Why habit loops could be the key to healthier living

We’re sticking to our resolutions this year

If you’re struggling to stick to new healthier habits, there’s still hope. A clinical psychologist says ‘habit loops’ can help us understand our bad habits so that we can break them and replace them.

Already frustrated by how hard it is to stay on track with your New Year’s resolutions? 

Breaking old habits can be hard and establishing new ones can be even harder. But there are ways to trick your brain into forgetting about old habits, shifting focus to the new.

So if you’re keen to live healthier in 2025 but keep finding yourself slipping into your old ways, you may want to try implementing habit loops into your day.

What are habit loops?

Journalist Charles Duhigg explained the concept of habit loops in his book The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business.

He describes the habit loop as the key to figuring out why and how habits form. The model has three main components: the cue, the routine and the reward. 

The cue

The thing that triggers you to practise the old habit. These include location, time, your current emotional state, the people around you and your last action.

The routine

This is the actual habit or behaviour that the cue triggers you to keep doing. You might not even be aware that they are established habits – like when you realise you’re bored so you immediately scroll through social media, or you’re tired so you make yourself a coffee. 

The reward

The reward is the result of this behaviour, like the dopamine release you feel after going to the gym, or less pleasantly, the tiredness you feel after staring at videos on your phone until 1 am. 

This is the actual habit or behaviour that the cue triggers you to keep doing. You might not even be aware that they are established habits – like when you realise you’re bored so you immediately scroll through social media, or you’re tired so you make yourself a coffee. Image: Getty

Clinical psychologist and founder of The Anxiety Clinic, Dr Jodie Lowinger tells Body+Soul “When repeated often enough, the loop becomes automatic. Over time, the brain learns to associate the cue with the reward, reinforcing the behaviour.”

Why habit loops work when building healthy routines

Lowinger says habit loops are great for establishing healthy routines, as they “work based on the brain's ability to make repetitive behaviours more automated. Once a behaviour is encoded in our brain, it requires less mental effort, making it easier to repeat.”

But we need to be clear on our goals if we want to make our new habits stick. The expert says “A habit loop wouldn’t necessarily be activated if the cue was inconsistent or unclear. For example, a vague goal like “exercise more” lacks a specific trigger to initiate the habit.”

“Habits might also fail when the reward is delayed, insignificant or unsatisfying. This is known as ‘delay of gratification’”, she adds.

But we need to be clear on our goals if we want to make our new habits stick. The expert says “A habit loop wouldn’t necessarily be activated if the cue was inconsistent or unclear. For example, a vague goal like “exercise more” lacks a specific trigger to initiate the habit.” Image: Pexels

How long does it take to break a habit?

She tells Body+Soul that the time it takes to break a habit can be different for everyone. “Long-standing habits tend to have stronger neural pathways and can take more time and effort to break”, she says. 

“Similarly, habits tied to emotional needs, such as comfort eating, drinking or smoking, might also be harder to break because they might be serving as coping mechanisms for other underlying issues. As such, breaking a habit isn’t necessarily about hitting a specific number of days but about consistently interrupting the old habit loop and reinforcing a new one until it becomes automatic.”

If you're struggling to establish your new routines, the clinical psychologist has some helpful tips:

“Similarly, habits tied to emotional needs, such as comfort eating, drinking or smoking, might also be harder to break because they might be serving as coping mechanisms for other underlying issues. Image: Pexels

Keep your goals realistic

She suggests “focusing on manageable steps rather than trying to overhaul your entire lifestyle”, like challenging yourself to eat one serving of vegetables with each meal instead of setting yourself the goal of simply ‘eating healthier’.

Regularly remind yourself of your new habit

Tools like sticky notes, alarms or taking your gym gear with you when you leave the house can support your new habit.

“Habit stacking, or linking a new habit to an established one, can also be helpful”, she insists. “For example, if you already brush your teeth every morning, you might add 5 minutes of meditation immediately afterwards.”

Be accountable

Share your goals with your friends, family or coach so someone else can check in on your progress.

The expert reminds us that “patience and persistence are essential”, so be kind to yourself and remember to reward yourself as you go.

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Originally published as Why habit loops could be the key to healthier living