Habit Stacking 101

A Beginner’s Guide to Building Powerful Habits

Most people have regular routines and habits they do each day. And most of the time, we do them without thinking too much about it. Things like getting out of bed in the morning and having coffee, brushing our teeth, and getting dressed are common habits we do without a lot of preplanning.

Habits are established by consistently connecting neural pathways in our brains that create strong bonds. According to research at Oxford University, the average adult has 41% fewer neurons than the average newborn baby. So why aren’t babies smarter than adults?

The answer to that question is in a process known as “synaptic pruning.” The brain “prunes away” connections it isn’t using, and builds up the ones it’s using most often. So although babies have plenty of potential, they haven’t had time yet to create strong connections in all areas. Adults on the other hand, have chosen specific connections they wish to strengthen, and let some of the others go away.