The Malaysian Insider :: Features
The Malaysian Insider :: Features |
| When stressed, people lean on habits, good or bad Posted: 29 May 2013 08:23 AM PDT
While common belief dictates that stress can trigger overeating or shopping sprees, that's not necessarily the case, according to new research. Turns out we're just as likely to default to positive habits, such as eating a healthy breakfast or going to the gym, as we are to self-sabotage. Lack of control doesn't automatically mean indulgence or hedonism – it's the underlying routine that matters, for better or worse, the researchers said. In a study to be published in the June issue of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Wendy Wood and David Neal of the University of Southern California looked at the behaviours of 65 students over a 10-week term. They found that during testing periods, when students were stressed and sleep-deprived, they were even more likely to stick to old habits since they didn't have the energy to do something new, Wood said. Students who ate unhealthy breakfasts during the semester – such as pastries or doughnuts – ate even more of the junk food during exams. But the same was true of the "oatmeal eaters" – those in the habit of eating a healthy breakfast were also more likely to stick to routine and ate especially well in the morning when under pressure. Similarly, students who had a habit of reading the editorial pages in the newspaper every day during the semester were more likely to perform this habit during exams – even when they were limited in time. And regular gym-goers were even more likely to go to the gym when stressed. "You might expect that, when students were stressed and had little time, they wouldn't read the paper at all, but instead they fell back on their reading habits," Wood said. "Habits don't require much willpower and thought and deliberation." "So, the central question for behaviour change efforts should be, how can you form healthy, productive habits?" she asked. "What we know about habit formation is that you want to make the behaviour easy to perform, so that people repeat it often and it becomes part of their daily routine." – AFP/Relaxnews |
| Colorado governor signs recreational marijuana regulations into law Posted: 28 May 2013 08:44 PM PDT  A set of draft rules have been released that said marijuana must be grown indoors and tested for contaminants and potency. - Reuters pic DENVER, May 29 — Governor John Hickenlooper yesterday signed into law measures to regulate the recreational use of marijuana in Colorado, including blood-level limits for motorists and setting up a voter referendum to impose a tax on the non-medical sale of cannabis. Colorado House of Representatives Assistant Majority Leader Dan Pabon said the legislation reflected the "will of the voters" who charged lawmakers with setting up the regulatory system after approving legalisation in a vote last November. One of the bills signed by Hickenlooper calls for a referendum in November on setting a 15 per cent excise tax and an additional 10 per cent sales tax on marijuana sales. Other measures included in the legislative package are setting blood limits for driving while under the influence of marijuana at 5 nanograms per milliter, and limiting purchases of marijuana to non-Colorado residents at one-quarter of an ounce. "The laws ... signed today put the health and safety of our kids front and center," said Pabon, a Democrat. "They drive a stake into the heart of a large black market while creating a regulated, legitimate industry." House Republican leader Mark Waller, who sponsored the driving-under-the-influence legislation, said Colorado is in "new and foreign territory" in implementing its marijuana laws and it was vital to add a public safety component. "Equipping law enforcement with the tools they need to ensure people make safe decisions behind the wheel is critical to maximising public safety," he said. Voters in Washington state also approved legalising recreational marijuana use last November. Mason Tvert, spokesman for the Marijuana Policy Project, which ran the campaign for the Colorado pot legalisation ballot initiative, said it is "only a matter of time" before other states follow the lead of Colorado and Washington. He said Colorado's retail marijuana stores were expected to open in early 2014. Colorado and Washington are among nearly 20 states and the District of Columbia that allow the use of medical marijuana. The federal government still lists it as a dangerous narcotic and it remains illegal under federal law to take the drug for any purpose. After the Colorado legislature passed the bills, a spokesman for the US Attorney's Office in Denver said the Justice Department was considering what its response will be to the marijuana legalisation movement. In Washington state, the Liquor Control Board is required to establish regulations for the state's recreational marijuana industry. Earlier this month, the agency released a set of draft rules that said marijuana must be grown indoors and tested for contaminants and potency. Licenses to grow, process and sell the drug would each cost US$1,000 (RM3,055) per year on top of a US$250 application fee under the proposed guidelines. – Reuters |
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