Use Habit Stacking to Help Get Healthy
2024-10-01
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1From VOA Learning English, this is the Health & Lifestyle report.
2A woman in Portland, Oregon started her daily exercise habit with one activity - walking her dog.
3Lindsay Kee then added movements to this daily activity.
4Before leaving on the walk, she did some standing stretches.
5On her return, she did other exercises such as jumping jacks.
6Over time, Kee added more exercises around the dog walk.
7She said adding exercises to an existing activity took the pressure off of creating a whole new daily exercise.
8And now more than a year later, she consistently exercises around the dog walk.
9Kee said, "I've found it to be really effective in helping me be consistent with things that I really do want to do."
10What Kee did is called habit stacking. Writer S.J. Scott created this term for his 2014 book of the same name.
11The idea behind habit stacking is to attach something you want to start doing to something you already do every day.
12A common example is flossing your teeth after brushing them.
13However, you can use habit stacking in many areas of your daily life.
14Kee, for example, places her vitamins next to the coffee machine.
15This helps her remember to take them every morning.
16Exercise experts say habit stacking is especially helpful if you are trying to increase exercise time.
17Dana Santas is a movement expert who has trained more than 50 professional sports teams.
18She combines exercise habits with personal health care.
19For example, Santas does push-ups before every shower.
20And she does leg exercises while brushing her teeth.
21She says that her electric toothbrush makes a sound every 30 seconds to remind her to brush different teeth.
22But she uses the reminder to change her exercises.
23"It's perfect," she added.
24Two minutes of exercise may not get you in shape.
25But, experts say every little bit helps.
26Experts at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggest getting 150 minutes of moderate activity, like a fast walk, every week.
27Or you could also get 75 minutes of very energetic activity, like jogging, every week.
28The health experts also suggest two days a week of strength training.
29Most people find keeping new habits difficult.
30And while habit stacking is not a perfect solution, it does help with one barrier -- decision-making.
31Gretchen Rubin is the writer of Better Than Before: Mastering the Habits of Our Everyday Lives.
32She said habit stacking is one of the best ways to start and keep new habits.
33The technique helps to remove the barrier of deciding when or if to do something.
34Rubin shared a story of her college days.
35To help her stay active, she would only shower if she had exercised that day.
36She suggested combining the new, or what she calls "shaky," behavior with something you have to do or deeply want to do.
37"So you have to do the shaky habit before you get to the strong habit," Rubin said.
38If she wants to listen to a podcast, her strong habit, she must do it while exercising on a running machine.
39For her, this will strengthen her shaky habit.
40And that's the Health & Lifestyle report. I'm Anna Matteo.
1From VOA Learning English, this is the Health & Lifestyle report. 2A woman in Portland, Oregon started her daily exercise habit with one activity - walking her dog. Lindsay Kee then added movements to this daily activity. Before leaving on the walk, she did some standing stretches. On her return, she did other exercises such as jumping jacks. 3Over time, Kee added more exercises around the dog walk. She said adding exercises to an existing activity took the pressure off of creating a whole new daily exercise. And now more than a year later, she consistently exercises around the dog walk. 4Kee said, "I've found it to be really effective in helping me be consistent with things that I really do want to do." 5What Kee did is called habit stacking. Writer S.J. Scott created this term for his 2014 book of the same name. The idea behind habit stacking is to attach something you want to start doing to something you already do every day. 6A common example is flossing your teeth after brushing them. However, you can use habit stacking in many areas of your daily life. Kee, for example, places her vitamins next to the coffee machine. This helps her remember to take them every morning. 7Exercise experts say habit stacking is especially helpful if you are trying to increase exercise time. 8Dana Santas is a movement expert who has trained more than 50 professional sports teams. She combines exercise habits with personal health care. For example, Santas does push-ups before every shower. And she does leg exercises while brushing her teeth. She says that her electric toothbrush makes a sound every 30 seconds to remind her to brush different teeth. But she uses the reminder to change her exercises. "It's perfect," she added. 9Two minutes of exercise may not get you in shape. But, experts say every little bit helps. Experts at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggest getting 150 minutes of moderate activity, like a fast walk, every week. Or you could also get 75 minutes of very energetic activity, like jogging, every week. The health experts also suggest two days a week of strength training. 10Most people find keeping new habits difficult. And while habit stacking is not a perfect solution, it does help with one barrier -- decision-making. 11Gretchen Rubin is the writer of Better Than Before: Mastering the Habits of Our Everyday Lives. She said habit stacking is one of the best ways to start and keep new habits. The technique helps to remove the barrier of deciding when or if to do something. 12Rubin shared a story of her college days. To help her stay active, she would only shower if she had exercised that day. 13She suggested combining the new, or what she calls "shaky," behavior with something you have to do or deeply want to do. 14"So you have to do the shaky habit before you get to the strong habit," Rubin said. If she wants to listen to a podcast, her strong habit, she must do it while exercising on a running machine. For her, this will strengthen her shaky habit. 15And that's the Health & Lifestyle report. I'm Anna Matteo. 16Albert Stumm reported this story for The Associated Press. Anna Matteo adapted it for VOA Learning English. 17________________________________________________ 18Words in This Story 19habit - n. a usual manner of behavior or thinking 20jumping jacks - n. a conditioning exercise performed from a standing position by jumping to a position with legs spread and arms raised and then to the original position 21shower - v. a bath in which water is sprayed on a person; also - n. a device for providing such a bath 22consistently - adv. being unchanging in behavior or beliefs 23stack - n. an orderly pile of objects usually one on top of the other; also - v. to arrange in or form a stack 24floss - v. to use dental floss on one's teeth : dental floss - n. a thread used to clean between the teeth 25vitamin - n. any of various substances that are necessary in very small amounts to the nutrition of most animals and some plants, that are important to the control of growth and development by activating and assisting in the function of enzymes, and that are present naturally in many foods or in some cases are produced within the body 26push-up - n. a conditioning exercise performed in a prone position by raising and lowering the body with the straightening and bending of the arms while keeping the back straight and supporting the body on the hands and toes 27moderate - adj. avoiding or lacking extremes (as in behavior or temperature) 28shaky - adj. lacking in firmness (as of beliefs or principles)