What happens when…
Aiming to make 2023 the year you fill up that Moleskine diary? Here’s what goes on when a new activity starts to become second nature
01
Automatic activity
From blearily brushing your teeth to your commute macchiato, habits support our lives. ‘Habits are things we do automatically in particular situations because we’ve formed an association between the situation and that behaviour,’ says Dr Benjamin Gardner, reader in psychology at the University of Surrey and an expert in the psychology of habitual behaviour. Knowing that getting out of bed means you feed the cat saves mental resources that you can use on other things, he says.
02
Life in plastic
So how do you go from one 6am alarm to an early-rise routine? ‘When you start a new activity, the brain processes a lot of information, which requires energy,’ says Hana Burianová, professor of neuroscience at Bournemouth University and spokesperson for the wellbeing brand Healthspan. ‘But as you perform this activity over and over, the brain forms new connections thanks to neuronal plasticity – changes of the neural pathways.’ This turns habits into reflexes.
03
Treat yourself
Every time you log your morning 5K, your brain provides a reward. ‘The habit loop consists of a cue or trigger that reminds you to start the habit: a routine (the habit itself) and a reward,’ says Professor Burianová. The reward? The hormone and neurotransmitter d
