掌控每天4小时大脑巅峰期，时间才真正属于你 | Master Your Peak 4 Hours: How to Make Time Truly Yours
可能因为从小生活在大学校园的教师楼里，习惯了作息规律、少有噪音、绿化充足、书籍环绕、高度专注的学习环境，我一直对完全神清气爽、思路通畅的心流状态有执念。但这么多年观察和总结下来，我发现大脑达到70–90%的效能居多，无论是从一整年还是一天的时间分布来看，完全达到100%的认知能力、专注力和反应速度的比例都非常少。
Growing up in a quiet university campus surrounded by books, greenery, and a disciplined rhythm of life, I became somewhat obsessed with that elusive state of flow — a time when your mind feels crystal clear and ideas flow effortlessly. Over the years, however, I’ve realized that reaching 100% mental efficiency is rare. Most of the time, our brains operate at 70–90% capacity, whether viewed across a year or a single day.
人的身体代谢、大脑运作效率容易受到气温、空气质量、环境音量、荷尔蒙周期等多种因素影响，一经干扰，一天就可能“泡汤”。
Our cognitive performance is a delicate balance, influenced by a myriad of factors: temperature, air quality, noise levels, even hormonal cycles. One disruption can throw off an entire day.
例如，春秋季节气温在20–25度左右，最有利于认知表现，而高温和严寒会让大脑混沌、产生疲劳感；无论是城市的交通和建设，还是乡村建房的噪音，一旦超过85分贝，就可能毁掉白天的专注时间，甚至影响夜间睡眠。作为“资深”鼻炎患者，冬季在城市里停留太久，鼻塞、打喷嚏、头疼甚至鼻窦疼，让智商直接“下线”，查看雾霾AQI指数时，总会发现不低于100，在乡下生活，空气质量大幅度改善，但冬季偶尔也会有北方和长三角地区飘来的雾霾。再者，女性大脑和语言处理速度会受到荷尔蒙周期影响，每个月有一周处在低迷期，而月经后一周会进入极佳的思考和创作状态，如果错过，又要等到下一个月了。
Research backs this up: spring and autumn temperatures of 20–25°C are ideal for peak cognitive function, while extreme heat or cold induces fatigue and mental fog. Noise levels exceeding 85 decibels — whether from urban traffic or rural construction — can decimate focus and wreck sleep. As someone with chronic sinusitis, winter in a polluted city isn’t just unpleasant; it’s incapacitating. My IQ feels like it plummets when AQI levels climb past 100. Life in the countryside offers cleaner air, but even there, seasonal smog from northern regions makes an occasional, unwelcome appearance. And for women, hormonal cycles introduce their own rhythm: one week each month might feel like a productivity desert, while the week after offers mental clarity and creative highs. Miss that window, and it’s a long wait until the next.
每当不可控的外部环境因素打乱我的节奏，我就感觉部分生命被剥夺了，毕竟时间是不可恢复的货币。
When these external factors derail my mental rhythm, I can’t help but feel robbed of something irreplaceable. Time, after all, is the one currency you can never earn back.
除此之外，大脑每天也有生物钟，决策认知的资源极其有限。最顶尖的运动员、艺术家和科学家一天高度专注的时间也基本只有4个小时。
But even in ideal conditions, the brain’s daily reserves are finite. Studies show that even the most elite athletes, artists, and scientists can sustain peak focus for only about four hours a day.
早晨醒来后的1–2个小时是多数人的大脑黄金时间段，这时我感觉脑袋像一块干净的海绵一样轻盈，因此大部分用来看书、写稿、录视频和做课。而到了下午，就会进入瞌睡状态，适合户外长跑；晚饭过后有一点清醒时间，可以用来做不太挑战的事情，然后就准备入睡了。所以有的朋友会发现，我的微信经常在上午人间蒸发，一天的消息通常要到傍晚和晚上才查看。
For many, the first 1–2 hours after waking are a cognitive golden window. For me, these are the hours when my mind feels weightless, like a clean sponge ready to soak in ideas. That’s when I read, write, and create. Afternoons, in contrast, bring a sluggish haze — perfect for outdoor runs. Evenings offer a brief second wind for light tasks before winding down for bed. If you’ve ever wondered why I vanish from WeChat in the mornings, now you know — I’m protecting my best hours.
当有挑战性、需要高度集中的任务较多时，早晨我的手机就留在隔壁房间里，直到完成任务。清晨要少做琐碎的决策，这也是为什么我穿来穿去就那么几件衣服和鞋子，发型二十年一个样，做菜基本只用蒸煮，获得最多的营养就完事。把大脑的有限决策资源用在更重要的事情上，剩余的不太需要专注的时间则用来处理琐碎之事，比如晒太阳、徒步、长跑和学音乐。
When my to-do list brims with demanding tasks, my phone stays in the next room until they’re done. I minimize trivial decisions in the morning: my wardrobe rotates through the same few outfits, my hairstyle hasn’t changed in two decades, and my cooking leans on steaming and boiling for maximum nutrition with minimal thought. By saving my limited decision-making energy for what truly matters, I leave the rest of the day for lower-focus activities like walking, running, soaking up sunlight, or playing music.
如果以全球平均健康寿命62岁为参照（即自由活动、不依赖他人照顾的时间），90后已经走完了人生的一半。今年和明年的要忙的项目较多，明显感觉时间不够用。
If we measure life against the global average health span of 62 years — the years you can live independently, free from serious illness and disabilities — those of us born in the ’90s are already halfway through. With a growing list of projects to tackle this year and next, I acutely feel the pinch of time.
或许，我们无法完全掌控外部环境，也无法让大脑时刻处于最佳状态，但正因为时间不可恢复，每一天的珍惜和每一刻的用心才显得更有意义。承认自己的局限，拥抱生活的随机性，用最适合自己的节奏去努力过好当下，才是与时间最和解的方式。
We may not be able to control external disruptions or keep our minds in a perpetual state of peak performance. But it’s precisely because time is irreversible that each day and each moment carries so much weight. Accept your limits, embrace life’s unpredictability, and work with a rhythm that fits you best. That, perhaps, is the most graceful way to reconcile with time.