How Do You Form Healthy Habits?

The key is to form your goals around healthy habits — regular routines that become second nature. Research shows that people who consistently act in healthy ways in daily life do so out of habit.²

“To form a new habit, you have to rewire your brain a little,” says Professor John Weinman, an expert in health psychology and medication adherence from the at King’s College London.

“Habits are actions that are triggered by cues — whether that’s a certain time of day or a particular place or an activity. When you perform that action, you should have a good feeling, a positive affirmation that makes it more likely you’ll do it again … and again.”

You could try committing to a 30-minute walk every day for a week, either at the same time of day or after the same activity — for example, after having breakfast or lunch or after finishing your work.

Make it as enjoyable as you can so that you connect good habits with a reward. For instance, listen to music, the radio, or a podcast while you walk, or combine the walk with other interests, like taking photos.

How Long Does It Take to Form a Habit?

Now that you have a few great strategies to create new healthy habits, the next pressing question is: How many times will you have to intentionally practice these new habits before they become a natural part of your life — something you just do?

There’s a short answer, but it’s debatable.

According to the popular 21/90 rule, echoed by many self-help leaders, it takes 21 days to make a habit and 90 days for it to become a permanent lifestyle change.

While it’s encouraging to think that any change is possible in just three weeks, the reality is more complicated.

There’s no magic number of days to form a habit or make a lifestyle change, but there are strategies for establishing and maintaining them (in addition to what you’ve read so far).

Try This Strategy: Habit-Stacking

Habit stacking is a concept developed by in his book Tiny Habits: The Small Changes That Change Everything, and a term coined by in his book Habit Stacking.

Habit stacking helps new habits stick because it takes advantage of the connectedness of human behavior.

Here’s how you do it:

1. Take a habit you already have.
2. Think of a new habit you want to start.
3. Pair the habits together, repeatedly.
4. Eventually the new habit will become a natural part of your routine.

You can use this formula, which is specific and time-bound, to start habit stacking:

After I [habit you already have], I will [new habit].

There’s more to it, of course (self-discipline, accountability — all of that good stuff). But habit stacking helps you reach your goals by using the natural momentum of human behavior to your advantage.

To summarize: For long-term success, you want to set SMART, manageable goals that encourage you to be healthier. You then want to turn those goals into routines and reward yourself for doing them each day. The result may well be a healthy, life-changing habit.

What will your next one be?

References

¹ Clear, J. (2018). Atomic Habits. New York: Penguin Publishing Group.

² Wood, W., & Neal, D. T. (2016) Healthy through habit: Interventions for initiating & maintaining health behavior change. Behavioral Science & Policy, 2(1), pp. 71-83.