Understanding Habits
A habit is the body’s brilliant way of conserving energy by cutting down on the number of decisions we make every day.
When you do something new, you’re using the prefrontal cortex, or “thinking”, part of your brain. If you continue to do that thing over and over, the brain will build pathways that establish in the “memory” part of the brain or basal ganglia.
Consider the act of tying your shoes. When you were first learning to tie your shoes, you had to concentrate on making the loops the right size and holding the laces with the right amount of firmness to tie a solid bow. Now, you can tie your shoes while you’re talking on the phone and standing on one leg.
Driving a car, taking a shower, or brushing your teeth are all things that we do largely out of habit and with little conscious effort. Thank you, basal ganglia.
Our health practices can also be rooted in habits we have set to unconscious memory. Understanding how we can break and make a habit is key to our success in establishing new healthy habits and getting rid of unwanted ones.