London - Do you struggle to keep your New Year vows to live a better life? Research shows why you shouldn’t beat yourself up. Willpower is a limited resource — our brains have only so much energy to devote to it at any one time.
Last month researchers found that men trying to give up tobacco smoked more if shown photos of attractive women. Tests revealed they were more distracted by sexual thoughts. They also lit up twice as many cigarettes while completing surveys following the test.
The researchers said the men had been put into a “mating mindset” that distracted them from their long-term goal. The experiment reinforces the idea that we have finite resources in the brain and if that energy is diverted in any way — such as thinking about sex — then restraint wilts.
This connection was discovered in 1998 by Professor Roy Baumeister, a psychologist at Florida State University in Tallahassee and world expert on willpower. He invited volunteers into a room containing plates of cookies and a bowl of radishes.
Half were invited to eat the cookies, while the others were told to resist and eat radishes instead. The volunteers were then given 30 minutes in which to tackle a difficult puzzle. Those who resisted the cookies gave up on the puzzle after eight minutes compared with nearly 19 minutes for the cookie eaters.
One way to preserve mental energy is by not agonising over needless decisions, according to Professor Baumeister. “You don’t want to waste willpower making decisions about breakfast. Having a set morning routine is much better.”
Exercise may also help — a study at the University of Exeter two years ago found volunteers who went for a 15-minute walk before being asked to do dull computer tasks ate half as much chocolate from a bowl placed by their keyboard as those who had rested.
The researchers believe exercise energises people sufficiently to revive their brains’ flagging resources.
Sufficient fuel could also help. Drinking sugar-sweetened lemonade restored flagging willpower, but sugar-free lemonade did not, a study published in the journal Psychological Science in 2008 found. This could suggest why crash dieters fail — their brains lack the fuel to keep up their resolve.
And a study last year found people who are convinced of the strength of their willpower can exercise greater self-control while their brains are sugar-depleted than those who believe their resolve is prone to wavering. Indeed, when it comes to willpower, one might best quote car-maker Henry Ford, who declared: “Whether you think you can, or whether you think you can’t, you’re right.” - Daily Mail