A British study carried out at University College London has shown that it takes 66 days for a habit to be created and to be maintained for years . That means that if during that number of days "you repeat something every day in the same situation, it becomes an automatic reaction to that situation," explains Jane Wardle, co-author of the study that was published in the European Journal of Social Psychology . From that moment on, the habit acquires a certain automaticity, and it is not necessary will, or even think about it intentionally, to be able to repeat said behavior. The subjects of the experiment proved that it is valid for both healthy habits related to eating and the routine of practicing exercise daily, for example 15 minutes of running before dinner. On average, habits related to physical exercise took longer to be firmly acquired than, for example, incorporating the habit of eating a piece of fruit each day .
With only 28 days, as previously thought, neurons do not assimilate a certain behavior enough and it is easy to abandon it, the authors clarify.
