HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO DEVELOP NEW HEALTHY HABITS?

    

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We're nearly one month into 2025, but if you're struggling to hold onto your New Year's resolution, stay strong, as University of South Australia research shows that forming a healthy habit can take longer than you expect.

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Have you ever tried to form a new habit? If you fail after three weeks, don't beat yourself up—science says the old "21 days to form a habit" claim is a pure myth.

New research from the University of South Australia just revealed a shocking truth: forming habits takes between two months and—brace yourself—nearly a year. That's right, it takes up to 335 days of sticking with something before it becomes truly automatic.

"People love to throw around this three-week rule," says Dr. Ben Singh, who led the study. "But there's zero evidence backing that up." Instead, his team found that habits start taking shape around the 60-day mark, though this varies wildly from person to person. Some lucky folks nail it in four days, while others need the better part of a year.

The really juicy part is that your morning routine might be your secret weapon. The study, which looked at over 2,600 people, found that morning habits stick better than those started at other times. It's like your brain has more willpower before life starts throwing curveballs at you.

And get this—enjoying what you're doing matters (shocking, right?). The more you like your new habit, the more likely you will keep it up. So maybe don't force yourself into that 5 a.m. running club if you're not a morning person.

Want to stack the odds in your favor? Try some strategic planning. Leave those workout clothes by your bed. Prep that healthy lunch the night before. Make it easy for Future You to make good choices.

This isn't just about personal goals, either. In Australia, the stats are pretty sobering: only one in fifteen adults eat enough veggies, and 83% of teenagers aren't moving enough. Two-thirds of adults are carrying extra weight. These aren't just numbers - they're a wake-up call about how hard it is to maintain healthy habits in our modern world.

But here's the hopeful part: now that we know actual habit formation takes time, we can stop feeling like failures when we're not transformed after three weeks. Change is a marathon, not a sprint. So, if you're working on building healthier habits, give yourself grace—and maybe a few months (or several) to make them stick.

Just remember: the best habit is one you can keep. Start small, be patient, and for heaven's sake, try to make it something you don't completely hate doing.