The science of breaking bad habits and cultivating good ones

Did you know that 70% of our waking behaviour is made up of habitual behaviour?

This means that everything we do on a daily basis from brushing our teeth first thing in the morning to scrolling on our phone last thing at night is a learnt habit. But what exactly are habits? How do we form them and is there a way to break bad ones? This blog will offer ways to form new, desired habits to encourage a bad-habit-free atmosphere in your home. 

Habits are things that our nervous system does, unconsciously and consciously, therefore habits can be learnt and equally, unlearnt. Learning is done through neuroplasticity which is the way our nervous system changes in response to experience. As we learn new things, the connections between our neurons change and form new circuits and pathways, meaning some habits are more or less likely to occur. The more you perform a task, the more your neural pathways will wire themselves to do that task. Thus, when a habit is learnt, our hormones, cells, and neural pathways support the development of that habit.

There are two types of habit formation:

1.     Immediate goal-based habits

These are habits that are designed to bring a specific outcome every time you do them, for example wanting to do 60 minutes of reading a day.

2.     Identity-based habits 

This is the larger overarching theme to the habit. In this context, the goal might be trying to improve your child’s reading comprehension. It illustrates the larger picture, linking immediate goals to the larger goal. 

American neuroscientist, Dr Andrew Huberman, devised a programme that involves dividing the day into three phases which has been scientifically proven to enforce habit formation.

Current research has discovered that you can build particular habits at particular phases of the day as these phases are associated with particular biological underpinnings such as hormones, that make it more likely for regular engagement over a long period of time. 

Phase one of the day is 0-8 hours after waking and there are particular neurotransmitters released at this time that cause a more action and focus oriented behaviour making it more likely to override any lack of motivation that stands in the way of performing a habit. Neurotransmitters such as norepinephrine and dopamine are elevated during this phase meaning the brain and body are in a state in which you’re more easily able to engage in activities that require a high degree of motivation and activation energy. During this phase, there are things you can do for your children to further support an alert state such as getting sunlight within 30 minutes of waking, cold exposure (in the form of going outside or a cold shower), and any kind of physical exercise. By placing the hardest habits in the morning, it will greatly increase the likelihood of those habits happening again.

In phase two, 9-15 hours after waking, dopamine and norepinephrine levels go down and serotonin starts to rise leading to a more relaxed state of being. During this phase, there are certain actions you can carry out that lend themselves to the generation and consolidation of different habits. This involves tapering the amount of bright light you view because neurons in the eye trigger alertness in the brain. Taking kids away from screens and turning off the main lights will help with this. Activities such as meditation and hot baths, lend themselves to this relaxed state of being. In this phase, you should be taking on more mellow habits that require little activation energy such as journaling or practising musical instruments. 

The third and final phase of the day, 15-24 hours after waking, is the phase just before and during sleep. Your environment should be dimly lit, and a low room temperature is beneficial for staying in deep sleep. Neuroplasticity occurs during this phase of the day and the brain is able to build those habits you’ve been working hard to achieve in phase 1 and 2. 

When carrying out certain tasks at the same points of the day, the whole nervous system shifts towards being able to predict when those habits will happen and they’ll start to come more naturally.  

Rewarding good behaviours 

Have you ever wondered why some habits stick effortlessly while others seem impossible to maintain? The answer lies within our brain’s reward molecule, dopamine. 

Reward-prediction error is the brain’s way of adjusting our actions and behaviour based on the anticipation of reward. When dopamine is released in response to a rewarding experience, neural circuits in the brain change, making it more likely to be repeated in the future. 

So how can we use this information in the context of habit formation? 

It all surrounds the sequence of events that precede and succeed the execution of a habit. Take bedtime for example. If your kids struggle with their bedtime routine, try shifting their focus to the moments leading up to bedtime. This could entail creating a relaxing bedtime environment: having a hot bath, reading a bedtime story or listening to soft music will help them wind down. Being consistent with this routine and ensuring that you reward the whole process will encourage reinforcement and will make the habit easier over time. 

Breaking habits 

Breaking bad habits is easier said than done, but understanding the underlying biological mechanisms can facilitate this. 

It is widely believed that cues in the form of post-it notes on the fridge or posters around the house effectively reduce bad habits. However, research has proven that this method is ineffective and in fact, monetary methods have been shown to promote incentivising behaviour change. This method involves replacing the bad habit with a good one. Take screen time for example. Subsequently placing a desired behaviour such as exercise or reading directly after screen time, will associate screen time with good behaviours. This process creates a cognitive and temporal mismatch, associating the execution of the old habit with the performance of beneficial behaviours. With consistency, you can dismantle the neural pathways that support undesirable habits, leading to a healthier lifestyle. 

The next blog will explore eating habits in particular and ways to encourage healthier eating within your family!

Author: Annabel Thomson