Forming a habit takes how long?

Research has revealed a relationship between practice and the automation of behavior.You want to create a new habit like exercising more, eating healthier, or blogging daily; then these actions must be repeated many times so that it becomes a habit (which does not require the control of consciousness?) Obviously it will depend on the type of habit you are trying to shape. your sincerity and dedication when pursuing goals.

But are there general guidelines for how long it takes before your behaviors become automated?

When you look up on google, you will find numbers like 21 and 28 days. The truth is there is no solid evidence for those numbers. The 21-day figure may come from a book published in 1960 by Dr. Maxwell Maltz. He noticed that people with limbs / arms, on average, need about 21 days to adjust to the loss of one limb and Dr. Maxwell thinks people need 21 days to adjust, adapt to some important changes. in life.

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But this is not related to habit formation.

There are several studies on this issue in an article published in the European journal of social psychology . Philippa Lally and colleagues at University college London have recruited 96 people interested in forming a new habit, such as eating a portion of fruit and lunch or running 15 minutes a day. Participants are asked daily about how they feel the level of automation of behavior ?

On average, automation behavior reaches a state of stability after about 66 days.

Although the average for 1 behavior to become automated is 66 days , the researchers also noted the time difference in forming different habits, from 18 days to 254 days.

For example, the habit of drinking 1 cup of water becomes automation happens very quickly, but the exercise style (lying down - sitting up 50 pieces) before breakfast requires more effort. Researchers also noticed the following:

1. The fact that you skip a day (not doing that) will not reduce your chances of forming a habit.

2. Some types of habits may take longer to practice.

Conclude

What the study reveals is that when we want to develop a habit, such as eating fruit daily or walking for 10 minutes daily, it may take more than 2 months to repeat the action. before that action becomes a habit.

Although research has shown that, ignoring a day without taking action, it does not compromise the long-term outcome, but what is repeated in the first time will strongly promote automation. of behavior.

And unfortunately there is no quick change, it only takes 21 days to form a new habit, unless you have only one goal in life to drink lots of water every day.