There’s hope for your New Year’s resolutions to stick this year — if you take a new approach.
A public health initiative called The Healthy Monday Refresh wants to inspire people to not just think of a New Year’s resolution once a year, but instead to set goals every Monday and sustain them year-round, using key tools.
The Monday Campaigns, a nonprofit initiative based in New York City that’s dedicated to starting the week off well so that people end chronic and preventable diseases, supports the movement.
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“Research we’ve conducted with support from experts at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health points to the beginning of the week as the optimal time to promote healthy behaviors,” Ron Hernandez, managing director for The Monday Campaigns, told Fox News Digital in an interview.
“The data suggest that intentions for healthy behavior are synchronized on a weekly cycle, with Monday being the day people are most ‘open to buy’ health.”
As a New Year kicks off, millions of people make resolutions to eat better, exercise more, spend more time with loved ones and so on — but a new idea for a “Monday reset” may have longer lasting benefits, experts say.
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Some 67 million American adults made New Year’s resolutions to improve their health in 2021, according to surveys.
But of those who made healthy resolutions, 18% already failed by January and 41% were no longer on track with their top resolutions by July, according to a nationally representative survey by Data Decisions Group for The Monday Campaigns.
Smart ways to form a new habit
“If we think about the science behind habit formation, we can better understand why New Year’s resolutions are not the most effective way to change a habit,” Dr. Lama Bazzi, a psychiatrist in private practice in New York City, told Fox News Digital.
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“Habits are a way for the brain to automate repeated patterns of behavior in order to ensure we use our awareness more efficiently throughout the day.”
To change a habit, said Bazzi, we should examine the motivation that precedes the routine — and identify the reward from practicing that routine.
Those who want to stop drinking alcohol during the week should “identify the cue that triggers the routine and the reward — then “consciously decide to replace” that routine with another habit or behavior that gives a similar satisfaction, said one psychiatrist.
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“For example, if I want to stop drinking alcohol on weekdays, I need to identify the cue (eg. a desire to decompress after work) that triggers the routine (eg. going to the local happy hour) and the reward (eg. relaxation and socialization).”
“Then, I need to consciously decide to replace the routine with another behavior from which I can derive similar satisfaction.”
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Many New Year’s resolutions involve changing habits, said …….