Did you know?
- Taking a cue-routine-reward approach can help you build a habit.
- Studies show that it takes an average of 66 days for a person to form a new habit.
Many of us want to eat better, be more fit, or increase our vitality. These are great goals, and one of the best ways to achieve them is to establish healthy habits.
What Is A Habit?
So let’s start at the beginning: what exactly is a habit? The Macmillan Dictionary defines a habit as “something that you do often or regularly, often without thinking about it.” It is a repetitive, automatic behavior. Habits can be healthy - like brushing your teeth every day or putting on your seatbelt – or unhealthy, like smoking. Many habits don’t fall into a specific category. For example, you may have the habit of checking your phone first thing in the morning.
How To Build A Habit
Do you want to create a healthy habit? While there are no quick habit-building hacks, there are several frameworks you can follow to help you reach your goal. One popular one was developed by Charles Duhigg. In his book “The Power of Habit”, he outlines a three-stage process to apply to any action you’d like to turn into a habit. It is based on research conducted by MIT that discovered that every habit consists of a loop: a cue, a routine, and reward. The components of this habit loop include:
Identify Your Cue
The first step in developing a habit is to identify a cue or trigger. It could be a certain time or location. For example, if you want to get into the habit of eating a certain supplement, your cue may be time-based. You want to consume a supplement in the morning. Another type of cue is location, such as when you go to a certain park you want to jog on the trail.
Create a Routine
The routine is the physical or mental action taken when triggered by the cue. In our examples it would be, every morning when you enter the kitchen you take a supplement with breakfast. Or every time you visit the park, you go for a jog.
Enjoy the Reward and Repeat
The reward is the benefit you receive from your behavior. Once you start to feel good about your actions, you’ll repeat it the next time you get your cue. A positive response reinforces your behavior, encouraging a cue-routine-reward loop and the formation of a new habit.
How Many Days Does It Take To Create A Habit?
While “21 days” is often touted as the time it takes to create a habit; the research revealed that is most often not the case. Studies show that it takes 18 to 254 days for a person to form a new habit, and on average, 66 days to develop an automatic behavior.3 So, if you want to build a healthy habit, be patient and try to stick it out to at least 66 days to help set yourself up for success.
Build Healthy Habits With CocoaVia
Kick off your journey to a healthier lifestyle with CocoaVia. When you make a daily habit of incorporating our cocoa extract supplements into your diet, you’ll experience the health benefits of cocoa flavanols. Cocoa flavanols are heavily studied plant-based nutrients found in natural cocoa beans. Over two decades of research has shown that, when taken daily, cocoa flavanols can offer a range of benefits.
Cocoa flavanols increase your body’s natural supply of nitric oxide, keeping your arteries healthy and flexible, and promoting healthy blood flow. Cocoa flavanols have been proven to improve memory and allow oxygen and nutrients to move more easily throughout your entire body, so your muscles and tissues get what they need to perform at their best.
Start building healthy habits with CocoaVia and shop our supplement selection today.
