3 replies to this topic

[mktnnr03159]

The quote below gives a description as to what these choices are. The essay this was quoted from describes an experiment that was conducted on children's ability to choose delayed gratification. 

"In children, as well as adults, willpower can be thought of as a basic ability to delay gratification. Preschoolers with good self-control sacrifice the immediate pleasure of a chewy marshmallow in order to indulge in two marshmallows at some later point. Ex-smokers forfeit the enjoyment of a cigarette in order to experience good health and avoid an increased risk of lung cancer in the future. Shoppers resist splurging at the mall so they can save for a comfortable retirement. And so on."

 - https://www.apa.org/...atification.pdf

over 40 years later the study showed that the children who showed the most restraint or rather were able to exercise their will in favor of delayed gratification also seemed to be the happiest, most successful, best SAT score testers, ETC. Which means... these acts of will are pretty important! This essay summarizes the results of the studies nicely, it's worth a read. If your more into hard data, check out the actual study conducted by Walter Mischel.

http://pages.uoregon...atification.pdf

I find it interesting that we are so desperate to "Increase or intelligence" or get a rush from a stimulant, yet no mention of improving will power is made. 

The book "The 1 Thing" by Gary Keller gives a whole chapter devoted to will power. He asserts that "Will power is a critical component of success" That "Will power isn't on demand" , "The more you exert your will power, the faster it will be depleted". It's as if we carry a will power battery which can be depleted and needs to be refueled.

So my question is, what (bio-chemically) is being depleted, what pathways are used?Can this function be improved by the some nutrient, or drug? What do you guys think?

[Gerrans]

In my opinion, all nutrients will help balance the mind, and so a healthy diet and exercise regime can produce a sense of self control. One reason we lose willpower, I believe, is overdosing of stimulants. So, for example, if certain foods or activities give high dopamine rushes, loops develop whereby the brain craves more and more of the same rewards. In these circumstances, exercising willpower becomes impossible, because the brain is demanding more of whatever it is hooked on, so to speak.

 

The answer is to avoid overstimulation. So one needs to lead a fairly unindulgent lifestyle. Planning helps, I think. One plans to eat certain foods or to spend certain times on certain activities, and then one sticks to that schedule. These plans are a product of the forebrain, the executive, controlling functions, etc., and are the means by which we resist overdoing stimulants. So, for  example, one can plan to watch one film at, say, 10 O'clock, and then go to bed. As opposed to sitting down at 7 and lapsing into a massive movie-watching fest that could end by keeping you up till late. From this point of view, a lot of "willpower" can be built in in advance, which is a better way of potentiating it than hoping it will somehow come to your rescue once a situation is getting beyond repair--for example when you are half way through a giant bag of popcorn (instead, plan a finite serving of popcorn).

 

These days it is common for people to live overstimulated lives, and for them probably to believe that life is at its best only when it is at its most intense. This way, though, we end up eating one party food after another, and watching back to back films rather than seeing a film as a treat. Whatever the buzz, enough is never enough. And it starts to appear as if normal, unstimulated life is dull life. But it is not--it appears so only in contrast to the hyper life, in which self control not only seems impossible but also self punitive.

Edited by Gerrans, 24 February 2015 - 09:09 PM.

[mktnnr03159]

Another question would be, what supplements or dietary changes gave you an increased ability to exercise this kind of decision making?

[Gorthaur]

The prefrontal cortex is the part of the brain involved in self control. It lies just behind the forehead, and it's unique to humans. The remarkable thing about the prefrontal cortex is that it gives us the capability to over-ride virtually any other part of the brain. It's also critical to our ability to form abstractions, such as science and math, and our ability to imagine new things. Biochemically, the only thing we know of that is being depleted is glucose. There are some recent studies which show how willpower is related to glucose levels. The best way to improve your willpower is to practice. The more you exert your prefrontal cortex, the stronger it will become, because of long-term potentiation of neural synapses, and because of increased production of mitochondria, and perhaps increased glucose transport as well. Right now there aren't any known supplements which target any one portion of the cortex.