Old Habits Die Hard

Old Habits Die Hard

Joy Stepinski, MSN, RN-BC

February 13, 2023

As the beginning of a new year emerges, many people try to make New Year’s resolutions. According to Merriam-Webster, the definition of resolution is “something that is resolved,” in which resolved means “to deal with successfully,” almost as though changes are instantaneous. Yet, most resolutions that come in the form of dieting and exercise have been developed from habits that are learned over years and decades. To expect an immediate change of habits that have occurred over such a length of time may be a lofty goal.

Lin, Wood, and Monterosso [1] published an article that discussed concepts surrounding the ability to maintain healthy eating habits. Established theories incorporate self-control, exerting willpower, and attempting to conquer short-term gratifications. However, the authors explained that these efforts can be futile, counterproductive, and unsustainable due to the rigid control a person must use.

How do habits form? A person makes choices based upon their routine patterns. When a certain reminder appears in the environment, there is an association that the mind makes. Then, a response occurs. As these behaviors occur repeatedly, the actions form to memory, regardless of the intention or goal. Approximately 45% of eating activities are due to habits.

The authors imply that habits must be relearned to engage in healthier options. When the environmental cue happens, the mind will automatically react to the healthy choice, such as eating fruit after a meal. Other examples are consuming smaller portions or choosing a healthier option.

Lally and coauthors further explored this idea [2]. Their research investigated the relationship between repetition, automaticity, and the time that habit formation occurs. They were interested in expanding the ideas of Clark L. Hull, who proposed that repetition and habit acquisition follow an asymptotic curve in which early repetitions succeeded in the most gains that later slowed to a plateau.

The research consisted of 96 university student participants who chose a healthy eating, drinking, or exercise behavior that they wanted to adopt. The choice was required to be something that was new to the participant, could be performed with a certain cue, and needed the cue to be something that happened just once daily. The results of the study showed that 27 selected an eating behavior, 31 a drinking behavior, 34 an exercise behavior, and 4 another behavior (like meditation). Examples included eating a piece of fruit or drinking a bottle of water with lunch. Fourteen participants dropped out. The average time a habit formed in this sample was 66 days, although ranged from 18 to 254 days. The authors concluded, “the range of times to reach a plateau shows that it can take a large number of repetitions for an individual to reach their highest level of automaticity for some behaviors” (p. 1008).

Author James Clear of Atomic Habits shares that habits occur in four different stages: cue, craving, response, and reward [3]. These stages create a feedback loop. The brain is first triggered to initiate a behavior due to a cue it receives from the environment, like noticing a reward. Next, the craving happens. This is a motivation or desire to create a change within oneself, such as wanting the reward. Third, the response takes place, which is the actual habit behavior. Last, the response obtains the reward, which brings satisfaction. Habits happen all the time: turning on the lights when the room is dark or tying one’s shoes.

Clear suggests that to create a good habit, the cue must be obvious, the craving must be attractive, the response must be easy, and the reward must be satisfying. To change bad habits, the cue must be invisible, the craving unattractive, the response difficult, and the reward unsatisfying. An instantaneous resolution may be short-lived, but adopting positive health-changing habits could be the key to a healthy new year.

References

1.  Lin, P. Y., Wood, W., & Monterosso, J. (2016). Healthy eating habits protect against temptations. Appetite, 103, 432-440. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2015.11.011

2.  Lally, P., Van Jaarsveld, C. H., Potts, H. W., & Wardle, J. (2010). How are habits formed: Modelling habit formation in the real world. European Journal of Social Psychology, 40(6), 998-1009. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.674

3.  Clear, J. (2019) How to start new habits that actually stick. In J. Clear, Atomic habits, Penguin Random House USA. https://yourknow.com/uploads/books/The_3_Rs_of_Habit_Change__How_To_Start_New_Habits_That_Actually_Stick.pdf