We're facing major issues in our world today: society has been gravitating towards more unhealthy habits such as becoming accustomed to a sedentary lifestyle, excessive consumption of addictive foods (like ultra-processed foods packed with high fructose syrup, trans fats, sodium, MSG, etc.), indulging in endless amounts of empty media content, and a spike in recreational drug use.🍸 These trends are having a detrimental impact on our health, as evidenced by alarming rates of obesity and mental illness, which includes conditions like depression, anxiety, and eating disorders.
We all see what’s going on around us but we often willingly participate in these negative activities, establishing destructive habits along the way. After all, we already know that eating candy is bad for us, and that reading a book is much more enriching than binge-streaming vacuous reality shows all night long.📺
But why is it so difficult to adopt healthy habits then?
The answer is: Our reward system 🪙
Neuroscientists discovered that our brains have a reward system governed by a chemical called dopamine, which is what drives us to follow certain behaviors because it predicts whether or not a behavior will bring us pleasure. 😋
This process is triggered when we encounter a signal or stimulus that prompts us to take action, ultimately resulting in a reward.
For example:
When we smell the aroma of freshly brewed coffee wafting from the doors of our favorite coffee shop (signal) → We walk in and order our morning coffee ☕ (action) → We enjoy a hot, energizing drink 😋 (Reward).
When we look at the clock and see that it's 9:00 p.m ⏰ (signal) → We turn the TV on 📺(action) → We enjoy a favorite program of ours(reward)
When we leave work stressed-out 😵(signal) → We grab a cigarette from our bag 🚬(action) → We smoke it(Reward).
All basic life maintenance activities (feeding, sleeping, and reproducing) are pleasurable because they encourage the release of dopamine!
This mechanism has facilitated our ability to survive by developing habits. Additionally, there is a unique aspect to habit formation in that once the action becomes established, it becomes completely automatic. This is why performing habitual actions requires minimal mental effort, the purpose of forming habits is to conserve brain energy. 🧠That's why it can be challenging to establish a new habit at first, but with repetition, it becomes automatic, requiring little to no conscious effort at all.
Recreational drugs, sugary foods and meaningless internet content all create a surge of dopamine in the brain because they provide us with instant gratification 😋. Plus, we also get a hit of opioids, which help us feel even better, keep our emotions in check, and ease any sense of bad emotions. 😞
However, healthier habits yield better rewards in the long term:
A great read won't give you satisfaction until you've flipped through a few pages! 📖
You won't start feeling tough until you've hit the gym for a couple of weeks!💪🏼
You won't start speaking another tongue until you've studied and practiced for a few months! 💁🏼♂️
Ya'll can see it's easier to throw in the towel with 'em. Frustration, forgetfulness, and lack of motivation can start to kick in! 😩
No one said it would be easy, but it is possible!
Relying solely on willpower won't result in long-lasting changes. To make a genuine change, one must adopt a new routine.
With our program, our recipies and our habit tracker we provide a wealth of information supported by scientific evidence to help you cultivate and maintain positive habits.📱
We hope you enjoyed this article! See you soon!😊
Article written by Laura Guinovart Martín, certified Dietitian and Nutritionist; Specialized in TCA, Obesity and Food Development and Design; Nº Col:CAT002123
