Valentine's Day is over, but that doesn't mean you have to give up on love. There are numerous benefits to showing affection, and according to a new study, those include warding off colds.

情人节过去了，但这不意味着你就要放弃爱情。新研究发现，恋爱有很多好处，其中还包括防止感冒。

The new research, published in the journal?Psychoneuroendocrinology, found that falling in love is associated with an increased activity of certain genes, particularly ones involved in antiviral defenses. In other words, love could help us fight off viruses like colds and the flu.

发表在期刊《精神神经内分泌学》上的新研究发现，陷入爱河与特定基因的活动增加有关，尤其是和病毒防御有关的基因。换言之，爱情能帮我们抗击风寒和流感病毒。

The small study involved just 47 women who were given weekly questionnaires and had their blood taken over 24 months, depending on their relationship timeline. To be eligible for the study, women had to be in a new relationship, which was defined as seeing someone for less than a month.

这项小型研究让47名女性每周填写一次调查问卷，并在两年内抽取血样，抽血的时间依据她们的恋爱进度而定。参加调查的女性都必须是刚开始一段新恋情，具体条件是谈恋爱不到一个月。

While women who fell in love over the course of the study had increased activity of the immunity genes, this wasn't observed in women who did not fall in love.

在研究开展的过程中，恋爱的女人体内的免疫基因活动增加了，而不恋爱的女人身上则观察不到这种情况。

"This could reflect a kind of a proactive response to anticipating future intimate contact, given that most viruses are spread via close physical contact," said Damian Murray, lead author of the study and assistant professor at Tulane's School of Science and Engineering.

这项研究的首席作者、杜兰理工学院的助理教授达米安·默里说：“考虑到大多数细菌都是通过亲密的身体接触传播的，这是对未来可能出现的亲密接触的前瞻性反应。”

Loneliness can have a negative impact on both mental and physical health. For instance, it can lead to more inflammation, an increased risk of heart disease, and depression.

孤独则会对心理和身体健康产生负面影响。举例来说，孤独会增加炎症、心脏病和抑郁症的患病风险。

He said the aim for future research is to look at the long term health implications of love — studying not just those in the honeymoon period, but couples who have been happy together for a long time. The team also want to look into the effects on both men and women, to be able to "map the physiological changes that accompany the initiation and progression of human romantic relationships."

默里说，未来的目标是研究爱情对健康的长期影响，不光是研究蜜月期间的影响，还要研究长年夫妻和睦对健康的影响。该团队还打算将爱情对男性的影响也纳入研究范围，并希望能够“绘制出伴随人的恋情开始和进展的生理变化图表”。