The Willpower Instinct: How Self-Control Works, Why It Matters, and What You Can Do To Get More of It

ONE NATION UNDER STRESS
Many of us come to the topic of willpower with ideas about what it is: a personality trait, a virtue,
something you either have or you don’t, maybe a kind of brute force you muster up in difficult
situations. But science is painting a very different picture of willpower. It’s an evolved capacity and
an instinct that everyone has—a careful calibration of what’s happening in your brain and body. But
we’ve also seen that if you are stressed or depressed, your brain and body may not cooperate.
Willpower can be disrupted by sleep deprivation, poor diet, a sedentary lifestyle, and a host of other
factors that sap your energy, or keep your brain and body stuck in a chronic stress response. To every
doctor, diet guru, or nagging spouse convinced that willpower is just a matter of making up your mind,
this research should be a reality check. Yes, your mind is important, but your body also needs to get
on board.
Science also points us to a critical insight: Stress is the enemy of willpower. So often we believe
that stress is the only way to get things done, and we even look for ways to increase stress—such as
waiting until the last minute, or criticizing ourselves for being lazy or out of control—to motivate
ourselves. Or we use stress to try to motivate others, turning up the heat at work or coming down hard
at home. This may seem to work in the short term, but in the long term, nothing drains willpower
faster than stress. The biology of stress and the biology of self-control are simply incompatible. Both
the fight-or-flight and pause-and-plan responses are about energy management, but they redirect your
energy and attention in very different ways. The fight-or-flight response floods the body with energy
to act instinctively, and steals it from the areas of the brain needed for wise decision making. The
pause-and-plan response sends that energy to the brain—and not just anywhere in the brain, but
specifically to the self-control center, the prefrontal cortex. Stress encourages you to focus on
immediate, short-term goals and outcomes, but self-control requires keeping the big picture in mind.
Learning how to better manage your stress is one of the most important things you can do to improve
your willpower.
In recent years, a number of high-profile pundits have claimed that Americans have lost their
collective willpower. If this is true, it may have little to do with the loss of core American values, as
the pundits have claimed, and more to do with the increased levels of stress and fear in today’s
society. A 2010 national survey by the American Psychological Association found that 75 percent of
people in the United States experience high levels of stress. It’s not surprising, given the events of the
last decade, from terrorist attacks and flu epidemics to environmental disasters, natural disasters,
unemployment, and near economic collapse. These national stresses take a toll on our physiology and
self-control. Researchers at Yale University School of Medicine found that during the week after
September 11, 2001, patients’ heart rate variability decreased significantly. We were a nation
overwhelmed, and it’s not surprising that rates of drinking, smoking, and drug use increased for
months following the attacks of 9/11. The same pattern emerged during the height of the economic
crisis of 2008 and 2009. Americans reported indulging in unhealthy foods more often to cope with the
stress, and smokers reported smoking more cigarettes and giving up attempts to quit.
We’re also an increasingly sleep-deprived nation. According to a 2008 study by the National Sleep
Foundation, American adults now get two hours less sleep per night than the average in 1960. Our
nation’s sleeping habits may be creating an epidemic of poor self-control and focus. Some experts
believe that the decrease in average sleep time is also one of the reasons obesity rates have soared

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over the same time period. Obesity rates are much higher among those who sleep for less than six
hours a night, in part because sleep deprivation interferes with how the brain and body use energy.
Researchers have also found that too little sleep creates impulse control and attention problems that
mimic attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). It may be that children’s sleep habits—
which typically mirror their parents’, despite their even greater need for sleep—are contributing to
the dramatic rise in the diagnosis of this disorder.
If we are serious about tackling the biggest challenges that face us, we need to take more seriously
the tasks of managing stress and taking better care of ourselves. Tired, stressed-out people start from
a tremendous disadvantage, and we are a tired, stressed-out nation. Our bad habits—from overeating
to undersleeping—don’t just reflect a lack of self-control. By draining our energy and creating more
stress, they are stealing our self-control.
UNDER THE MICROSCOPE: STRESS AND SELF-CONTROL
This week, test the theory that stress—whether physical or psychological—is the enemy of self-
control. How does being worried or overworked affect your choices? Does being hungry or
tired drain your willpower? What about physical pain and illness? Or emotions like anger,
loneliness, or sadness? Notice when stress strikes throughout the day or week. Then watch what
happens to your self-control. Do you experience cravings? Lose your temper? Put off things you
know you should do?

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