The Science of Making & Breaking Habits | Episode 53
Main Takeaways
Habits are learned by our nervous system and can be either conscious or unconscious.
Neuroplasticity is the foundation for forming new habits and creating new pathways in our brain.
Two types of habits are goal-based and identity-based habits, and the time it takes to form a habit can vary from person to person.
Overcoming limbic friction is key to forming a new habit, and the goal is to achieve automaticity.
Habit strength is measured by how context-dependent a habit is and how much energy is needed to overcome action.
Visualization can help build habits by creating a sequence of steps that need to happen for an outcome to occur.
Task bracketing can set a neural imprint in our brain that a habit needs to occur at a certain point during the day, which makes the habit more likely to occur.
Leveraging our body's natural rhythms can help us build and keep new habits, with different phases of the day being more conducive to certain habits.
Deep sleep is critical to wiring neural circuits required for building habits.
The reward-prediction error system predicts whether rewards are going to come, and the amount of dopamine released is greater if the reward is unexpected.
