Are you stuck in a rut? Do you find yourself falling back into the same old habits even though you want to adopt healthier ones? Whether you’re trying to quit smoking, kick your sugar habit, or stop
losing your temper, you need neuroscience on your side to help you do it.
Change is easy if you know how to do it.
HOW THE BRAIN DEVELOPS HABITS
When neurons fire together, they wire together, through a process called long-term potentiation (LTP), and habits and responses become an ingrained part of your life. LTP occurs when the brain learns something new, whether it’s good or bad, and causes networks of brain cells to make new connections. Early in the learning process, the connections are weak, but over time, as behaviors are repeated, the networks become stronger, making the behaviors more likely to become automatic, reflexive, or habitual. At this point, the networks are said to be “potentiated.”
BRAIN REGIONS INVOLVED IN HABIT FORMATION
Along with long-term potentiation, it’s important to know about two areas of the brain that are involved with flexibility and habit formation: the
anterior cingulate gyrus (ACG) and the
basal ganglia.
- ACG: Located deep in the frontal lobes the ACG allows us to shift our attention, go from thought to thought, move from idea to idea, see options, go with the flow, and cooperate. When the ACG is healthy, we tend to be flexible, adaptable, cooperative, and learn from our mistakes. When the ACG is overactive, often due to low levels of the calming neurotransmitter serotonin, people tend to get stuck on negative thoughts or negative behaviors and be uncooperative.
- Basal ganglia: Located deep in the brain, the basal ganglia are involved with integrating thoughts, emotions, and movement, which is why we jump when we get excited or freeze when we become scared. The BG may be involved in habit formation, according to studies. Research suggests that when the basal ganglia are overactive people tend to struggle with generalized anxiety, dislike uncertainty, and avoid conflict. With increased activity, there can be repetitive behaviors, such as tics, nail-biting, and teeth grinding, and compulsions, such as hand washing and checking locks.
7 STRATEGIES TO GET OUT OF A RUT
Strategy 1. Boost serotonin naturally.
When serotonin levels are low, the ACG and basal ganglia tend to be more active, which can inhibit change and contribute to inflexibility and getting stuck on negative thoughts or negative behaviors. To help calm these areas of the brain, increase serotonin. When you feel stuck in a rut:
- Exercise
- Try bright light exposure (studies show it increases cognitive flexibility)
- Eat tryptophan-containing foods (such as eggs, turkey, seafood, chickpeas, nuts and seeds, sweet potatoes, quinoa)
- Take nutritional supplements that can raise brain levels of serotonin (saffron, 5-HTP, and l-tryptophan)
Strategy 2. Define what you want and why.
To help the front part of your brain lead the way, it helps if you clarify which behaviors you want to change. Your brain makes happen what it sees. What ruts would you like to turn into superhighways of success? Write them out. Create a vivid and believable “Future of Success” in detail. Define what you want, then ask yourself
“does it fit?”—is your behavior getting you what you want?
If not, be clear with yourself that every time you engage in the wrong behavior, it is strengthening your brain to do the wrong thing. Whenever you do the right thing, it is beginning to strengthen those circuits instead. Practice does not make perfect. It makes the brain do what you practice. Perfect practice makes perfect.
Strategy 3. Assess your readiness for change.
Are you ready to change to eliminate the ruts in your life? Ambivalence and uncertainty are the enemies of change.
Strategy 4. Know what you need to do.
What are the new behaviors you need to master to be successful? For any problem, such as losing weight, overcoming an
addiction, calming your temper, or
getting distracted, it is critical to know which important behaviors will help you reach your goal, then practice them over and over.
Strategy 5. Develop “if-then” plans to overcome your vulnerable moments.
It’s important to know your most vulnerable moments. Once you identify them, you can create contingency plans to overcome unwanted behaviors. Psychology professor Peter Gollwitzer from New York University has published extensive
research on behavior change. He recommends that people create “if-then” scenarios that spell out how they’ll break unwanted habits. If x happens (situation), then I will do y (pre-planned action). For example, IF I am tempted to eat unhealthy foods, THEN I’ll at least eat the healthy ones first.
According to research in
Social Neuroscience, using this simple technique has been shown to increase activity in the prefrontal cortex, the brain’s supervisor, which can help override the brain’s automatic or reflexive behaviors from the ACG and basal ganglia.
In a similar way, the two most important words in the English language when it comes to brain health are “then what.” If I do this, then what happens? Thinking ahead helps to prevent a lot of unwanted trouble.
The two most important words in the English language when it comes to brain health are “then what.” If I do this, then what happens?—Amen Clinics
Strategy 6. Reframe your pain.
If you’re ever going to succeed at changing, you have to disarm your impulses and make the right choices pleasurable. The only way you can sustain change is to change what brings you pleasure! Learn how to find what you love about not being inebriated, or identify great low-calorie, highly nutritious food. Learn to find what you love about exercise. Mindset is key.
Strategy 7. Turn accomplices into friends.
The people you spend time with matters! Cultivating bad habits—and good ones—is a team sport. Accomplices are people who encourage or are complicit with your negative behaviors. Bad habits need lots of accomplices to start and sustain them. Friends, mentors, or coaches are people who support your positive behaviors. Ask for their help. Adding friends improves your chances for success up to 40%, and this is especially true for weight loss and fitness.
If you have bad habits that are causing problems in your everyday life, relationships, or career, it’s important to seek treatment. The neuropsychiatrists, functional medicine physicians, and nutritionists at Amen Clinics can help.
At Amen Clinics, we’re here for you. We offer in-clinic brain scanning and appointments, as well as mental telehealth, remote clinical evaluations, and video therapy for adults, children, and couples. Find out more by speaking to a specialist today at 888-288-9834 or visit our contact page here.
