Phase-Based Habit Formation Leverages Neurochemistry and Task Bracketing

Key Quotes

"Habits are things that our nervous system learned but not always consciously sometimes we develop habits that we're not even aware of until they become a problem or maybe they serve us well who knows but the fact of the matter is that habits are a big part of who we are in fact it's estimated that up to 70 of our waking behavior is made up of habitual behavior so if habits are largely learned consciously or unconsciously we have to ask ourselves what is learning well learning is neuroplasticity neuroplasticity is simply the process by which our nervous system changes in response to experience but at the end of the day neuroplasticity is about forming new neural circuits new pathways by which certain habits are likely to occur and other ones are less likely to occur."

Andrew Huberman explains that habits are learned behaviors, often unconsciously, and constitute a significant portion of daily actions. He connects habit formation directly to neuroplasticity, which is the brain's ability to change and form new neural circuits based on experience. This highlights that habits are not static but are actively shaped by our nervous system.

"it turns out that there's excellent peer reviewed data on this there's a study published in 2010 first author lally l a l l y this study found that for the same habit to be formed it can take anywhere from 18 days to as many as 254 days for different individuals to form that habit so for those of you listening some of you might be thinking i can't believe it would take some people 254 days to get into that habit but as i said people are highly variable and if you can't form one habit easily it doesn't mean that you can't form other habits easily"

Andrew Huberman challenges the common notion that habits form in a fixed timeframe, citing a study that shows significant individual variability, ranging from 18 to 254 days. He emphasizes that this variability means some people may find habit formation easier than others, and this difference is not necessarily a reflection of their overall ability to form habits. This suggests that personalized approaches to habit formation are crucial.

"linchpin habits are certain habits that make a lot of other habits easier to execute now the sorts of linchpin habits that i'm referring to are always going to be things that you enjoy doing i'll just give you an example from my life i happen to like exercise not all forms of exercise but i happen to like resistance training and i happen to like running and for reasons that i'll get into a little bit later i place those activities typically early in the day because of the neurochemistry and the various types of hormones etcetera that are associated with performing those activities but i really place those activities under the umbrella of what i call linchpin habits why because those particular habits are easy to execute because i enjoy them but they also make a lot of other habits easier to execute things like being alert for work things like making sure that i get good sleep the night before things like hydration things like making sure that i eat the foods that are better for me than maybe some of the other foods that i would more reflexively reach to if i weren't doing that training"

Andrew Huberman introduces the concept of "linchpin habits," which are enjoyable activities that facilitate the adoption of other behaviors. He uses his own enjoyment of resistance training and running as an example, explaining that these habits not only are easy to perform due to personal preference but also positively influence other behaviors like alertness, sleep quality, and dietary choices. This highlights how foundational enjoyable habits can create a cascade of positive behavioral changes.

"procedural memory is holding in mind the specific sequence of things that need to happen in order for a particular outcome to occur let's say i want to get into the habit of making myself or someone else in my household a cup of espresso every morning i would actually think through each of those steps walk into the kitchen turn on the espresso machine draw the espresso walking through each of those steps from start to finish and it turns out just that simple mental exercise done once can shift people toward a much higher likelihood of performing that habit regularly not just the first time but as they continue out into the days and weeks that follow"

Andrew Huberman explains procedural memory as the internal sequence of actions required for a specific outcome. He suggests a tool for habit formation: mentally rehearsing the steps of a desired habit, such as making espresso. Huberman notes that this simple visualization exercise can significantly increase the likelihood of performing the habit consistently, demonstrating the power of mental rehearsal in solidifying new behaviors.

"task bracketing is what underlies whether or not a habit will be context dependent or not whether or not it will be strong and likely to recur even if we didn't get a good night's sleep the night before even if we're feeling distracted even if we are not feeling like doing something emotionally or if we are you know completely overwhelmed by other events if the neural circuits for task bracketing are deeply embedded in us meaning they are very robust around a particular habit well then it's likely that we're going to go out for that zone two cardio no matter what that we're going to brush our teeth no matter what"

Andrew Huberman describes task bracketing as a neural mechanism that determines a habit's context dependence and strength. He explains that when task bracketing is robustly embedded, the habit is more likely to be performed regardless of external factors like sleep quality or emotional state. Huberman uses examples like zone two cardio and brushing teeth to illustrate how strong task bracketing can lead to habitual behaviors occurring consistently, irrespective of circumstances.

"one of the challenges in breaking habits is that many habits occur very very quickly and so there isn't an opportunity to intervene until the habit has already been initiated and in some cases completed so it turns out that the key to generating long term depression in these pathways is actually to take the period immediately following the bad habit execution and in that moment capture the sequence of events not that led to the bad habit execution but actually to take advantage of the fact that the neurons that were responsible for generating that bad habit were active a moment ago and to actually engage in a replacement behavior immediately afterward"

Andrew Huberman addresses the difficulty of breaking habits due to their rapid execution. He proposes that the key to long-term habit change involves intervening immediately after a bad habit occurs. Huberman suggests leveraging the activated neural pathways from the recent bad habit by engaging in a replacement behavior right afterward, which helps to rewire the neural circuits associated with the undesirable behavior.