知能力上升了6%；而進行鍛煉后，他的整體認知能力上升了12%。

The only benefit caffeine gave him was when it came to short-term memory, which improved by 26 per cent compared to 16 per cent with exercise.
咖啡因帶來的唯一好處是增強了26%的短期記憶力，比鍛煉的效果高出10個百分點。

A wealth of research backs up his findings. Last year researchers at the Montreal Heart Institute found that high-intensity exercise boosts mental and physical health.
充分的研究也證實了弗蘭斯坦的發(fā)現(xiàn)。去年蒙特利爾心臟研究所的研究人員發(fā)現(xiàn)，高強度的運動能增強身心的健康。

Previously sedentary adults were put through four months of high-intensity interval training.
在此之前，一些長期處于久坐狀態(tài)中的人們接受了持續(xù)四個月的高強度的間歇訓練。

At the end, their cognitive functions - the ability to think, recall and make quick decisions - had improved significantly, the researchers found.
在這項訓練結束后，研究人員發(fā)現(xiàn)他們的認知能力，包括思考能力、記憶力以及迅速做事決定的能力等，都得到了大大的提升。

Last year researchers from the University of South Carolina found that regular treadmill sessions also give a boost to the cell's powerhouses in the brain.
去年南卡羅來納大學的研究人員發(fā)現(xiàn)，定期在跑步機上進行跑步鍛煉也能極大地促進腦細胞的生命力。