A ounce of perception is worth a pound of performance, or so the saying goes. And according to the 2008 Harvard study of a small group of hotel housekeepers it would seem to be so.
We have all seen hotel maids lugging heavy equipment around hotel corridors, yet those who participated in the study claimed never to exercise.
And to add to the disconnect, given the amount of exercise these maids actually participated in on a daily basis, their body-fat, blood pressure, weight and body mass index matched their perception of how little exercise they undertook. Curiouser and curiouser.
The housekeepers were split into two groups, one group being told that their daily activity met the surgeon general’s definition of an active lifestyle, and the other told nothing at all.
A month goes by and the research team return to retake the physical measurements and surprise surprise. The group that were made aware of the active lifestyle they were leading showed a decrease in weight, waist-to-hip ratio and a 10% drop in blood pressure, with no change in behaviour.
The researchers conclusion was that the changed mind-set had an impact on their physical bodies.
Naturally, there are those who don’t agree with these conclusions. For my part the concept that my beliefs can alter the physical state of my body is fine with me. I wonder if it works if I just sit around eating chocolate strawberries and ice cream? Or is that asking too much?
Encourage one another.
Love Elle
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