Why do some people easily resist temptations while others are unable to withstand them? Drawing on the latest scientific data, the author of this book proves that people who struggle to resist temptation are physiologically and biochemically different from those who do not face these problems. Due to genetic variations, these individuals have a different distribution and function of neurotransmitters—the substances that regulate brain activity. These impairments vary: some people constantly lack a sense of pleasure, while others experience such intense sensations from enjoyable things that they cannot resist them. But the result is the same: the "animal" part of the brain, the limbic system, which demands pleasure here and now, more often prevails over the "smartest" area, the prefrontal cortex, which remembers that momentary pleasure threatens long-term life plans. The book contains many tests, and although their results cannot definitively confirm whether you have "bad" variants of "self-control genes" or how their influence combines with environmental factors, indirect signs can still suggest which systems in your brain may not be functioning quite right. The final part of the book offers recommendations on how you, specifically, can effectively resist temptations and achieve long-term goals despite challenges with self-control.
Author: Irina Yakutenko
Pages: 464 (offset). Hardcover
Dimensions: 216x146x30 mm
