A UAB assistant professor explains neuroplasticity and offers tips to help maintain newly set goals and habits in the new year. As the year ends, people of all ages are setting new goals to prepare for the new year. While many may plan around this time, few people often manage to maintain their newly set routines and lifestyle changes. For those who seem to abandon their goals by the end of the first month, a common question is formed of why New Year’s resolutions never seem to stick.

Sofia Beas, Ph.D., assistant professor in the University of Alabama at Birmingham Department of Neurobiology, explains the neuroscience behind creating new habits and brain hacks to stick to New Year’s resolutions.

Neuroplasticity and habit formation

The most effective way to stick to a new habit or goal is understanding the neuroscience behind forming new habits. 

Neuroplasticity is the brain’s ability to change and adapt in response to new experiences. As a result, the brain is constantly evolving.

“These changes can involve the creation of new neural connections or the weakening of existing ones,” Beas said. “This adaptability is the foundation for how we acquire new skills, form memories and establish new habits.”

However, sticking to new habits is often where people fall short. Beas explains that the brain strengthens through consistent, intentional practice. When a behavior is repeated with intention, the neural pathways that support that habit grow stronger and more efficient over time.

“When you consistently engage in a thought or action, the neural connections supporting those behaviors become stronger,” Beas said. “Over time, this makes the action more automatic and efficient, requiring less conscious thought and effort.”

Breaking myths about the brain and habits

When goals or habits do not stick, people often blame or confuse the brain’s ability. However, Beas explains that this can lead many to form misconceptions about the brain and discourage them from trying to change.

One common misconception is that learning abilities peak in youth and decline in adulthood. But research shows that adults can continue to learn and form new habits just as someone of a young age.

Another common misconception is that a person’s environment has little impact on the brain and its actions.

“Our environment has a significant impact on our emotions and actions,” Beas said. “Elements within our surroundings, such as our home or workplace, act as ‘cues’ that have a tremendous influence on our behavior.”

An example Beas gives is a person who frequently works in bed. This causes the brain to begin associating the bed with work, leading to difficulties when it is time to sleep. This is a result of the brain’s being conditioned to link the bed with work. Beas advises to pay attention to the environment and the signals inadvertently being sent to the brain.

Some believe that achieving a goal requires radical changes. This, however, is not the case.

“Creating change and achieving goals is more manageable when approached incrementally,” Beas said. “If your goal is to lift 100 pounds, you wouldn’t start by attempting to lift that weight immediately.”

Instead, Beas suggests breaking down large goals and habits into smaller, more manageable ones.

Neuroscientist approved brain hacks to make resolutions stick

When creating new goals or habits, apply these “brain hacks” to rewire the brain and make new behaviors stick.

• Leverage environmental cues: Create your own “habit loop”:
  • Cue: Identify what triggers a behavior.
  • Routine: The behavior itself.
  • Reward: The positive outcome that reinforces it.

To create a habit, design this loop; to break one, disrupt a component of it.

• Link a new habit to an established one: Use an existing habit as a cue.
  • Example: Letting your pet out can cue a morning walk.
• Let your present self help your future self: Make the habit easier.
  • Example: Place your walking shoes by the door the night before.
• Be consistent and do not get discouraged: Setbacks are part of the process. When stressed or tired, the brain tends to revert to established habits and patterns.
• Connect new goals and habits with your core values: For example, if being a good parent is a core value, you might link not working from bed to better sleep, which makes you more pleasant to be around for your kids and family.