> What I've Learned. Improve Willpower in 5 Mins | How Heart Rate Variability Helps Brain Function. YouTube, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOe9GNEDKZ8>. Accessed 16 Aug. 2021. # Improve Willpower in 5 Mins | How Heart Rate Variability helps Brain Function > This video is about heart rate variability's connection with willpower. - Slow down your breath to improve your willpower - *The Willpower Instinct*, Kelly McGonigal - Breathe in for 10 seconds and then out for 10 seconds, repeat for 5 to 10 minutes - This improves heart rate variability - The heart speeds up when you inhale and slows down when you exhale - Smooth variation of heart rate is good and means that your heart is getting signals from both branches of the autonomic nervous system - Sympathetic NS (speed up, flight or flight) - Parasympathetic NS (relaxation, digestion) - High HRV is linked with higher willpower: it is called the "body's reserve of willpower" - Single best physiological measurement of the Pause & Plan response (the opposite of the Fight or Flight response) - During FoF, energy leaves the brain and is redirected to the body - During P&P, the prefrontal cortex communicates the need for self-control to the lower brain regions - Suzanne Segerstrom: HRV went up when subjects refrained from eating cookies, control group HRV stayed the same - HRV is a good predictor of one's ability toe resist cravings - Higher self-control → less blood alcohol content despite same alcohol intake - Exercise, diet, meditation and breathing technique all improve HRV - Alan Watkins: "At the root of behaviour is physiology"