The study included 162 adults who had never counted steps before. I wore the tracking watch for 4 weeks. One group was given a watch that significantly increased their step count. I thought I took 9,800 steps instead of 7,000 on average. Another unfortunate group wore a watch that reduced his steps by about 40% to about 4,000 a day.
And two groups wore watches that told the truth. They said he was walking about 7,000 steps a day. But some participants also watched a video about the power of mindset and how it affects our health.
These volunteers considered how much they had traveled in the past week, including activities they might disregard as exercise, such as doing housework or walking to the mailbox, and how these activities benefited their health. I was asked to think and how to “celebrate” myself. they were active. They were instructed to repeat these reflections weekly during the study.
Benefits of Exercise Mindset
At the end of the study, people who were correctly told to walk about 7,000 steps a day reported feeling better and having higher self-esteem. , they ate less high-fat foods and consumed more produce.
But the biggest change was in the “Activity Adequacy Mind-set” score, a special questionnaire that measures whether they felt they had gotten enough exercise. I felt more fit and healthy than I believed,” wrote the scientist.
Volunteers who were taught to count accurately and to think also showed even greater improvements in their sense of emotional well-being and physical performance.
But those who thought they were only taking 4,000 steps a day now looked sadder. They had slightly lower self-esteem, a gloomy mood, poor eating habits, slightly elevated resting heart rate and blood pressure, and slightly worse health, although objectively , the number of steps was the same as that of the others.
Interestingly, the group given the exaggerated number of steps responded almost identically to the group given the accurate count. This means that many people feel little subjective difference between his 7,000 and 9,000 steps, but there is a lot of difference between his 7,000 and 4,000 steps, the study said. person is thinking
The study shows that ideas about exercise habits “could change motivations and goals,” even if those ideas don’t reflect reality, says an associate professor of psychology at director Aria Crumb said. mind & body lab Senior author of a new study at Stanford University. “They can even change our bodies.”
When a Hotel Employee Knows You’re Right for You
The idea that exercise mindsets can affect physical health was coined by Crum in his now-famous 2007 study 84 female flight attendants.
Attendees uniformly considered themselves inactive and worried that lack of exercise was damaging their health.
But Crumb and her colleagues noted that half of the women were very active. counted. Women exceeded formal exercise guidelines that recommend 30 minutes of exercise per day.
After a month, their weight, body fat, and blood pressure had all dropped, but nothing had changed except their mindset. They didn’t change their daily activities, but they changed how they viewed being active enough.
Since then, Crumb and her collaborators have in another study Men and women who believe they are less active than others their age die more prematurely than those who confidently believe they exercise more than their age group, whether or not their beliefs are accurate. much higher risk of
Octavia Hedwig Saart, a behavioral scientist who has a Ph.D. from Stanford University and has led longevity research, said this study and new research show that how we think about exercise and health can become self-fulfilling. Suggests. Thinking you’re inactive for your own good can hurt your health and well-being, no matter how active you really are.
Conversely, when we start to think of ourselves as active people, those who exercise as we change our sheets or walk down the hall, our mood, health, and even fitness can improve.
How to change your mindset
So how can we improve and leverage the way we think about mobility?
Start by thinking about and writing down how you’ve spent the past few days, says Zahrt. Have you exercised formally? ikura? More importantly, how often did you walk the hall, pick up or rock your child, vacuum, plant your garden, chase your dog, or climb stairs? Try to be accurate and comprehensive about all activities. If you know your step count, write it down. Sum the numbers.
Now think about how much exercise you’ve actually completed. Do you think it’s enough to promote health, prevent disease, and keep you satisfied?
The answer is yours and yours alone, said Zahrt. . For now, try not to compare your step count or other activity with others, including your loved ones, friends, and random TikTokkers.
Instead, celebrate how active you’ve found yourself, says Zahrt.
Remember, mindset is important, but it’s also small.
But they happened even though people didn’t change how much they moved, only the way they thought.
If you look back on your recent activity and feel like you should be more active, look for easy ways to incorporate more movement into your day. Please use the stairs. For lunch, walk over instead of ordering from a restaurant. I commute by bicycle. Please come and vacuum my house. Then celebrate a little more with how active you are.
Have a fitness question? e-mail [email protected] I may answer your question in a future column.
