Understanding the habit loop: Change your habits

Do you find yourself doing things, just because that’s what you’ve always done?We introduce you to the habit loop.

Habits are behaviours that are repeated so often, they become almost subconscious—they’re part of your routine and can be tricky to break. Some habits will be positive (like putting your seatbelt on when you get into a car), while others can be more problematic (like pouring a glass of wine when you get home from work).

In order to disrupt unhelpful habits and replace them with healthier routines, it helps to understand how habits work, and what you can do to stop them in their tracks.

How do habits work?

Habits can be defined as actions that are automatically triggered in response to a contextual cue—for example:

• Using the toilet → washing your hands

• Hearing your alarm in the morning → reaching for your phone

• Getting home from work → pouring a glass of wine

Research has shown that if a behaviour is repeated regularly in response to a certain cue, it gets learned and becomes embedded.

It makes sense if you think about how much your brain has to do each day. Habitualising mundane actions helps:

• Save mental energy for more complex tasks

• Keep capacity in reserve in case we need to respond to danger (that old evolutionary chestnut)

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The problem arises when a negative behaviour becomes habit—like smoking, mindlessly scrolling on your phone, or automatically drinking when you feel stressed or bored.

The habit loop

The habit loop is made up of three primary components:

1. Cue – the trigger that initiates the habitual behaviour

2. Routine – the behaviour that follows the cue

3. Reward – the payoff that reinforces doing it again next time

For example:

• You notice the clock shows 1pm (cue)

• You decide it’s lunchtime and make something to eat (routine)

• You feel satisfied and energised after eating (reward)

Another example:

• You get home after a stressful day (cue)

• You pour a glass of wine (routine)

• You feel a brief sense of relief or “switching off” (reward)

The cue → routine → reward loop is what keeps the habit running.

Changing negative habits

In theory, breaking a habit sounds simple:“Just stop doing the behaviour.”

In reality, it’s rarely that easy.

For example, if you find yourself picking up your phone and endlessly scrolling through social media whenever you get slightly distracted at work, it isn’t as though you can just throw your phone away and be done with it.

Instead, if you can identify:

• The cue that triggers the behaviour

• The routine that follows

• The reward you’re really chasing

…then you can start to change the loop.

Example

• Cue: You feel bored or hit a lull in your working day

• Routine: You pick up your phone and scroll

• Reward: Your mind is occupied and you get a short break from work

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To change this, you could:

• Put your phone a metre or two out of reach, so you have to consciously decide to get it

• Replace the routine with something else that gives a similar reward (e.g. a quick stretch, a 5-minute walk, a glass of water, or a short breathing exercise)

• Change the reward by promising yourself something pleasant if you don’t touch your phone until a set time (e.g. a sweet treat, a walk outside, or a favourite podcast in your break)

You’re not just “stopping the behaviour”, you’re rewiring the loop.

How we use the habit loop

The habit loop is one of the behaviour change concepts we explore in our challenges. It’s important to understand the cause-and-effect relationship between cues and drinking behaviours in order to change them.

We pay particular attention to identifying the triggers (cues) that lead to having that first drink. For example, it could be:

• Hitting “wine o’clock”

• Spending time with a particular friend or group

• Having something to celebrate (or commiserate)

• Feeling stressed, lonely or bored

• Walking past the shop where you usually buy alcohol

Once the cues have been identified, it’s easier to:

1. Spot them happening in the moment

2. Interrupt the usual routine

3. Choose a different action instead

For example:

• Taking an alternative route home from work to avoid the supermarket where you’d usually pop in for a bottle

• Going for a walk, having a bath or making an AF drink at the time you’d otherwise be pouring your first glass

It takes time to get these new habits in place, especially if the old habit is ingrained in your routine. But the more you repeat the new behaviour, the more the old one fades and the easier it becomes.

And let’s not forget the reward, because you certainly deserve to be rewarded for taking a break from drinking.

Beyond the physical and mental benefits of not drinking, you can also help embed your new habits and behaviours by offering yourself rewards for milestones along the way—like:

• A special meal or AF treat

• A new book or piece of workout gear

• A day trip or activity you’ve been wanting to try

Little actions add up

How can making little tweaks to your habits and routines really make a big impact?

Because habits are, by their nature, actions you take regularly, often daily.

By switching out a negative habit for one with either a neutral or positive outcome, over time the repetition adds up to a huge difference in your:

• Lifestyle

• Health

• Mood

• Overall happiness

And that’s just by changing one habit.

Once you’ve tackled the first, you can use that momentum to move on to the next habit you’d like to change… and then the next… you get the picture. All these incremental changes can lead to some pretty incredible results.

Take the challenge

Ready to start changing your own habit loops around alcohol? Our challenges are built to help you:

• Identify your cues

• Rewrite your routines

• Build new, healthier rewards

One small shift at a time.