Last week I read about two studies, unrelated to each other, which seem to illustrate an important point about fitness-related habit change (and habit change, in general, I suppose).
In the first study, individuals who drank less than five cups (40 oz.) of water per day—a threshold below which individuals often “show biomarkers related to underhydration”, according to the researchers—were divided into two groups:
- The first group was instructed to craft implementation intentions about drinking more water. (e.g. “If I walk in the house after work, then I drink a glass of water.”)
- Individuals in the second group simply agreed to drink an additional three glasses of water per day.
At the end of the study, members of the first group reported drinking 8 oz. more, on average, than members of the second group. That said, more than half of all participants reported having struggled remembering to drink more water. And others reported increasing their consumption when they normally drank water (i.e. drinking 8 oz. when they normally drank 4 oz.) but not interrupting their normal activities to do so. In other words, some individuals in the first group did drink more water, but they did not abide by their self-designed implementation intentions to do it.
More on that in a minute.
In the second study, individuals were asked why they wanted to engage in certain healthy behaviors such as exercising. Seventy-five percent of them indicated generally abstract and long-terms reasons like losing weight, getting healthier, or living longer. The other 25% had concrete, short-term reasons like feeling more energized afterward or improving the quality of their daily lives.
Tracking the actual exercise levels of all participants showed that those who had abstract reasons exercised 30% less than those who had more concrete reasons. The researchers concluded that, while abstract and long-term benefits and goals are motivating and important to a degree, we’re generally wired to prioritize and pursue concrete and short-term benefits. In other words, we’re immediate gratification junkies!
And that brings me back to the first study.
I actually read about the “exercise” study first. When I read about the “water” study afterward, I immediately had a few thoughts and questions:
- I wonder what level of importance the participants placed on drinking more water.
- Did they agree to drink more simply for the sake of the study, or did they have other reasons? Were the benefits of being more hydrated explained to them? Did some participants experience the benefits after a day or two, and did that cause them to continue drinking more?
- For others, was the lack of a concrete benefit a primary driver behind the forgetfulness to drink more or the unwillingness to change everyday behavior to do so?
- While implementation intentions seemed to be helpful, would an even greater difference between the two groups have existed if a strong, personal reason had accompanied the implementation intentions?
Based on the results of the “exercise” study, the empirical observations I’ve made over my years as a coach, and what I’ve learned and personally experienced regarding behavior change, I’d be willing to bet that the answers to those questions had a significant impact on the outcome of the study.
Putting it into practice
Over the next few weeks, I’m going to offer a few super-simple concepts that I’ve learned about behavior change. Particularly related to fitness, it often seems like we mostly know what actions would produce the benefits we’re after—actions like sleeping and exercising a bit more, eating better, drinking more water and less alcohol, and managing stress—but we don’t have strategies to implement them on a schedule consistent and frequent enough to turn them into habits.
Until then, I’ll suggest that you take a few minutes to think about and write down two things:
First, pick one healthy action that you’d like to implement into your life. It can be anything! Eat more veggies. Get more sleep. Drink more water. Drink less alcohol. Do more strength training, cardio, or stretching. Based on what you currently know, what one action do you think might improve your life, if even slightly?
Second, come up with a couple reasons why you think taking that action consistently and frequently would improve your life. Sure, it’ll likely help you lose weight or be healthier or live longer. But aim to be more concrete and short-term. Might you experience more energy? More mental clarity? Be a better role model for your kids? Find it easier to carry a bag of groceries into the house?
Getting that specific is the first step to making behavior change easier.