4 Ways to Use Habit Stacking to Drink Less
Welcome to Journey to the Sunnyside, the podcast where we have thoughtful conversations to explore the science of habits, uncover the secrets to mindful living, and of course, your own mindful drinking journey. This podcast is brought to you by Sunnyside, the number one alcohol moderation platform. And if you could benefit from drinking a bit less, head on over to sunnyside.co to get a free fifteen day trial. I'm your host, Mike Hardinbrook, published author, neuroscience enthusiast, and habit change expert. Hey, everybody.
Speaker 1:Welcome back to one of these ten minute Mondays. I'm Mike Hardinbrook, and today we're talking about one of the simplest, however, a very effective tool that even though it's not actually designed specifically for mindful drinking, is very powerful, and that is habit stacking. Maybe you've heard of it, maybe you haven't, but we're going to get into it and see how we can actually apply it to help us with our mindful drinking. And I'm going to get into the science too. So it's going be a fun episode.
Speaker 1:And if you've ever found yourself reaching for a drink on autopilot, which most people have at some point or another, then this episode's for you. Okay. So let's talk a little bit more about what is habit stacking. So the idea was introduced by Doctor. BJ Fogg.
Speaker 1:He wrote the book Tiny Habits, and this idea was expanded by James Clear in his very popular book Atomic Habits. And here's the basic formula. After I insert your existing habit, I will insert your new habit. So you're not trying to invent motivation here. You're just piggybacking a new behavior onto something that your brain already does on autopilot.
Speaker 1:And that's what makes it stick. And Fogg's research comes out of his own Stanford's Behavioral Design Lab, and it showed that the more clearly you define the anchor, the more likely it is that the habit will take root. It's all about linking the new with the automatic. And here's where it gets interesting. In 2021, a paper in Frontiers in Psychology found that forty to sixty percent of alcohol use in moderate to heavy drinkers is driven by habit, not actual desire.
Speaker 1:And that's huge for what we're talking about. It means that most of the time you're not choosing to drink, you're actually reacting to a cue. And if you can change the response to that cue, you're already halfway there. And this is also backed by something called implementation intention research. It's a little bit of a mouthful.
Speaker 1:And one randomized controlled trial found that people who made the if and then kind of plans like if I'm offered a drink, I'll go and grab a soda, Cut back by about six standard drinks per week compared to those who didn't. And that's not just wishful thinking, that is your brain rewiring the loop. Okay. So let's walk through four real ways you can use habit stacking to drink less or be more intentional with your drinking. And each one starts with a clear cue, something that your brain already recognizes, not because it's necessarily a meaningful ritual, but because it's consistent.
Speaker 1:So we're stacking them because those are repeatable moments, the kind that your brain is already wired to respond to. And that's the key here. You're not forcing motivation. You're linking change to something that is already happening so that it sticks without that mental battle. Alright.
Speaker 1:The first one is after getting home from work, create a new transition ritual. So whether you work from home or you work at the office, that moment that you get home is a powerful cue. And it's often when people will just walk in and pour their first drink. And not because they always need it, it's because it just marks this shift from work time to me time. And this was the time that I had the most trouble with.
Speaker 1:So instead of heading straight to the fridge, give your brain a new kind of transition. So it could be something like instead of walking to the fridge, walk to your closet and put on something that would signify either relaxing clothes or, you know, take your work clothes off and put something new on. But in any ways, you're interrupting that queue with a new routine. Another one could be instead of going and sitting down, it might be hard for some people, but step outside, get some fresh air, walk around the block. Even if it's just for five minutes, that can break the cycle.
Speaker 1:And, of course, instead of grabbing your go to drink, you can grab a nonalcoholic drink. Many of you have already heard this and are doing this, but we'll talk about this. And this taps into something called a ritual replacement. And a 2018 study showed that even nonalcoholic routines can light up the brain's reward system if they feel satisfying and repeatable. So you're not trying to remove the ritual, you're just rewriting it.
Speaker 1:Okay. The next one is after dinner, close the loop with something that's rewarding. And this one's a good one for people that tend to have drinks after they have dinner. So dinner is a big anchor, especially for people that are going to have a drink before dinner, then after they tend to have maybe another one, two, maybe three, maybe more. But this only works if you have it stacked, if it's actually when you tend to drink.
Speaker 1:But if your nights tend to vary, for example, you need to get more specific because we all know dinner isn't necessarily always gonna be sit down. Could be throw a pizza in the oven, do a couple things, eat, and then have your drink. So instead, you could get more specific, like, after I push my plate away or after I put it into the sink or after I load it into the dishwasher, then you need to catch that moment right after it when your brain's looking for what's gonna come next. So you don't have to reach for a nonalcoholic drink either in this case. It's not always about just swapping it with something that's NA.
Speaker 1:You could give yourself something that's satisfying that still has that next step feel. So for example, a great time to go for a walk is right after a meal. It's really good for your blood sugar. But you can also do things like, hey. I wanna relax.
Speaker 1:So maybe there's a show that you've seen. Save it. Do that right after. So maybe you always watch one series afterwards. So every time you've had your drink, you sit down, you eat dinner.
Speaker 1:Instead of having more drinks, you move to that show. You could make it all about dessert also. This gives your brain a dopamine spike as well. Or you could do something sensory. And, you know, this isn't always gonna be after every single dinner, but it might be on the nights when you tend to have drinks that will keep you from, you know, getting carried away.
Speaker 1:So doing things like stretching, take a bath, skincare routine, whatever it is of these lists, come up with one that speaks to you. These are just some examples that I came up with. So you're not just really filling your time, you're closing that loop so that alcohol doesn't just jump in and do it for you instead. Now it might have sounded a little bit like a stretch, you know, take a bath after dinner or whatever if that's not really your thing. But the reason I threw that in is because in 2022, there was a study that was done that showed that sensory based rituals significantly help reduce drinking, especially when people were trying to moderate and not necessarily quit.
Speaker 1:So there's a little bit of science into that actual example. Alright. The next one is after your morning coffee, warm water or both, set your intention for the night. And this one works upstream. So before the day kicks into gear, just ask yourself, how do I want to feel tonight?
Speaker 1:What would a win look like today? And is this the night that I'm gonna have drinks, or am I gonna pause? So we're always about planning here. But now you can pair this with a ritual because most of us are either going to have coffee or drink something in the morning, and so just start pairing it with that time. Okay.
Speaker 1:The next one is, for example, if you have kids, it could be another scenario similar to this, but after the kids go to bed, claim that quiet moment with something for you. So bedtime hits, and for a lot of parents, that's when the wine comes out. Not because they need it, although many times they will probably quote that they do, but because it's actually finally quiet in the house. And they don't know what else to do with that space. So here's the move.
Speaker 1:After the kids go down, pair a nonalcoholic ritual with a dopamine boost. So what I mean by that is it might not seem like a whole lot of dopamine. Sit down with a nice glass of something, whatever is your favorite. Have a nice book or journal, something that gives you some silence and quiet time and enjoyment and something to sift on. And studies show that music alone can increase dopamine by 10%, and routines that are repeated like this in a window tend to be a set point for behaviors, meaning that your brain learns to crave that instead of the alcohol.
Speaker 1:So you're not avoiding it in the moment. You're actually owning the moment with being able to be more intentional with the cue that the kids went down and having a plan of something else that's rewarding, that's a new habit. Alright. To wrap it up, let's recap. The stacks are after work, do something that tells your brain we're done.
Speaker 1:After dinner, finish the ritual with something that's intentional. After coffee, preview for your night. And after bedtime with the kiddos, replace with a real reward that'll give you a little dopamine spike. So, again, these aren't gonna be a magic bullet, but they're very practical. And they work because they're actually really small, and there are already cues there to tell you when to do them.
Speaker 1:Start with one, try it every day for a week, and that's it. See how it goes. Okay. That's it for today. Thanks for being here.
Speaker 1:If you got any value out of today's episode or any other episode, it would mean the world to me to rate and review on whatever podcast platform you're listening to. And I hope you have a beautiful week and cheers to your mindful drinking journey. This podcast is brought to you by Sunnyside, the number one alcohol moderation platform. And if you could benefit from drinking a bit less, head on over to sunnyside.co to get a free fifteen day trial.
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