THE SCIENCE OF HEATHY HABITS

When Dr BJ Fogg, director of the behaviour design lab at Stanford University, decided to improve his strength, he started by doing two press-ups after each trip to his bathroom at home. Over time he added more press-ups, ending with a celebratory fist pump each time. Sometimes he did three press-ups. On other days he did 10. But the volume was irrelevant, what mattered was that he was nurturing one of our most potent neurological weapons: a habit. Today, without thinking about it, Dr Fogg performs over 80 press-ups every day.

To develop his habit-building formula, Dr Fogg distilled cutting-edge research in psychology, neuroscience, behaviour change and persuasive technology into a system he calls ‘Tiny Habits’. It involves starting with small, achievable changes (two press-ups), anchoring a new habit to an existing habit (his regular trips to the bathroom) and celebrating progress with positive emotions (the fist pump). Through his online programme, network of coaches and popular book Tiny Habits: The Small Changes That Change Everything, Dr Fogg has now helped tens of thousands of people, from Silicon Valley entrepreneurs to Olympic athletes.

Healthy habits are of particular importance to cyclists.