At a recent meeting of my Healthy Habits Network community, we talked about superpowers. Specifically I asked people “what superpower do you have that helps you stay on track with your healthy habits?” It was a fun exercise to get people to focus on their strengths, and I expected answers like “discipline” or “good planning.” One answer, however, surprised me. Jenny said her superpower was pause. PAUSE? I didn’t get it at first. What kind of superpower was that?
Jenny explained: “When I find myself in front of the refrigerator about to grab something, or I’m in the pantry ready to open a box of crackers, I simply pause. I have the ability to just stop and think if I really want to eat something, and the answer is generally no.”
The Power of Pause in Weight Loss
The Power of Pause comes in particularly handy for people trying to lose weight. An APA Stress in America survey from February, 2021, found that 42% of US adults reported undesired weight gain since the start of the pandemic, with an average gain of 20+ pounds. Stress, boredom, loneliness, and increased access to the refrigerator all contributed to overeating for many adults and children.
Grounded in Neuroscience
It turns out the Power of Pause is grounded in neuroscience, and is the result of our brain’s emotional regulation system. We have a remarkable ability to not only control our circumstances but also our responses to those circumstances. Interestingly enough, this regulation improves with age. Current research shows that older adults are able to self-regulate better than their younger counter-parts because they focus more on well-being goals, which are often future oriented. Older adults are also more adept at choosing and shaping the situations they enter, which makes regulation easier.
The Power of Pause in Daily Life
The Power of Pause is invaluable in many day-to-day interactions. I find myself enlisting “pause” when I’m about to say something snippy, or when I find myself too quick to judge. Simply stopping—and pausing—can bring out a better version of ourselves.