People who lack the willpower to resist that last piece of chocolate, may be able improve their self restraint by strengthening their heart muscle, according to a new survey.
Dr Suzanne Segerstorm, an associate professor at the University of Kentucky and her colleague Dr Lisa Solberg thinks there is a link to peoples willpower and their heart-rate variability -the hearts ability to respond to different demands. The heart and will power are both linked to the same nervous system in the body, so the factors that influence one could influence the other according to Dr Segerstorm.
168 students were asked to fast for 3 hours by the researchers who then served warm cookies, chocolate and carrots. Some students were told only to eat the carrots, the others were told only to eat the cookies and chocolate.
The heart rate variability of the students who ate the carrots increased, which suggests they were using their self-control to not eat the chocolate and cookies.
Afterwards the students were told to solve some anagrams; some of the anagrams were unsolvable. The students who ate the carrots gave up faster which the researchers say shows they had used up more of their self-control during the food task.
The people who had the best heart rate variability at the beginning also lasted the longest with the anagrams.
If you work out you will increase the heart muscle and also work out your brain by doing something you don’t necessarily want to do.Dr Segerstorm says: "In a way it is kind of like a muscle, in that the more you work it the stronger it gets."
Robyn Walker