Why you are more likely to tell lies and eat chocolate at night

By M.Farouk Radwan, MSc.

Will power & Exhaustion

The most popular line of defense most people use to resist temptation is will power. The first thing a person will mention when he talks about his struggles against a habit will usually be will power.

But the question that everyone who depends on will power only to resist bad habits should ask himself is: Is will power constant?

The quick answer is no. Your will power depends on your mental and physical states to a certain extent in such a way that the change to any of these states can affect your will power.

In one study it was found that people who sleep less at night find it harder to resist temptations. The connection is simple, when your nervous system gets exhausted you find it harder to resist the temptations you usually resist when its not exhausted.

Why you are more likely to tell lies and eat chocolate at night

So what does this has to do with lying, watching porn or eating chocolates at night?

After a good night sleep your nervous system becomes more relaxed and so your ability to resist simple temptations such as eating chocolate or making a while lie becomes higher. (see also How to tell if someone is lying to you)

Now depending on what you go through in your day your nervous system might get exhausted once again. If for example your job is so stressful then after few hours of waking up your nervous system will get exhausted again.

As a result of this exhaustion your ability to resist the temptations become less and so you are more likely to get engaged in unmoral behaviour such as lying.

This is one reason so many people drink, eat chocolate or watch pornographic content at night.

So how can will power be increased?

The best thing you can do to keep your will power intact throughout the day is to avoid mentally exhausting yourself. If your job is so stressful for example then take breaks or learn how to manage your stress.

The second extremely important point is to not depend on will power alone to resist temptations. In my book The ultimate guide to breaking bad habits i said that trying new harmful things might be a bad idea since one of the most powerful lines of defense you can use is the fear of trying something for the first time.

Finally you need to move away from the triggers that cause temptations instead of trying to resist them with an exhausted will power. If you don't want to eat chocolate for example then make sure you don't have any at home or at least that they are not located in your line of sight.

2knowmysef is not a complicated medical website nor a boring online encyclopedia but rather a place where you 2knowmysef is not a complicated medical website nor a boring online encyclopedia but rather a place where you will find simple, to the point and effective information that is backed by psychology and presented in a simple way that you can understand and apply.

If you think that this is some kind of marketing hype then see what other visitors say about 2knowmyself. The book The ultimate guide to breaking bad habits was released by 2knowmyself. The book will help you get over all bad habits that are haunting you in a short period of time.

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