How some working, single moms manage to exercise

Working, single mothers who feel in control of their schedules are more likely to fit in healthy habits like exercise, according to new research.

For the study, researchers followed more than 100 working, single mothers over a week and examined how their mindsets while balancing work and family tasks affected the likelihood of exhibiting healthy behaviors during their downtime.

They found that family demands on working mothers make exercise much less likely when compared to people with fewer responsibilities. However, individual perspective made a difference.

“Regardless of how busy a mother was, when she lived in the moment and felt like she was in control of her schedule, she was more likely to make time for exercise,” says Danielle King, assistant professor of psychological sciences at Rice University and coauthor of the study.

In addition, a present-focused mindset made mothers more likely to maintain a feeling of control as demands on their time increased, King says. This helped explain why some people with demanding schedules made time for health behaviors and others did not.

Interestingly, King and her fellow researchers found that mindset did not affect consumption of unhealthy food or excess alcohol.

So what can be done for the stressed-out mother who doesn’t take time to exercise? King says various interventions could help, and she hopes future work will address this.

“Preferably, these will focus on teaching mothers how to focus on the present while offering them ideas and strategies to help so they feel like they have more control over their schedules,” King says. “For example, making mothers aware of improved or diverse childcare options might make all the difference in helping them adjust their perspective and make time to exercise—which, of course, is linked to better physical and mental health long-term.”

The paper appears in the journal Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being. Coauthors are from Virginia Tech, Rice, and Georgia Tech. The National Science Foundation supported the work.

Source: Rice University

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