You can’t teach an old dog new tricks — or can you? 

The old adage that we can’t learn new things as we get older is just not true. 

And I am not just saying that with wishful thinking: We have the brain science to prove it. 

Yes, it may be harder for an aging brain to grasp new concepts and make new habits, but it is not impossible. Polls indicate that 7 out of 10 people make New Year’s resolutions, but that only 9% of these people actually achieve them.  

Experts agree that trying to change habits or make new ones that stick is hard. But they debate about how we can turn this reality around and build better habits. One brilliantly simple yet effective technique you may not have heard of yet is called habit stacking. It involves “stacking” the new habit, or behaviour, onto a current one to help you remember to do it.

Basically, we need to take advantage of old habits in order to build new ones (especially as we enter middle age and beyond).  Let’s turn to the fascinating world of neuroscience to learn how habit stacking works — and why! 

Neurons, synapses and synaptic pruning, oh my!

To understand why taking advantage of areas of our lives that are already automatic and attaching a new habit to them works, we need to first peer into the brains of babies. In 2007, brain scientists looked into the minds of newborns and made a shocking discovery: In contrast to what was collectively believed at the time, they found that the average adult brain has 41% fewer neurons than the average newborn brain! 

So, if babies have more neurons, then why are adults smarter but have a harder time building new habits? 

This is where synapses, the connections between neurons in the brain, come into play — and where things get really interesting with a phenomenon called synaptic pruning. Neuroscience research has identified that as we age our brains cut away, or prune, synapses that are not being used but strengthen ones that are being used a lot. 

For example, if you play a musical instrument or sport for 10 years, your brain will make the connections between your musical or athletic neurons stronger, faster, and better every time you practice. Your brain undergoes a real biological change that leads to the development and hard wiring of this skill. In contrast, someone else who has never played this instrument or sport is not strengthening those brain connections, so their brain prunes them away. 

In a baby brain, anything is possible because there are no strong connections anywhere (you may have heard or experienced for yourself that it’s easier to learn a new skill when you’re younger, and this is why). Adult brains, however, have pruned away a majority of our neurons — but we have incredibly strong connections for skills we use every day.  

So, let’s apply this brain science to developing new habits and making our New Year’s resolutions stick this year and beyond! 

How to start habit stacking: 5 simple steps

Science says that synaptic pruning happens every time we build a new habit, and that our brain kind of superglues together a neuronal network that supports our current behaviours (adding a bit more glue the more we do something, making the connection stronger and more efficient).  

Now, I bet you have many habits (aka. neuronal networks in neuroscience-nerd speak) that you take for granted every single day. My brain, for example, is highly efficient at remembering to put my glasses on and turn my iPhone off airplane mode as soon as I wake up, then walk straight to the kitchen and put the kettle on to boil water for a French press coffee every morning. It’s automatic, I don’t have to think about it, and there are hundreds of other daily habits that I engage in.

Are you interested in creating new positive habits, and making it easy? Then let’s take advantage of the hard work our brains have already done to build and strengthen existing brain connections.  

Follow these five steps to use your neurological hardwiring already in place for things you do on autopilot to encourage habit stacking for your health and wellness goals: 

1. Observe what you do in a day

Take one day and pay attention to how you are spending your time in that day. Do your best to not change anything from your regular routine, and to be present in merely observing every single thing you do. Add notes to a journal or your calendar about everything you do.

2. Make a list of your current habits

Within each hour in the notes you took, highlight which activities are habits that you do at the same time every day. For me, making coffee immediately is one example. Another is taking my dog out to potty at various set times of the day. 

3. Set an extremely specific and realistic goal

This is critical for habit stacking to be successful! If your current habit and new goal are vague, it won’t work. For example, if I wanted to implement a 10-minute walk outside on my lunch break every day that I am at my office, I would need to identify exactly when I want to go (not just “during lunch”).  

For me personally, a specific and realistic goal would be “when I take my pup (who comes to the office with me Monday – Friday) potty on my lunch break, we will take a 10-minute walk around the block before coming back inside.” 

4. Start stacking your list

Start with one micro habit involving a small, consistent behaviour. Then, you can begin to build larger habit stacks by assembling habits together. 

I have always wanted to incorporate a beginner’s breath work routine into my day, so I could stack a simple 3-Part-Breath exercise, for example, onto the end of my 10-minute walk on weekdays. And voila, my habit stack is beginning to grow! 

5. Treat yourself

If you find that it’s not working, there is absolutely nothing wrong with reinforcing the new goal with a reward. Let’s say I know I have to go for a walk on my lunch break, but it’s easier to run outside with my pup for her potty break and right back in. So, I could try rewarding myself by walking to my favourite coffee shop on Fridays when I have successfully walked Monday through Thursday.  

Let’s put habit stacking into practice

Our brains really crave cues that are very specific and immediately actionable. Habits like “I want to eat better,” while admirable, just aren’t going to activate our brain biology. What will turn our brain on, however, is to choose a clear cue and pair it with a specific action.

Something that I help clients with in my work as a neuroscientist certified in holistic nutrition is to manage their brain and mental health. One foundational recommendation I make for happier, healthier brains is to increase high-quality protein to balance blood sugar and build neurotransmitters in the brain and gut. 

Because “I want to eat more protein” isn’t going to cut it for the majority of us mere mortals trying to build this into our daily routine, let’s apply the techniques of habit stacking to make it work. I will use Botanica’s Perfect Protein Elevated line as my example here because they are my favourite plant-based protein powders with added herbs, mushrooms and superfoods to target energy, inflammation, adrenal and brain health.  

If you, like so many of my clients, struggle with adding more high-quality protein to your diet, I encourage you to try one of these habit stacking examples. Choose the ONE that makes the most sense for you, depending on what daily habits you already have hard-wired (for example, if you work out daily, choose one of those habits to stack your protein goal with): 

1. “Right before my daily workout, I will take Botanica’s Perfect Protein Elevated Energy Booster” or
2. “Right after my daily workout, I will take Botanica’s Perfect Protein Elevated Anti-Inflammatory” or
3. “At the beginning of my coffee break at work, when I close my laptop, I will take Botanica’s Perfect Protein Elevated Adrenal Support” or
4. “As I have my breakfast every day, I will enjoy Botanica’s Perfect Protein Elevated Brain Booster along with it.”

If you are interested in building better habits, I can’t encourage you enough to try habit stacking. Don’t take my word for it though, the science says that this tool for behaviour change really works. You can try habit stacking for physical activity, habit stacking for better nutrition, habit stacking for stress management … the possibilities are endless! And, most importantly, this simple yet effective tool can help you stick to your health and wellness goals this New Year! 

References 

Abitz, M., Nielsen, R.D., Jones, E.G., Laursen, H., Graem, N. & Pakkenberg, B. 2007. Excess of Neurons in the Human Newborn Mediodorsal Thalamus Compared with That of the Adult, Cerebral Cortex, 17 (11), 2573 – 2578. 

Poll on 7 out of 10 people making New Year’s resolutions: 

https://news.gallup.com/poll/467696/seven-americans-likely-set-goals-2023.aspx