Why Is It So Hard To Break a Bad Habit?

Billions of individuals deal with a nail-biting habit at some point in their lives. Many will go to great lengths to try to quit, employing strategies like rubbing chili peppers on their cuticles, wearing gloves all day, dipping their hands in salt, and even imagining germs crawling on their fingers. And while not all of us are nail-biters, most of us do have a habit we would like to kick. So, what’s the most effective way to break one?

Researchers define habits as behaviors that are performed regularly and triggered subconsciously in response to specific cues, whether it be a location, time of day, or even a personal state. They can include simple actions like picking your hair when stressed, but also more complex behaviors ingrained in daily routines, such as staying up late or brewing your coffee in the morning. If you do something frequently, without much thought, it’s likely a habit. They form because at some point, your brain finds the behavior to be rewarding. Let’s say, after opening a stressful email, you bite your nails. This is satisfying as it provides relief, alleviating the anxiety triggered by checking your email. Inside your brain, pleasurable experiences can trigger the release of dopamine, a neurotransmitter that mediates feelings of pleasure. Dopamine also plays a role in brain plasticity, meaning it can alter how your neurons wire and fire. Your brain builds associations that link the reward with the behavior, compelling you to repeat it. It also starts associating the behavior with other cues, like your environment. Eventually, all it takes is the setting of sitting at your desk to subconsciously trigger a nail-biting habit — no stressful email or positive emotion required.

Once established, these cue-behavior-reward loops operate swiftly, overshadowing the decision-making process. You may find yourself engaging in a habit before you have a chance to notice and stop it. However, this can be a good thing because not all habits are bad. They are stored memories of what has worked in the past, allowing you to take swift action in the present. One study estimated that on average, people spend over 40% of their days performing regularly repeated behaviors while their minds are occupied with other thoughts. An apparently automated morning routine, for instance, saves you both time and precious mental energy. However, many people have habits that no longer serve them. Yet, research shows that intentions alone often fail to lead to long-term behavior change. This is not to say you can’t break a habit. Instead, by understanding the foundation of habits, you can create better strategies for changing them. For example, we know habits are often triggered by situations and routines. Lying in bed might make you instinctively check your phone, or watching TV on the couch might lead you to grab a sugary snack. One of the most effective ways to manage behavior is to identify these locations or times of day. Then, try to modify them by altering your routine or creating obstacles that make it more challenging to perform the habit there. Moving, changing your position, or even starting a new schedule are particularly great times to break a habit or build a new one. One 2005 study tracked college students’ exercising, studying, and TV-watching habits when they changed schools. When students were no longer in familiar environments and routines, their habits, even strong ones, significantly changed. For behaviors like nail-biting or hair-pulling, a technique called habit reversal training can be helpful. Developed by psychologists in the 1970s, the aim is to improve a habit by replacing it with a less troublesome one. The training requires you to analyze and understand your habit triggers, so you can intervene at the right times. For example, if you typically bite your nails at work, discreetly keep a fidget toy at your desk. Then, if a stressful email comes in, use the toy when you feel the urge to bite your nails. Breaking a habit takes time, so be sure to give yourself grace and have patience throughout the process. And while many focus on their bad habits, it’s also worth celebrating the good ones that help us move smoothly and efficiently through our daily routines.