Communication Problems After 20 years of research, my colleagues and I have discovered that all communication involves our bodies, sometimes profoundly. While we speak with words, we also speak with every fiber of our being. This "language of the heart" is integral to the health and emotional life of all of us. We found that even a pleasant chat about the weather can affect the cardiovascular (心血管性的) system , particularly blood pressure. The traditional way of taking blood pressure—with a stethoscope (听诊器)—meant that the patient had to keep silent, and this silence pred clinicians from discovering the link between communication and blood pressure. The breakthrough in our studies occurred in 1977, when we met Ed, a typical hypertensive patient who came to the University of Maryland’’s Psychophysiology Center for treatment. We hooked up Ed to a new computer that could continuously monitor blood pressure. We found that his pressure immediately increased every time he spoke, even if he was discussing the most neutral topic. What was more surprising was that Ed was unaware of these changes. This finding so intrigued us we began testing others. The results were the same. Blood pressure and heart rate rose rapidly whenever people talked. We asked students to read aloud from a bland(乏味的)text. Their blood pressure and heart rate rose rapidly every time. We tested 38 deaf-mute volunteers. When these people signed, their blood pressure also increased. This confirmed our suspicion that it was the act of communication, not just talking, that led to these changes. Most normal talk is a seesaw (一上一下的动作). The rising of blood pressure when one talks is balanced by a rapid lowering of pressure when one listens. But the rhythm is out of synclinal hypertensives. They fluently fail to listen; they are on guard, defensive. So their pressure stays up. The benefits of listening are seen in the "orienting reflex," discovered by Pavlov. When a dog hears a sound or sees movement, it will stop all activity and cock its head. Another Russian scientist, E.N. Soklor, noticed that the dog’’s heart rate slows. A similar response occurs in people too—and it lowers blood activities: reading out loud, staring at a blank wall and watching fish in a tank. Blood pressure washing test when the people spoke. But it was lowest when they watched the fish, rather than when they simply sat and relaxed. Whether watching fish or listening to another person, attending calmly to the world outside yourself helps lower blood pressure. When I got hypertensives to listen undefensively, their blood pressure often fell dramatically. Why do some people find talking so stressful, and listening so difficult I tested some healthy newborns. When they cried, their blood pressure often doubled. We began thinking about pressure surges in hypertensives as similar to the changes when a baby cries. Though calm on the suce while talking, their bodies are screaming to be heard. For these people, communication becomes a desperate but hidden struggle. Inside their bodies is a baby crying, terrified because no one can hear it. So how can we enjoy conversation yet keep blood pressure down By listening more, by breathing regularly while talking, by alternating between talking and paying attention to what the other person is saying. But what can hypertensives do Treatments that teach them to focus on their relationship and how to communicate in a relaxed way can be a start toward health. We can understand and cope with illness only when we view ourselves as part of a complex world beyond the confines of our own individual skin. The response of our hearts, blood vessels and muscles when we communicate with spouse, children, friends and colleagues is as vital to our cardiovascular health as is exercise or diet. The reason why the author and his colleagues got the breakthrough in their studies in 1977 was that______.