May 03, 2023 15:00:00

Research results that it takes several months to acquire the habit of going to the gym and exercising

Exercise is known to

reduce the risk of various health problems , and it has been reported that exercise can also help improve mental health . However, even if you try to get into the habit of exercising suddenly, it is difficult, and there are many people who have experienced frustration as soon as they start exercising. A new study using machine learning to examine the ``time required for people to acquire habits'' revealed that it takes more than several months to acquire the habit of going to the gym and exercising. rice field.

What can machine learning teach us about habit formation? Evidence from exercise and hygiene | PNAS
https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2216115120

No, It Doesn't Take 21 Days to Form a New Habit. A New Study Shows Why : ScienceAlert
https://www.sciencealert.com/no-it-doesnt-take-21-days-to-form-a-new-habit-a-new-study-shows-why

Cosmetic surgeon Dr. Maxwell Maltz reported an episode in his 1960 book ' Psycho Cybernetics ' that 'a patient who has undergone cosmetic surgery takes 21 days to get used to a new appearance.' From this, the theory that `` it takes 21 days to form a new habit '' is widely spread, but it is known that there is no relationship between the formation of habits and the number `` 21 days ''. .

Therefore, research teams such as the California Institute of Technology, the University of Chicago, and the University of Pennsylvania investigated the ``habit of going to the gym and exercising'' and the ``habit of washing hands'' to find out how long it takes to form a new habit. For two, we conducted research using machine learning tools.

The research team collected ``12 million gym visit data'' collected from 30,000 gym members over 4 years and ``total 40 million hand washing data'' collected from 3,000 medical workers working in hospitals. Analyzed.

Gym members had to swipe their ID cards to enter the gym, and medical workers were also required to scan their ID cards every time they washed their hands. As a result, it was possible to analyze the points such as what time period each individual acted, how much time had passed since the previous action, and whether there was a change depending on the time and day of the week.

Anastasia Buyalskaya, lead author of the paper, who was in graduate school at Caltech at the time of writing, said: 'Using machine learning, we can observe hundreds of variables that may predict behavioral execution. We can,” he said.

Using a machine learning tool to analyze ``when people's behavior became predictable, that is, when it became a habit'', it turned out that the period required for habituation differs significantly between exercising at the gym and washing hands. . It took 4 to 7 months to get into the habit of exercising at the gym, but the research team reported that just a few weeks were enough for healthcare workers to get into the habit of washing their hands.

Gym-goers were less likely to visit the gym again the longer it had been since their last visit. While the time of day visiting the gym had little to do with habit formation, two-thirds of gym-goers insisted on going to the gym on the same day of the week, with the highest percentage going to the gym on Mondays and Tuesdays. .

The research team said, ``Contrary to the belief in the 'magic number' of habit formation, it usually takes months to get into the habit of going to the gym, but only a few weeks to get into the habit of washing your hands at the hospital. I understand,' he said. Science Alert says, ``Extreme people may sleep in their running clothes so they can wake up in the morning and work out on schedule. That's how you gradually form a habit.'