新的一年已經到來，你是否給自己設立了2024年的小目標？很多人都會做一份新年計劃，希望在新的一年做出一些改變，培養良好習慣，比如早睡早起、多做運動、少玩手機。但是做計劃容易，能堅持下去的卻是少數。都說習慣成自然，那么養成習慣需要多長時間呢？

The number of days it takes to form a new habit depends on the habit, on you, and on what strategies you’re using to build and maintain that habit. Scientific estimates have ranged from 21 days to eight months or more. Let’s look at why that range is so big, and what you can do to build habits faster.
養成一個新習慣所需的天數取決于什么習慣、你自己以及你用來培養和保持該習慣的策略。科學估計，養成習慣需要21天到8個月或更長時間。讓我們來看看為什么這個范圍如此之大，以及如何才能更快地養成習慣。

21天法則

A popular answer is 21 days — a figure that can be traced back to Dr. Maxwell Maltz, a cosmetic surgeon and author of "Psycho-Cybernetics". In his book Maltz reported that his patients needed a minimum of 21 days to change the mental image of how they looked.
一個流行的答案是21天——這個數字可以追溯到整形外科醫生、《精神控制論》一書的作者麥克斯威爾·馬爾茨博士。馬爾茨在書中寫道，他的病人至少需要21天的時間來改變他們的心理形象。

Since then, many people have applied the "21-day" time frame to all habits. However, not all behaviors are the same and some may need more than three weeks to become automatic.
從那時起，許多人將“21天”法則應用于所有習慣。然而，并不是所有的行為都適用，有些行為習慣可能需要三周以上才能養成。

"It is easy to see why this figure appeals," Mark Vahrmeyer, a psychotherapist and founder of Brighton & Hove Psychotherapy in England, told Live Science. "It is both concrete and makes building a new habit seem very achievable. The truth, however, is that it's more complex and on average it takes far longer.
心理治療師、英國布萊頓和霍夫心理療法創始人馬克·瓦爾邁耶告訴生命科學網："不難看出為何這一數字令人很感興趣。它既具體，又讓養成新習慣看起來非常容易實現。然而，事實是養成一個習慣更為復雜，平均而言需要更長的時間。”

Dr Maurice Duffy, a mindset coach and visiting professor of innovation and entrepreneurship at the University of Sunderland, England, told Live Science that habits play a central role in determining our actions.
思維教練、英國桑德蘭大學創新與創業客座教授莫里斯·達菲博士告訴生命科學網，習慣在決定我們的行為方面起著核心作用。

"Habits are the small decisions you make and the actions you perform every day," he said. "Your life today is essentially the sum of these habits."
他說：“習慣是你每天做出的小決定和采取的行動。你今天的生活本質上就是這些習慣的總和。”

Repetition is critical to habit formation. "Habits are formed through a process known as habituation," Alyssa Roberts, an eating disorder researcher at the University of Minnesota, told Live Science. "Habituation occurs when a behavior is repeated enough times, and the brain adapts to the routine by making the response automatic."
重復對習慣的形成至關重要。明尼蘇達大學飲食失調研究員阿麗莎·羅伯茨告訴生命科學網：“習慣是通過一個稱為‘習慣化’的過程形成的。當一種行為重復足夠多的次數時，大腦就會適應這種常規，使反應自動發生，從而形成習慣。”

習慣養成的科學原理

The "habit loop" concept, popularized by journalist Charles Duhigg in his book "The Power of Habit", is often used to explain the science of habit formation. According to the theory, there are three stages to automating your behavior: cue (or trigger), routine (or behavior) and reward.
記者查爾斯·杜希格在其著作《習慣的力量》中普及了"習慣循環"的概念，這一概念經常被用來解釋習慣養成的科學原理。根據該理論，行為自動化分為三個階段：提示（或觸發）、慣例（或行為）和獎勵。

For example, a stressful situation (a cue) may lead some people to respond with overeating (the routine), which is an activity that can temporarily bring some comfort (the reward). When a behavior becomes sufficiently repetitive, the brain starts viewing the cue as an opportunity for the reward. The trigger will prompt you to perform the same action to seek pleasure.
例如，一個緊張的情境（提示）可能會導致一些人暴飲暴食（慣例），而暴飲暴食是一種可以暫時帶來一些安慰（獎勵）的活動。當一種行為重復足夠多時，大腦就會開始把提示視為獲得獎勵的機會。提示會促使你做出同樣的動作來尋求快感。

How long it takes to establish a habit may depend on what the cue and the intended routine is. According to a 2009 study published in the European Journal of Social Psychology, habit formation may take anywhere between 18 and 254 days. The average amount of time needed for a behavior to become automatic is 66 days, the researchers found. The researchers noted that different actions required a different level of effort too. For example, those who had been asked to develop a habit of drinking a glass of water at breakfast tended to be more successful than participants who were instructed to do 50 sit-ups each day.
養成一個習慣需要多長時間，可能取決于提示和預期的慣例是什么。根據2009年發表在《歐洲社會心理學雜志》上的一項研究，習慣的養成可能需要18到254天。研究人員發現，一種行為變成習慣所需的平均時間為66天。研究人員注意到，不同的行為也需要不同程度的努力。例如，那些被要求養成早餐喝一杯水的習慣的人往往比那些被要求每天做50個仰臥起坐的參與者更容易成功。

如何更快養成一個習慣

A 2016 review, published in the journal Health Psychology, suggested that self-efficacy could also be key to developing and maintaining habits. Self-efficacy is a belief in your ability to complete a task or achieve a goal. Put simply, a person who is convinced they cannot maintain new behaviors will be less likely to keep their habit. Higher self-efficacy has been linked to improved outcomes in many different health interventions, according to a 2016 review in the journal Health Education & Behavior. Participants who exhibited this trait tended to be more successful at giving up smoking, losing weight, reducing alcohol consumption and increasing physical activity.
2016年發表在《健康心理學》雜志上的一篇綜述指出，自我效能感也可能是培養和保持習慣的關鍵。自我效能感是一種相信自己有能力完成任務或實現目標的信念。簡單地說，一個人如果堅信自己無法維持新的行為，那么他就不太可能保持自己的習慣。根據《健康教育與行為》雜志2016年的一篇綜述，在許多不同的健康干預措施中，更高的自我效能感與改善的結果有關。表現出這種特質的參與者在戒煙、減肥、減少飲酒和增加體育鍛煉方面往往更成功。

Vahrmeyer noted that the way a person makes a goal more attractive can also be important.
心理治療師瓦爾邁耶指出，如何讓自己的目標更具吸引力也很重要。

"If the process of building your habit involves nothing but self-sacrifice with no reward, you are unlikely to stick to your goals," Vahrmeyer said.
他說：“如果養成習慣的過程只涉及自我犧牲而沒有回報，你就不太可能堅持自己的目標。”

He advised making the process as easy as possible. For example, if the goal is to go to the gym three times per week, a person should pick a gym with a convenient location.
他建議盡可能簡化這個過程。例如，如果目標是每周去健身房三次，那么應該選擇一個位置便捷的健身房。

來源：Live Science
編輯：董靜