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WILLPOWER RX
One of my students, Nathan, worked as a physician’s assistant at the local hospital. It was a
rewarding but stressful job that involved both direct patient care and administrative duties. He found
that the slowed-breathing exercise helped him think clearly and make better decisions under pressure.
It was so useful, he taught it to his coworkers. They, too, started slowing down their breathing to
prepare for stressful situations such as talking to a patient’s family, or to help deal with the physical
strain of working a long shift without enough sleep. Nathan even started suggesting it to patients, to
help them deal with anxiety or get through an uncomfortable medical procedure. Many of the patients
felt as though they had no control over what was happening to them. Slowing down the breath gave
them a sense of control over their mind and body, and helped them find the courage they needed in
difficult situations.
TRAIN YOUR MIND AND YOUR BODY
While there are many things you can do to support the physiology of self-control, this week I’m going
to ask you to consider the two strategies that have the biggest bang for their buck. Both are
inexpensive and immediately effective, with benefits that only build with time. They also improve a
wide set of willpower saboteurs, including depression, anxiety, chronic pain, cardiovascular disease,
and diabetes. That makes them good investments for anyone who wants more willpower and doesn’t
mind the side effects of better health and happiness.
THE WILL POWER MIRACLE
Megan Oaten, a psychologist, and Ken Cheng, a biologist, had just concluded their first study of a
new treatment for enhancing self-control. These two researchers at Macquarie University in Sydney,
Australia, were stunned by the findings. While they had hoped for positive results, nobody could have
predicted how far-reaching the treatment’s effects would be. The trial’s guinea pigs were six men and
eighteen women, ranging in age from eighteen to fifty years old. After two months of the treatment,
they showed improvements in attention and the ability to ignore distractions. In an age of thirty-
second attention spans, that would have been reason enough to celebrate. But there was more. They
had reduced their smoking, drinking, and caffeine intake—despite the fact that nobody had asked them
to. They were eating less junk food and more healthy food. They were spending less time watching
television and more time studying. They were saving money and spending less on impulse purchases.
They felt more in control of their emotions. They even procrastinated less and were less likely to be
late for appointments.
Good God, what is this miracle drug and where can I get a prescription? The intervention wasn’t a
drug at all. The willpower miracle was physical exercise. The participants, none of whom exercised
regularly before the intervention, were given free membership to a gym and encouraged to make good
use of it. They exercised an average of just one time per week for the first month, but were up to three
times per week by the end of the two-month study. The researchers did not ask them to make any other
changes in their lives, and yet the exercise program seemed to spark newfound strength and self-
control in
all
aspects of their lives.
Exercise turns out to be the closest thing to a wonder drug that self-control scientists have
discovered. For starters, the willpower benefits of exercise are
immediate
. Fifteen minutes on a
treadmill reduces cravings, as seen when researchers try to tempt dieters with chocolate and smokers
with cigarettes. The long-term effects of exercise are even more impressive. It not only relieves
ordinary, everyday stress, but it’s as powerful an antidepressant as Prozac. Working out also enhances
the biology of self-control by increasing baseline heart rate variability and training the brain. When
neuroscientists have peered inside the brains of new exercisers, they have seen increases in both gray
matter—brain cells—and white matter, the insulation on brain cells that helps them communicate
quickly and efficiently with each other. Physical exercise—like meditation—makes your brain bigger
and faster, and the prefrontal cortex shows the largest training effect.
The first question my students ask when they hear this research is, “How much do I need to do?”
My response is always, “How much are you willing to do?” There’s no point setting a goal that
you’re going to abandon in a week, and there’s no scientific consensus about how much exercise you
need to do. A 2010 analysis of ten different studies found that the biggest mood-boosting, stress-
busting effects came from five-minute doses of exercise, not hour-long sessions. There’s no shame—
and a lot of potential good—in committing to just a five-minute walk around the block.
The next question everyone asks is, “What kind of exercise is best?” To which I respond, “What
kind will you actually do?” The body and brain don’t seem to discriminate, so whatever you are
willing to do is the perfect place to start. Gardening, walking, dancing, yoga, team sports, swimming,
playing with your kids or pets—even enthusiastic housecleaning and window-shopping qualify as
exercise. If you are absolutely convinced that exercise is not for you, I encourage you to expand your
definition to include anything you reasonably enjoy about which you can answer no to the following
two questions: 1. Are you sitting, standing still, or lying down? 2. Are you eating junk food while you
do it? When you have found an activity that meets this definition, congratulations! You have found
your willpower workout.
5
Anything above and beyond the typical sedentary lifestyle will improve
your willpower reserve.
WILLPOWER EXPERIMENT: THE FIVE-MINUTE GREEN
WILLPOWER FILL-UP
If you want a quick willpower fill-up, your best bet may be to head outdoors. Just five minutes
of what scientists call “green exercise” decreases stress, improves mood, enhances focus, and
boosts self-control. Green exercise is any physical activity that gets you outdoors and in the
presence of Mama Nature. The best news is that when it comes to green exercise, a quick fix
really is enough. Shorter bursts have a more powerful effect on your mood than longer workouts.
You also don’t have to break a sweat or push yourself to exhaustion. Lower-intensity exercise,
like walking, has stronger immediate effects than high-intensity exercise. Here are some ideas
for your own five-minute green exercise willpower fill-up:
• Get out of the office and head for the closest greenery.
• Cue up a favorite song on your iPod and walk or jog around the block.
• Take your dog outside to play (and chase the toy yourself).
• Do a bit of work in your yard or garden.
• Step outside for some fresh air and do a few simple stretches.
• Challenge your kids to a race or game in the backyard.
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