{"id":10044,"date":"2025-02-26T18:20:12","date_gmt":"2025-02-26T10:20:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/?p=10044"},"modified":"2025-02-26T18:43:55","modified_gmt":"2025-02-26T10:43:55","slug":"myth-busted-healthy-habits-take-longer-than-21-days-to-set-in","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/myth-busted-healthy-habits-take-longer-than-21-days-to-set-in\/","title":{"rendered":"Myth busted: Healthy habits take longer than 21 days to set in"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

We\u2019re nearly two months into 2025, but if you\u2019re struggling to hold onto your New Year\u2019s resolution, stay strong, as\u00a0University of South Australia\u00a0research shows that forming a healthy habit can take longer than you expect.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the first systematic review<\/a> of its kind, UniSA researchers found that new habits can begin forming within about two months (median of 59\u201366 days) but can take up to 335 days to establish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s an important finding that could inform health interventions to promote healthy behaviours and prevent chronic disease.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Australia,\u00a0chronic disease\u00a0contributes to a large portion of the disease burden. Many conditions, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, lung diseases and stroke, can be prevented by changing unhealthy habits or lifestyle factors.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

University of South Australia researcher,\u00a0Dr Ben Singh, says that contrary to popular belief, healthy habits take far longer than three weeks to lock down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAdopting healthy habits is essential for long-term well-being but forming these habits\u00a0\u2013\u00a0and breaking unhealthy ones \u2013 can be challenging,\u201d Dr Singh says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAt the beginning of the year, many of us are setting goals and making plans for the months ahead \u2013things like being more active, cutting back on sugar, or making healthier food choices \u2013 but while common wisdom suggests that it takes just 21 days to form such habits, these claims are not evidence-based.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn our research, we\u2019ve found that habit formation starts within around two months, but there is significant variability, with formation times ranging from four days to nearly a year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo, it\u2019s important for people who are hoping to make healthier habits not to give up at that mythical three-week mark.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The study of more than 2600 participants also found that certain factors can influence successful habit formation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen trying to establish a new healthy habit, success can be influenced by a range of things including how frequently we undertake the new activity, the timing of the practice, and whether we enjoy it or not,\u201d Dr Singh says.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf you add a new practice to your morning routine, the data shows that you\u2019re more likely to achieve it. You\u2019re also more likely to stick to a new habit if you enjoy it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPlanning and intending to complete a new behaviour can also help solidify a new habit, so make sure you continue to make time to include your new healthy habits into your everyday activities. This could be as easy as laying out your gym clothes the night before a morning walk or having a healthy lunch ready to go in the fridge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTailoring habit-building strategies into our day and making plans on how we can achieve them, will put you in a position for success.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While more research is needed, researchers say that these findings can guide public health initiatives and personalised programs that support sustained and healthy behaviour change.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Planning and intending to complete a new behaviour can also help solidify a new habit, so make sure you continue to make time to include your new healthy habits into your everyday activities. This could be as easy as laying out your gym clothes the night before a morning walk or having a healthy lunch ready to go in the fridge.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":10049,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,3],"tags":[2258,1767,2048,19,2218],"class_list":["post-10044","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsmakers","category-spotlight","tag-brain-health","tag-dental-health","tag-good-life","tag-health","tag-high-life"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10044","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10044"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10044\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10050,"href":"https:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10044\/revisions\/10050"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10049"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10044"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10044"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10044"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}