Mindfulness Practice Can Boost Your Self-Control
Self-control is central to getting rid of unhealthy habits and forming healthy ones. But many people fell short of this very important quality. And if you’re one of them - don’t fret. There is something you can do to strengthen your willpower. And it wouldn’t cost you a thing. According to new research, you just have to be mindful.
New research reveals that different forms of meditation - seated or walking - are great at reducing stress, anxiety, and depression symptoms as well as increasing self-regulatory behaviours and help develop self-control.
The three-part study, led by Esther K. Papies, Ph.D., a psychology professor and expert in dieting and goal-related behaviour at Utrecht University, suggests that when resolving to change our behaviours related to food and sex, much of the battle occurs in the mind before the tasty dish is even in our hands.
In this first experiment, one group of heterosexual participants received a 12-minute mindful attention training. In a control group training, participants viewed the same photos but were asked to immerse themselves deeply in the pictures. Following the training phase, both groups were shown 40 novel photos of the opposite sex and asked to indicate at the press of a yes or no key whether they would be desired partners (a one-second response window promoted intuitive answers).
The results showed that unlike the control group, the level of sexual motivation no longer predicted perceived attractiveness of others among the participants who practised mindfulness. In the control condition, sexual motivation boosted attractiveness perception and partner judgment.
The second experiment was pretty much the same with the first, but this time - the focus food attractiveness and choice. Since hunger boosts the attractiveness of food, the researchers predicted that mindful attention practice would be associated with reduced attraction toward choice of unhealthy foods, accounting for level of hunger. Results revealed that level of hunger strongly predicted unhealthy food choice in the control condition but not the mindful attention condition, suggesting that mindful attention may not curb appetite, but may lead to healthier food impulses even while in a state of hunger.
In the third experiment, researchers then reviewed participants’ subsequent food choices in their school’s cafeteria. 76% of the ‘mindful’ participants chose salads, as compared to 49% of no-intervention participants and 56% of control participants. They also consumed lower calories and unhealthy food choices.
This study adds to the growing body of research highlighting the importance of practising mindfulness. So the next time you find yourself lacking self-control, pause and take a deep breath. Engage in a mindfulness practise. You would be surprised of how this simple mind-body technique can bring positive changes in your life.
Source of this article:
A Science-Backed Way to Develop Incredible Self-Control
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