Changing a habit how long does it take

Therefore, he reasoned — deploying the copper-bottomed logic we've come to expect from self-help — the same must be true of all big changes. And therefore it must take 21 days to change a habit, maybe, perhaps! This is, of course, poppycock and horsefeathers, as a new study by the University College London psychologist Phillippa Lally and her colleagues helps confirm.

On average, her subjects, who were trying to learn new habits such as eating fruit daily or going jogging, took a depressing 66 days before reporting that the behaviour had become unchangingly automatic. Individuals ranged widely — some took 18 days, others — and some habits, unsurprisingly, were harder than others to make stick: one especially silly implication of the or day rule is that it may be just as easy to start eating a few more apples as to start finding five hours a week to study Chinese.

Another myth undermined by the study is the idea that when forming a new habit, you can't miss a day or all is lost: missing a day made no difference.

Indeed, believing this myth may be actively unhelpful, making it harder to restart once you fall off the wagon. It can take anywhere from 18 to days for a person to form a new habit and an average of 66 days for a new behavior to become automatic. The only timeline that matters is the one that works best for you.

Health Conditions Discover Plan Connect. Medically reviewed by Timothy J. Legg, Ph. If you want the quick answer. It ultimately depends on the habit in question. The psychology of forming a habit. Why it can be difficult to break a habit. While people often call habits "bad" or "good," Corsica recommends shifting your perspective on habits, and prefers the terms:.

If you are wondering whether you should try to break a habit, Corsica proposes evaluating whether the habit contributes to problems in your life, including the impact on your health, work, behavior, and relationships.

In these cases, it's worth the time and energy to break that habit. You may have heard that it takes 21 days to break a habit, a myth that originated in the s book Psycho-cybernetics. The book was written by cosmetic surgeon Maxwell Maltz, who claimed it took patients about 21 days to become accustomed to altered parts of the body, which eventually morphed into altered habits. The science suggests that habit change actually takes much longer to occur.

A small study found that it took anywhere between 18 to days to change habits. The study participants were asked to incorporate a healthy eating, drinking, or exercise habit of their choosing into their lives. On average, the study found that it took participants 66 days of repeatedly performing a habit before the habit became automatic. Missing a day to do the desired behavior did not hinder the habit-forming process, but repeating habits at a consistent time each day allowed people to form them quicker.

While consistency is key to altering habits, know that it's not a linear process — you may revert to old habits and have to start the process over again. Restraining yourself from habits you have urges to do is unsustainable, according to another study , and most likely won't lead to real habit change.