The Science of Making & Breaking Habits

**Andrew Huberman** (0:00)
welcome to the Huberman Lab podcast, where we discuss science and science-based tools for everyday life.
I'm Andrew Huberman, and I'm a professor of neurobiology and ophthalmology at Stanford School of Medicine. Today, we're talking all about habits. In particular, we're going to discuss the biology of habit formation and the biology of how we break habits. I think we can all appreciate the value of having habits. Habits organize our behavior into more or less reflexive action so we don't have to think too much about performing the various behaviors that, for instance, allow us to brush our teeth or which side of bed we roll out of in the morning. And then of course, habits can be more elaborate too. We can be in the habit of exercising at a particular time of day. We can be in the habit of eating certain foods. We can be in the habit of saying or not saying certain things. But of course, there are many habits that don't serve us well or that perhaps even undermine our immediate and long-term health goals and psychological goals. And even some habits that can really undermine our overall life goals. So today we're going to talk about making, meaning forming and breaking, meaning stopping various habits. There's a lot of information out there about habits. You'll find this in the popular sphere. There are books, there are articles, there are workshops and so forth. However, lesser known is that there's a whole neuroscience of habit formation and habit breaking and there's a whole field of psychology devoted to understanding habit formation and habit breaking. And within those scientific literatures, I think there are some real gems that at least to my knowledge, we haven't paid too much attention to in the popular sphere. So today we're going to talk about the biology of habit formation and habit breaking. I'm also going to spell out two specific types of habit formation and habit breaking programs. I'm going to boil these down to some very explicit steps that anyone can use. My reasoning for doing that is, first of all, it's the end of 2021 Many people are thinking about New Year's resolutions. They're thinking about leaving some things behind from 2021 and previous, and acquiring some new behaviors, taking on some new challenges and trying to bring new things to their lives. But regardless of when you're listening to this, the programs that I'll outline are grounded in the neuroscience and biology of habit formation. And they map very well to what the psychologists have described in terms of habit formation and breaking. So today you're going to learn a lot of science. You're also going to come away with some practical tools. And I'm certain that regardless of your present state or goals, there'll be something of value to you. Before we begin, I'd like to emphasize that this podcast is separate from my teaching and research roles at Stanford. It is however, part of my desire and effort to bring zero cost to consumer information about science and science related tools to the general public. In keeping with that theme, I'd like to thank the sponsors of today's podcast. Our first sponsor is Athletic Greens. Athletic Greens is an all in one vitamin mineral probiotic drink. I've been taking Athletic Greens since 2012, so I'm delighted that they're sponsoring the podcast. The reason I started taking Athletic Greens, and the reason I still take Athletic Greens once or twice a day is that it helps me cover all of my basic nutritional needs. It makes up for any deficiencies that I might have. In addition, it has probiotics, which are vital for microbiome health. I've done a couple of episodes now on the so-called gut microbiome and the ways in which the microbiome interacts with your immune system, with your brain to regulate mood, and essentially with every biological system relevant to health throughout your brain and body. With Athletic Greens, I get the vitamins I need, the minerals I need, and the probiotics to support my microbiome. If you'd like to try Athletic Greens, you can go to athleticgreens.com/huberman and claim a special offer. They'll give you five free travel packs plus a year supply of vitamin D3K2. There are a ton of data now showing that vitamin D3 is essential for various aspects of our brain and body health. Even if we're getting a lot of sunshine, many of us are still deficient in vitamin D3. And K2 is also important because it regulates things like cardiovascular function, calcium in the body, and so on. Again, go to athleticgreens.com/huberman to claim the special offer of the five free travel packs and the year supply of vitamin D3K2. Today's episode is also brought to us by Element. Element is an electrolyte drink that has everything you need and nothing you don't. 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That's lmnt.com/huberman and you'll get a free element sample pack with your purchase. They're all delicious. So again, if you want to try element, you can go to element, lmnt.com/huberman.