What is a habit? It’s a behavior that is routine and occurs without thinking.

Take your pick of new books about changing habits: 1) The Self-Care Solution by Dr. Jennifer Ashton, physician/nutritionist – a year of monthly new health habits attempted by the author; 2) Tiny Habits by BJ Fogg, Ph.D. – an in-depth workbook focused on creating tiny habits. (I especially liked the examples of tiny habits in the book and at TinyHabits.com/1000recipes); or 3) Good Habits, Bad Habits by Wendy Wood – a deep dive into research about habit formation with many examples.

According to a 2015 US. News and World Report article, 80% of New Year’s resolutions fail by the second week of February. Listening to a podcast was this good piece of advice about changing habits from Dan Buettner, who looked at longevity in parts of the world called ‘Blue Zones: “Change your environment, change your habits.”

**How long it takes to form a habit – in one study it took an average of 66 days for a behavior to become automatic but the range was 18 to 254 days. Other considerations…the person, the behavior and the context.

**How long does it take for a new behavior to become a new habit confirms the study results above and also reminds us that pleasure-based habits are harder to change. One way to help change a habit is by looking at the cues that prompt the behavior – people, environment, activities – so that you can break the link.

**Creating healthy habits suggests knowing your habits, making a plan, staying on track and focusing on the future.

**SMART goals for lifestyle change outlines each part of SMART goals: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Time-based.

**Hale and hearty policies: how psychological science can create and maintain healthy habits looks at the ways policies can support habit formation or habit disruption to support government goals such as Healthy People 2020.

Podcasts

**Hidden Brain: Creatures of Habit w/Wendy Wood, author of Good Habits, Bad Habits (Dec. 30 ep, 51 min.): The Science of Making Positive Changes That Stick explores how to create good habits, do away with bad habits (create ‘friction’ or take ‘friction’ away such as joining a gym that isn’t so far to drive to). I liked her description of sleeping in running clothes so she could get up in the morning and run!

**CBS This Morning (Jan. 1, 2020, 5 min.) Turning your New Year’s resolution into a habit w/James Clear author of Atomic Habits

**Minnesota Public Radio (Dec. 26 ep, 50 min.) How to make new habits that stick in 2020 w/Gretchen Rubin includes: make resolutions specific and concrete; know yourself (if you’re not a morning person, exercising in the morning may not work and if you aren’t into moderation (1 square of chocolate allowed) then you may be an abstainer (no chocolate works best).

**KERA – (Jan. 8 ep, 48 min.) Strategies for keeping those New Year’s resolutions: Dr. Jennifer Ashton, physician/nutritionist, author of The Self-Care Solution – A Year of Becoming Happier, Healthier and Fitter One Month at a Time, shares her experiences (successful and not-so-successful) setting monthly goals such as increased plant-based eating, drinking more water and cutting back on sugar.

Apps

**6 great apps to build new apps (all are free) @ https://www.reviewgeek.com/2660/6-great-apps-to-build-new-habits/

**Food and Nutrition magazine (The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics) – apps reviewed by RDNs @ https://foodandnutrition.org/tag/apps/