A
story provided by SWNS Digital,
providing
the largest broadcasters & publishers (and me) with world-class
journalism. To have your psychology-related story published, email it to me at matthewtuckey@hotmail.com.
The
average Brit treats themselves to a little of what they fancy up to
14 times a week, a study has found.
A
light-hearted poll of 2,000 adults revealed our favourite foods,
holidays and retail therapy are among the things which Brits are most
likely to give into. It also emerged one in 10 have ducked out of an
exercise class they'd previously booked or swerved the gym to head
for a drink or to have a meal with friends. More than 40 per cent
have given into slice of cake instead of having the fruit they’d
planned to eat. One third stay up past their bedtime to watch ‘just
one more episode’ of a box set. And another 15 per cent admitted
find it impossible to turn down the prospect of a fun night out. Yet
seven in 10 Brits are also firm believers in the phrase ‘a little
bit of what you fancy does you good.’ Another 48 per cent find that
if they allow themselves a little bit of what they want, rather than
saying no completely, their overall resolve is stronger.
The
stats emerged in a study by ZA, a new
PizzaExpress offering where pizza is
available by the slice.
ZA
is inspired by the early years of PizzaExpress, when founder Peter
Boizot (who died in December last year) first brought pizza to
the UK back in 1965 and sold, fresh, hot pizza by the slice in SoHo.
Spokesperson
Zoe Bowley said: “Giving into the goodness is incredibly common,
according to this research.
“Though
our survey has also found having a little bit of what you fancy can
do you good and can even help keep willpower stronger than trying to
resist our favourite things all the time.”
The
study also found a fifth of Brits have spent far too long in the sun
because they want to make the most of it – despite feeling they
should have already sought shade. (Guilty.)
Forty-five
per cent of adults are happy to admit they’re not very good at
resisting things they like the most. (Again, guilty.)
However,
on a positive, 36 per cent believe their resolve has increased and
become stronger as they’ve aged. (I'm failing in this regard.)
It
also emerged a third think they should be able to enjoy what they’d
like when they want it, without worrying about the consequences.
Over
40 per cent of adults find it hardest to resist temptation when
hungry (a category I fall straight into, like Galaxy chocolate
falls straight into my gob way too often), and 28 per cent
struggle if sleepy, according to the OnePoll data.
And
35 per cent are more likely to give in to temptation if they’ve had
a tough day at work or are feeling a bit stressed. (I can relate.)
As
a result, 60 per cent of respondents wish they had more willpower
(yup) with 36 per cent admitting to being jealous of others
who can resist temptation (yup).
ZA,
which translates as ‘a little bit of Pizza, a little bit of
PizzaExpress’, is based on the idea, ‘a little bit of what you
fancy does you good’.
Zoe
Bowley added: “We’re big believers in the idea that having a
little bit of what you fancy is good for you.
“These
survey findings tell us a healthy dose of balance brings us Brits
happiness.''
THE
TOP 15 WILLPOWER ‘FAILS’
1.
Eating a sweet snack instead of fruit as planned
2.
Staying up late to read because due to being so engrossed in the book
they are reading (me)
3.
Staying up past bedtime to watch ‘just one more episode’ of a
favourite boxset (me)
4.
Picking up a favourite food ‘to go’ rather than cooking as a
treat
5.
Having an extra drink on a night out instead of going home early (I
have missed the last tram more times than I would care to admit if I
could even remember)
6.
Buying lunch at work despite having something from home because it
was more appealing
7.
Spending too long in the sun because you want to make the most of it
(in 2010 my GP told me I was going to have to be very careful from
then on- I perhaps haven't been)
8.
Having an extra coffee just despite not needing the caffeine
(Monster, maybe)
9.
Having an extra slice of pizza just because (Well, hey, if I
cooked it, I'm eating the whole thing)
10.
Having a cheeky peek at an ex on social media see what they’re up
to now (I need to cut down on SM for numerous reasons, this being
one of them)
11.
Going on a night out because of FOMO
(60% of my social life
exists because of this)
12.
Obsessively checking if WhatsApp messages have been read or replied
to
13.
Booking another holiday even if it’s more than budgeted (I need
other people to have money to do this with too, so it's a rarity)
14.
Cancelling a previously booked exercise class
15.
Cancelling plans to go to the gym to go to the pub instead
No comments:
Post a Comment