MANAGE YOUR STRESS
Many habits or vices involve the brain’s reward system – otherwise known as dopamine! Dopamine is a feel-good chemical that transmits signals between neurons in the brain. When we eat sugar, consume caffeine or alcohol (or whatever your vice is) – you’re flooded with an instant dopamine hit. Therefore, a leading proponent as to why it is so easy to form bad habits in the first place.
Dopamine is much more likely craved when you’re particularly stressed. Our brains are hard-wired to want to reduce the stressor, and if you’ve gotten into the habit of masking the stress with a dopamine hit. Then, naturally, your brain will search for that dopamine hit.
When addressing stress – I can appreciate this is a challenging task. First and foremost, assess your sleep. Exercise regularly and opt for stress management techniques like meditation. Meditation doesn’t have to mean sitting quietly and focusing on your breath. It can be playing sports with friends, going for a walk phone free or lying in a sauna. Putting more time and effort into these three tools will dramatically affect your willpower and overall health.
UNDERSTAND YOUR CUES AND TRIGGERS:
Habits consist of three main parts: A cue, a routine, and a reward.
Cues, often referred to as triggers – are the events that will initiate the urge to partake in a habit. When you walk in the door at 6 pm after a day of work, maybe it’s immediately pouring yourself a glass of wine. If you’re on a work break, you might order that second or third coffee. You’re much more likely to partake in a bad habit if you’re oblivious to what your triggers are in the first place.
Awareness is critical here. Understanding what sets you off in wanting to partake in the habit in the first place allows you to either remove the trigger entirely or ensure you have an alternative swapped in so you leave no room for failure.
STOP SUPPRESSING, START SWAPPING:
Rather than mindlessly assuming you’ll be able to stop partaking in a particular habit suddenly. It is essential to swap something else in to compensate for the behaviour.
“We are action-oriented creatures,” says Professor Burkeman from the University of Oregon. Various studies now suggest that the more we attempt to suppress our thoughts, the more likely we will give in and revert back to the original habit. The 2008 study below found that participants who tried to eliminate chocolate and suppress their thoughts around eating chocolate then experienced a rebound effect where they consumed much more chocolate than those who didn’t attempt to eliminate it.
If you tell yourself to stop thinking about chocolate, your brain still hears “chocolate”. So, instead of not consuming anything, you could have better quality, lower sugar options available on hand.
Burkeman also suggests that if the cue that initiates the trigger will always be there (i.e. walking in the door at 6 pm, then prompting you to pour a drink) – then having an alternative to the negative behaviour (swapping the wine for sparking water). It will allow your mind to have something to resort to, especially when it heads into autopilot.
Swapping out our habits doesn’t have to be complicated. It can be as simple as swapping a regular coffee to a decaf or changing a few brands of ingredients to minimise sugar intake. However, you need a combination of awareness and an alternative solution to succeed.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0195666307003674
Schultz, W. (2001). Book review: Reward signaling by dopamine neurons. The neuroscientist, 7(4), 293-302.
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