The trait to act without foresight is impulsivity. It is poorly conceived reflection with inappropriateness to the condition. It is exposition of various psychiatric problems including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), mania etc. Various factors are responsible for the condition. A new research published on 27th March 2023 in Nutrients details about the genetic susceptibility to impulsivity modified by diet and lifestyle behaviours.
Authors highlight the correlation of higher intake of sugar and fat in diet to impulsivity. Physical activity, short and long sleep duration, high alcohol consumption, smoking etc. are lifestyle behaviours leading to higher level of impulsivity.
Nutrigenomic have shown the dietary signals of cellular sensor systems influencing the gene expression accountable for protein and metabolic production. Rich sugar and fat diets are observed associated with increased DNA methylation and decreased expression of genes related with dopamine receptors in regions of brain linked to motivated behaviour. Epigenetic effects of various other nutrients are also observed in different researches.
Physical activity is connected with improvement in impulsivity through dopamine D2 expression. In rats, inhibitory effects of exercise on D2 receptor expression is observed with suppressed hyperactivity. A study on male rhesus macaques show the reduced dopamine release in caudate of the dorsal striatum after chronic alcohol consumption. The function of D2/3 receptors were also decreased. Another research reveals the lowered striatal dopamine transporter availability in smokers. Dorsal striatum contributes to decision-making, action selection and initiation. Action related with dopaminergic circuit in brain is affected by alteration in sleep hours (either more or less sleep) as exposed by the researches on rodents about the remodelling of dopaminergic circuits with alteration of sleep.
So, modifications in diet and lifestyle increases the focused behaviour, an important factor in improvement of impulsive behaviour.