03.03.20 Making New Habits Stick

Changing habits and adopting new healthier practices is a large part of the advice that we give to patients in recovering from injuries. Find below some great tips from an article by Tara Parker-Pope in the New York Times using evidence-based research,on how to successfully incorporate new healthy habits into your life.

Stack a New Habit on an Existing Habit

Many of us have engrained morning and evening habits and this is often a good opportunity to add in something new that you’d like to make a habit. Maybe do a 1-minute balance exercise while you’re waiting for the kettle to boil for your morning coffee? Evening TV is a habit for many after a busy day – possibly do some squats or a yoga pose during an ad break?

Start Small

Many habits fail because we try to do take on too big a task – Experts suggest starting with tiny habits to make the new habit as easy as possible in the beginning. An example would be starting with just a short walk at lunchtimes to encourage more exercise in your day.

Researchers found that the amount of time it took to form a new habit i.e. become automatic ranged from 18 to 254 days – The average was 66 days!

Make It Regular

Habits form faster when you do them more often so try and do it every day to start e.g. do one exercise daily to start an exercise habit – once the habit’s established you can build up the intensity.

Make It Easy

Clearing obstacles from the path of forming a new habit is especially useful. This might be putting your exercise gear by the bed to encourage some exercise first thing in the morning or clearing the house of junk food if you’re trying to build on a healthier diet habit.

Reward Yourself

Rewards are an important part of habit formation but some good habits can be slow to show change e.g a healthier exercising habit. Experts recommend adding in intermediate rewards to keep you motivated e.g listening to a pod-cast that you like while you’re working out or getting a friend to exercise with you.

See the Full Article Here

"The exercises you worked out for me were wonderful. They had an immediate effect so that by the end of the following week I actually had a pain-free day. Seeing you was really the turning point and I am extremely grateful."

AH