Scientists find: spontaneous intentions turn into a walk more often than planned ones

Spontaneous decisions work better than planned ones

A decision to go for a walk or exercise within the next hour is more likely to turn into actual movement if it is made spontaneously rather than at moments of being focused. Researchers at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California came to this conclusion together with colleagues from five other American universities; the article was published in the journal Frontiers in Digital Health.

How the study was conducted

Details of the work are reported by Gazeta.Ru. Over the course of a year, 228 Americans aged 18 to 29 wore smartwatches with a motion sensor and answered short surveys on their smartphones — about 12 per day on average. At random moments, participants were asked whether they intended to walk or work out in the next hour, and their answers were then compared with accelerometer readings over the following 60 minutes. After a

The result contradicted the authors' hypothesis

The authors expected the opposite: that self-regulation — the ability to plan time and manage temptations — would strengthen the intention-to-action link. However, all seven significant effects showed the reverse picture: intentions worked most strongly in people with low self-regulation, and in momentary snapshots — when a person was less focused than usual or procrastinating.

Context of the problem

The gap between intentions and actions is a well-known problem in health psychology: about half of people plan to exercise but never get around to it. The WHO recommends 150–300 minutes of moderate activity per week, and most young people fail to meet these norms. Gazeta.Ru separately notes that scientists previously foundthat poor sleep affects teenagers more strongly than lack of exercise.