By the end of January, a third will have broken their [New Year’s] resolutions, and by July more than half will have lapsed.
They’ll fail because they’ll eventually run out of willpower, which social scientists no longer regard as simply a metaphor. They’ve recently reported that willpower is a real form of mental energy, powered by glucose in the bloodstream, which is used up as you exert self-control…
By the end of January, a third will have broken their [New Year’s] resolutions, and by July more than half will have lapsed.
They’ll fail because they’ll eventually run out of willpower, which social scientists no longer regard as simply a metaphor. They’ve recently reported that willpower is a real form of mental energy, powered by glucose in the bloodstream, which is used up as you exert self-control…
The more you starve your body, the less glucose in your bloodstream — and the less resistance to temptation.
Full article on the biology of “ego depletion.”