Introduction
The secrets of your daily routine are unlocked from a neurological perspective. We will be discussing the science behind habits and the fact that the human brain is wired to oppose change, even when that change is positive.
The Science Behind Habits
You probably have a routine of events that you do every morning so effortlessly that you can even do them when you are asleep. Like grabbing the smartphone, the direction towards the coffee machine, shoe tying, or going to the washroom. They are not simple preferences; they are the product of an advanced biological efficiency program. This article indicates that we do not make active decisions about most of the things we do every day, but rather, they are habits.
On the one hand, this cognitive automation makes us capable of doing complicated things such as driving a car without a toll on our mental strength, but alternatively, it has become a substantial obstacle when we strive to change. It is easy to put our failure to stop bad habits in terms of weak will or a flaw of character. Habit is not only psychological, but a fight against the physical pathways in the brain.
The Habit Loop: Cue, Routine, and Reward
The Habit Loop is a widely known concept popularised by the author of The Power of Habit, Charles Duhigg. This is a neurological three-part cycle that powers all our habits.
1. The Cue
The stimulus is an indicator that your brain receives to enter into the automated mode. The cues may be anything: a particular time of the day, a particular mood (stress or boredom), a specific physical location, or the appearance of certain people. The cue is the on-switch of the basal ganglia.
2. The Routine
This is the behaviour itself. It may be either physical (eating a cookie), mental (worry), or even emotional (getting angry). The most visible aspect of the loop is the routine, and, ironically, this aspect is the most difficult to alter directly.
3. The Reward
The brain makes the decision to reproduce this loop in the future because of the reward. It gives positive inspiration. This may be the sugar rush of a snack, the disbursement of social validation, or the temporary break of an unpleasant task.
The Neurochemistry of Craving: The Role of Dopamine
- This is because of a neurotransmitter named dopamine that makes habits form what is referred to as locked in our brains. During a considerable period of time, scientists thought that dopamine was concerned with pleasure. Now we have realised it is really all about anticipation and motivation.
- When you initially get a reward, e.g., a tasty bite of chocolate, your brain produces a spike of dopamine. But then, after the loop of habit is laid down, the dopamine spike occurs prior to the reward. As soon as you look at the Cue (the chocolate wrapper), your brain secretes dopamine in anticipation, and it forms a craving.
- Failure to receive the reward after the cue will cause the dopamine levels to drop, and this will result in frustration and withdrawal. It is this neurochemical itch that makes it physically uncomfortable to break a habit; you are literally struggling against a chemical craving, which has been conditioned by your brain to anticipate.
Neuroplasticity: Why Old Habits Never Truly Die
- Among the most shocking discoveries of habit science is the fact that the former habit loops do not really go away. Those studies involving rats in T-mazes revealed that the neurological circuit in the basal ganglia was not lost after a habit was extinguished by the absence of a reward. The old habit was reinstated at full force immediately the reward came back around.
- That is why it is erroneous to say that one breaks a habit. The truth is, you do not stop a habit, but you substitute it. Since the neurological groove is permanent, the aim of changing the habits is to maintain the original Cue and Reward and add a new Routine between them.
The Journey of 66 Days
There is a myth that 21 days are taken to establish a habit. Nevertheless, research conducted at the University College London reported an average of 66 days to learn a new behaviour to be automatic. The time frame will depend on the difficulty of the habit and the level of stress of an individual.
It is the science that tells us that consistency is more significant than perfection. One day off will not ruin the neural pathway you are forming, so long as you resume the routine the next day.
Conclusion: Working With Your Brain, Not Against It
That is why it is not easy to break our habits, simply because our brain is programmed to survive, not to be necessarily successful according to our modern understanding of this word.
The knowledge of the neurological fight between the prefrontal cortex and the basal ganglia eliminates the shame of the change process. With attention to the Habit Loop, dopamine cravings control, and the admiration of the boundaries of willpower, we can cease battling our biology and begin influencing it to the life that we desire to live.