Étiquette : cognition

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Building habits (part 4): the joyful path to lasting change

When it comes to personal development, there’s a common misconception that building habits requires an iron will and unyielding discipline. While discipline can be helpful, it’s not the sole or even the most effective method for creating lasting habits. Forcing yourself to do something is not the recipe for success.

In fact, building habits that stick often requires a healthy dose of enjoyment. When we find something enjoyable, the neurotransmitter dopamine is released in our brain. Dopamine plays a crucial role in building habits and, more broadly, in the process of habit formation.

Here’s how dopamine is involved in the habit-building process.

  1. Reward system activation: Dopamine is closely associated with the brain’s reward system. When you engage in a behaviour that your brain perceives as rewarding or pleasurable, such as eating a delicious meal, completing a task, or achieving a goal, dopamine is released. This release of dopamine creates a positive feeling and reinforces the behaviour, making you more likely to repeat it in the future.
  2. Associative learning: Dopamine helps establish associations between a specific cue or trigger and the reward associated with a behavior. When you engage in a behaviour that is followed by a dopamine release, your brain begins to link the cue or context with the positive feeling of reward. Over time, this association becomes stronger, making it more likely that you will engage in the behaviour when exposed to the same cue or context.
  3. Motivation and desire: Dopamine is involved in motivation and desire. It can increase your drive to pursue goals and engage in activities that you find rewarding. This motivation can be especially helpful when you’re trying to establish new habits, as it can make you more inclined to initiate and stick with them.
  4. Habit loop reinforcement: As a habit forms, it becomes a part of a habit loop, which consists of a cue, a routine, and a reward. Dopamine plays a central role in this loop by reinforcing the connection between the routine (habit) and the reward. The anticipation of the reward, driven by dopamine, motivates you to perform the habit consistently.
  5. Craving and anticipation: Dopamine is involved in the anticipation of rewards. This means that even before you engage in a habit, your brain may release dopamine in response to the expectation of the reward associated with that habit. This anticipation can drive you to perform the habit to experience the reward, further solidifying the habit.
  6. Habit formation: Over time, as you repeatedly engage in a habit, the release of dopamine becomes increasingly associated with that habit. This makes the habit more ingrained and automatic because your brain has learned to associate the behaviour with a positive outcome (the dopamine release).

To conclude, instead of forcing yourself into doing something that you don’t want to do, find a way to make this change enjoyable. Listen to a podcast while you run or do the dishes, brew your favourite tea while you calculate your taxes, set up a nice table for your meal…

Find the rest of the « building habits » series here.

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Blog In season

Berry bliss: harnessing the health bounty of blackberry season

I’m thrilled to welcome the arrival of blackberry season. These plump and juicy gems not only tantalise our taste buds but also offer a host of health benefits that make them a must-add to your summer menu. Let’s explore the scientific evidence that highlights the remarkable health advantages of indulging in these seasonal delights.

Antioxidant Powerhouse: Blackberries are bursting with antioxidants, which play a crucial role in protecting our cells from oxidative stress and preventing chronic diseases. The presence of compounds like anthocyanins gives blackberries their deep hue and delivers potent antioxidant properties.

A study published in the « Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry » emphasised the significant antioxidant capacity of blackberries, attributing it to their rich anthocyanin content. These antioxidants have been associated with a reduced risk of chronic diseases like heart disease and cancer.

Heart Health Hero: Including blackberries in your diet can be heart-smart. Their fiber, potassium, and antioxidant content contribute to maintaining healthy blood pressure, reducing inflammation, and supporting overall cardiovascular function.

A study in the « Nutrition Research » journal discovered that regular consumption of blackberries was linked to improved blood pressure levels due to their anthocyanin content, which promotes healthy blood vessel function.

Gut-Friendly Fiber: Blackberries are a fantastic source of dietary fiber, which aids in digestion, promotes regular bowel movements, and supports a healthy gut microbiome. A healthy gut is crucial for overall well-being and disease prevention.

The « Nutrients » journal emphasized the role of dietary fiber in maintaining gut health and preventing gastrointestinal disorders, highlighting the importance of including fiber-rich foods like blackberries in your diet.

Cognitive Wellness: The antioxidants in blackberries help combat oxidative stress and inflammation in the brain, potentially supporting cognitive function.

A study published in « Molecular Nutrition & Food Research » reported that the anthocyanins present in blackberries have neuroprotective effects, suggesting a positive impact on cognitive function and a potential reduction in cognitive decline.

To conclude, embrace the bounty of blackberry season not only for their delectable taste but also for the wealth of health benefits they bring to the table. From their antioxidant prowess to their heart-protective qualities, gut-friendly fiber, and potential cognitive support, blackberries truly earn their status as a superfood. Incorporate these delicious berries into your meals, snacks, and desserts to savour the seasonal goodness while nurturing your well-being.

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Building habits (part 3): essential rules

In the first article, I explained how habits rely on our brain autopilot and support our executive functions. Whatever is your goal, there are key rules when implementing your habits.

1 – Something is better than nothing

To form a new habit, you need to activate your neural networks. It means you need to stimulate them: doing something will, doing nothing won’t. Start small and build on.

2 – Consistency matters the most

When you start working on new habits, your executive brain is still activated and actions are very deliberate. As the new routine is implemented, the autopilot is activated. The more often you repeat the new action, no matter how small, the stronger and the more efficient the autopilot becomes. Eventually the autopilot takes over: the habit is formed.

This has to do with synaptic plasticity, which is as Wikipedia simply puts it « the ability of synapses to strengthen or weaken over time, in response to increases or decreases in their activity ». Repeated actions, over time, become habits. Random actions don’t.

3 – Repeated, « good enough » actions

When trying to form new habits, we sometimes set the bar too high, feel discouraged and can’t be consistent. Reduce your threshold of what is « good enough » to focus on small, achievable and sustainable actions that you can do consistently. This will activate the autopilot and embed the new habit.

In a few words, regular small steps will take you to your objective.

As I started a new job, one of my objectives is to build a routine around publishing articles here. I am aiming for one per week but need to find the right cues (time, place etc).

And you, are you trying to implement a new habit in your life?

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Building habits (part 2): key steps

In the first article I explained how habits support the executive functions of the brain. It is estimated that 40% of our actions rely on habits, this is why building habits that serve your goals is essential. Here are a few tips for that.

Tip 1: Identify the habit

The new habit or routine is the behaviour you want to start or change. This can be exercising, stop adding salt, walking more. I will take the example of my Saturday 8.30am yoga class.

Tip 2: Set reminders

One of the key aspects to forming a new habit is remembering everything you need to remember in order to follow through on your aspiration. Forgetting is easy, as our brains always take the easy way, the way of current habits 😉

In my case, I have 2 reminders for this yoga class: one to remember to book the class, and one popping on my phone 30mins before the class.

Tip 3: Start small

This means being specific, and to think of the when, where, how. My aim was not to go to yoga everyday, but to commit to this one, every Saturday. If you can’t proceed to your chosen habit (class cancelled, preferred food not available etc) , have an alternative so that your brain does not associate the reminder to nothing. My alternative to yoga is running. Anything is better than nothing.

Small actions are the seeds for the habit to grow, they activate your neuronal networks.

Tip 4: Reward yourself

We are wired to seek pleasure. Our brain releases « happiness » chemicals during reward, which help the remodelling of neuronal circuits and new habits to stick. We usually think of extrinsic rewards (money, food, objects) but intrinsic rewards work just as well: this feeling once you finish your run, the calm after yoga, learning a new skill, being more energised etc. Remember that the reward comes from the smallest action towards your goal, so the smallest step towards changing or building a habit is rewarding.

After my yoga class, I feel both relaxed and energised, I am (usually!) satisfied with the progress made, and seeing my teacher is a pleasure in itself.

Tip 5: Repetition

As you repeat an action, the new neuronal circuits reinforce and it starts to require less effort. With time, the action is transferred from executive brain, that requires a lot of mental energy, to the autopilot brain and it becomes easier and almost automatic.

And you, what habit would you like to build to achieve your goals?

My current challenge is to eat less salted butter to decrease my overall salt consumption 🙂

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Building habits (part 1) : why habits matter

Today’s post will be the first of a series about habits (and change). The objective is to give you an explanation of why we have habits, and how we can change them to make them literally work for us. Why do I write about habits here? Because a lot of our lifestyle choices (diet, exercise, alcohol consumption, smoking…) consist in habits, and if we want to make a lifestyle change last, having some basic knowledge in psychology and neuroscience can help. Let’s start by having a look at our brain.

Isaac Tobin/Dan Harris/ABC News

As human we have a uniquely large executive brain that support executive functions such as working memory, flexible thinking, impulse control, self monitoring, motivation, emotional control, willpower, planning, prioritisation and task management. These functions are future-oriented and enable us to make decisions according to our objectives.

Executive functions require a lot of mental energy, which can be drained by the demands of our busy, modern lives, leaving us feeling low.

This is where the autopilot, that sits deep within our brain, comes handy. The autopilot does not interact with motivation, it is made of habits. Habits are stimulus-response behavioural task, they are automatic. Brushing your teeth, going to the gym every Monday lunchtime, eating porridge at breakfast, adding salt to your food….

If our habits support our goals, we rely on autopilot more and have more mental energy available for our executive brain. We are more motivated, we perform better. When our habits don’t align with our objectives, our executive brain uses extra mental energy to suppress them, eventually we risk feel drained. The problem is that we cannot always replenish our mental energy enough, or reduce the demands of our executive brain.

Therefore, to cope with the demands of our busy lives, we can build habits that support our goals, while changing the habits that go in their way.

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Vitamin D and your brain

In the UK, vitamin D deficiency affects 23% of adults (21% in those over 65yo), in winter the prevalence even rises to 40% (29% in those over 65yo). Vitamin D is mainly known for its role in the regulation of calcium homeostasis and in bone integrity, but it also plays an important role in the brain and is even considered neuroprotective.

Vitamin D promotes amyloid metabolism and clearance, neuronal and synaptic growth and neurotransmission. Many studies show the association between low vitamin D status and cognitive impairment associated with ageing (dementia). More recently, a study looked at vitamin D in 4 areas of the brain, 2 associated with Alzheimer, 1 with dementia and 1 with no association to cognitive decline. They found that high concentration of vitamin D in the 4 areas were correlated with better cognitive function. In another study, MR analyses suggested a causal effect of vitamin D deficiency on dementia.

The exact mechanisms by which vitamin D acts on cerebral health are not yet elucidated, but one thing is certain: whether it is for your bones or brain, take your daily 10 microgram vitamin D supplement between October and March.