Effect of gunas on stress and mindful eating

Abstract

The Indian perspective of personality as represented by the exemplary Triguna theory classifies the gunas- sattva, rajas, and tamas, as elements of personality. Eating behaviours has been a central concept in this theory. Each of the gunas have varied characteristics including the patterns of food consumption, wherein the emphasis has been on how such behaviours impact our health. Given the fast-paced life in present times, there is little escape from stress and whether we appraise events as stressful is also influenced by an individual’s personality traits. Thus, in the present study, an attempt has been made to study the effect of gunas and gender on perceived stress and mindful eating among young adults. For this purpose, the data was collected from 158 subjects (Females = 79 and Males = 79) and was analyzed using factorial ANOVA. The results revealed significant effects of gunas on perceived stress and mindful eating practices. It was found that individuals with a dominance of sattva guna experience less stress as compared to the other two gunas. Furthermore, the results revealed that individuals with sattva and rajas guna engage more in mindful eating practices as compared to individuals with tamasic guna.