Blog

Habits are powerful forces that shape our daily lives, even more than we may realize. But what motivates these unconscious behaviors? The science of forming habit revolves around how the brain builds routines in an effort-conserving and energy-saving way.

The root of habit formation is the habit loop, a three-step process involving cue, routine, and reward. The cue triggers the brain to fire off a behavior, such as waking up in the morning. The routine consists of the action performed because of the cue-in this case, making a cup of coffee. Finally, the reward is defined as the satisfaction or good feeling derived from carrying out the behavior in question; this reinforces said habit. When repeated often enough, this becomes implanted in the person and the behavior does happen without too much conscious thinking.

Neurologically, habits fire in the basal ganglia, a part deep inside the brain that plays a huge role in forming memories and processing patterns. As a behavior becomes habitual-less and less activity shows up in the brain’s decision-making regions because the brain frees itself up to attend to other tasks while it’s executing the habit in the background. That’s why habits tend to feel so effortless once they’re formed.

But the power of habits isn’t all positive. Bad habits will also develop along the way, initiated and driven by cues and rewards that will help in creating behaviors of procrastination and over-snacking. To break these habits, one has to understand the cues that set off these habits and then make a conscious effort to replace the routine with a healthier behavior while still satisfying the reward.

Building a new habit requires consistency and patience. Scientifically speaking, it is believed that building a habit takes about 66 days, but this will vary depending on the level of complexity of the behavior and on the individual differences. By paying attention to small and achievable changes in behavior, and by using repetition anyone can tap into the automatic bias of the brain towards making any behaviors routine.

Sources:

1. https://www.uwo.ca/se/thrive/blog/2024/the-science-behind-habits-how-the-brain-forms-and-breaks-them.html

2. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/brain-wise/201904/the-science-habits