Stress Doesn't Affect Good Habits

People usually stick with good habits at stressful times and don't indulge in bad habits, a new study has found.

The study was conducted by researchers led by Wendy Wood and David Neal of University of South California. The team found that people are just as likely as starting an exercise routine or eating healthy breakfast as they are in developing bad habits such as smoking or drinking.

"When we try to change our behavior, we strategize about our motivation and self-control. But what we should be thinking about instead is how to set up new habits. Habits persist even when we're tired and don't have the energy to exert self-control," said Wood in a news release.

Learned habits, researchers said, have a great role to play in maintaining health in the long term. Bad habits such as overeating and smoking are the leading cause for various health problems in the U.S.

But, letting go instead of self-control might be a better way of dealing with bad habits. "Everybody gets stressed. The whole focus on controlling your behavior may not actually be the best way to get people to meet goals. If you are somebody who doesn't have a lot of willpower, our study showed that habits are even more important," Wood added.

In one experiment conducted by the team, the researchers looked at habits of college-students during one semester, including exam times. They found that students who had unhealthy eating habits during the semester also had unhealthy eating habits during the exam. The same was even true for students who ate healthy. Wendy said that during a stressful time, people don't have the energy to make changes to routines.

The researchers also found that students who read newspapers or went to the gym during the semester continued these habits even during exams.

"You might expect that, when students were stressed and had little time, they wouldn't read the paper at all, but instead they fell back on their reading habits," Wood said in the news release. "Habits don't require much willpower and thought and deliberation."

The study is published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.