Humans and animals form habits because the brain can save energy on tasks that are repeated and don't need to be thought about. When you tie your laces or walk down the street you don't think about every separate movement, you just do it and the Habit kicks in. Habits can be good or bad and what makes them either way depends on the effect they have on your health and happiness. It's estimated that we make around 2000 unconscious eating decisions every day. Unhealthy foods like cakes, biscuits and chips are usually involved in these decisions and are called Trigger Foods. This means we eat them without thinking about it when we are talking, watching TV or emotional. But why are bad habits so hard to break? If you have trouble resisting high fat/salt/sugar foods we need to change your habits and to do that we need to know the Anatomy of a Habit. 1) The Cue - This is a memory, sound smell, stress response or taste that reminds you of the food. 2) Routine Behavior - The automatic and sometimes unconscious response to the cue. For example you make a cup of tea and get the biscuits out. 3) The Reward - The pleasant feeling of the dopamine being released from the reward centres of the brain which reinforces the habit and renews the cycle. If the Reward doesn't follow the Cue some people get cravings, anxiety and feel like they are suffering because the behavior has been interrupted. #poweredbyherbalife #info #healthy #sugar #learning #drdaveheber #cuesandtriggers (at Brighton)