Build healthy habits
Building helpful new routines can make you feel happy and confident.
Do you ever find yourself doing something without thinking about it? We do lots of things out of habit rather than for any good reason. Learning to create healthy new habits can help you to reach your goals.
What is a habit? A habit is something you do often, almost without thinking. It could be helpful, like making your bed every day, or not helpful, like biting your nails. Scientists say that habits are formed in the brain and include a cause, action and a reward. If you have a habit of flopping on the sofa and watching TV when you get home from school, the cause would be coming home from school; the action is turning on the TV; and the reward might be the happy, relaxed feeling from watching your favourite programme. This good feeling makes your brain want to do the same thing after school the next day too, and over time it can become a habit.
How are habits good for you?
Turning something into a routine means you don’t have to think about it, which is good news when it’s healthy, like cleaning your teeth every morning, eating more fruit or exercising regularly. Good habits can help guard against bad ones too, such as worrying. The Week Junior reader Sadie, who is 11, finds her habit of playing with fidget toys reduces stress. “I do it when I watch telly, when I do my homework, in the car and at school,” she says. “They help me relax and concentrate.” Scientists believe that nearly half of everything we do every day is out of habit, so forming helpful habits is also a great way to help you to reach your goals.
How can you start to build healthy new habits?
Wellbeing campaigner Dr Radha Modgil tells BBC Ideas that it’s important to think about why you want to change. “What exactly do you want to achieve, and how are you going to do it?” she asks. When it’s time to begin, “Try the 1% idea, where every day you improve or change something by 1%. That way you start to see progress and you’re not put off by failure.” Remember that forming new habits isn’t always easy but it will be worth it in the end. “Changing habits can change your life,” says Modgil.