We as humans are creatures that tend to follow habits. We usually wake up at the same time every day, brush our teeth, have coffee in the morning, and then go to work. That's what we do every day, so why is it so hard to form new healthy habits?
Behavioralists who have studied habit formation say that many of us are trying to create new habits the wrong way, taking bold steps to start exercising or losing weight without considering the steps we need to succeed in it.
Here are some research-backed tips for forming new healthy habits.
Stack your habits
The best way to form a new habit is to associate it with an existing one. Reflect on your daily routine and think about which existing habits can create a new, positive habit. For many of us, the morning routine is our strongest routine, so it's the best time to link a new habit to it.
For example, a cup of coffee in the morning can create a great opportunity to start meditating for one minute, and while brushing your teeth, you can squat or stand on one foot to practice balance.
Big behavioral changes require a high level of motivation that may not be there, so it is best to start with small habits so that the new habit becomes as easy as possible.
While many of us lean into our end-of-day routine as well, do you tend to sit on the couch after work and watch TV? Perhaps this is a good time to do yoga every day.
Start small
PJ Fogg, a researcher at Stanford University and author of Small Habits notes that big behavioral changes require a high level of motivation that may not be present, so he suggests we start with small habits so that the new habit becomes as easy as possible at the beginning, for example, walking a short distance Every day can be the start of a habit of exercising, and putting an apple in the bag every day can be the start of good eating habits.
In his personal life, Dr. Fogg wanted to start doing push ups every day, so he only started twice a day to turn it into a habit, and he linked that push up habit to going to the toilet he did it after getting out of the toilet, and now Dr. Fogg 40 to 80 compressions per day.
Do it every day
British researchers studied how people form habits in the real world, so they asked participants to choose a simple habit they would like to form, such as drinking water at lunch or walking before dinner. It ranged from 18 to 254 days, and the average was 66 days.
The lesson from this is that habits take a long time to create, but they form faster the longer we practice them, so start with a suitable habit that is easy to do, it is easy to get into the habit of exercising if you do small exercises every day such as jumping, yoga or walking Instead of trying to go to the gym 3 times a week, once daily exercise becomes a habit, you can engage in new intense forms of exercise.
Make it easy
Habit researchers know that we are better able to form new habits when we remove all the obstacles that stand in our way, so having your gym bag by the door makes it easier for you to go to the gym.
Wendy Wood, a research psychiatrist at the University of Southern California and author of Good Habits, Bad Habits: The Science of Making Lasting Positive Change, says she started by sleeping in her jogging clothes to make it easier for her to get up in the morning, put on her running shoes, and go. Or jump in to make it easy.
Dr. Woody calls the forces that stand in the way of good habits “friction.” In one study, researchers changed the timing of elevator doors closing so that employees had to wait about half a minute for the doors to close (usually after 10 seconds), that time was enough to convince people That stairs are easier to go up and down than an elevator, which shows how sensitive we are to the small frictions in our environment, says Dr. Wood. "Delaying the elevator has only caused people to use the stairs and still use them even after the elevator has returned to its normal speed."
Dr. Wood notes that marketers have become experts at reducing friction to get us to spend more and order more food, which is why Amazon has a one-click button, and food companies make it easy to double in size. Understand and exploit it, but we do not understand and exploit it in our private lives.
Reward yourself
Rewards are an important part of forming habits. For example, when we brush our teeth, we get an instant reward, which is a fresh mouth. But some rewards, such as losing weight or changing the body as a result of exercising, take longer to show its effect, so the presence of some immediate rewards helps in forming the habit, for example. Listening to audiobooks while jogging or watching your favorite cooking program while jogging on the treadmill helps strengthen your exercise habit. You can also plan a sports date so that you can meet a friend while exercising.
Use the Healthy Habits Challenge
Just as you've learned what it takes to start building healthy habits, you can try the new Will Challenge which gives you daily tips for further advancement, connection with the ones you love and helps refresh your mind and nourish your body.
Source: The New York Times
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