The New York Times reports on a series of laboratory studies by researchers at Florida State University that demonstrated a fascinating relationship to exist between blood-glucose levels and the exertion of self-control. In particular, they found that participants’ glucose levels decreased significantly after a short bout of exerting self-control to stifle their facial reactions to a video that they were instructed to watch. In a follow-up task requiring the application of self-control to achieve success, participants with depleted blood-glucose were found to be less successful than participants who were not instructed to suppress their responses to the video, however, after drinking a sugary drink, which increased glucose levels, these participants performed better than those who were given a drink containing artificial sweetener. The researchers suggest that these results imply that self-control can be depleted in a sense, and that eating and drinking may have a positive effect on the amount of willpower that an individual can exert. The implications for this research are many and could potentially be applied to programs that emphasize dieting, quitting smoking, or treating maladaptive behaviors.
