Sleep – an example of how difficult behaviour change can be

I know getting to sleep on time is important. I know sleep is important for health in more ways than I can count. But I still can’t get myself to go to bed on time.

I always think about this any time anyone tries to suggest we should change our behaviour to exercise more or eat better. Changing behaviour is hard. We are not logical. Laying out all the reasons why we should change our behaviour isn’t enough.

Slowly building better habits might be one way to address this – I’ve just read Atomic Habits by Jim Clear and his strategies seem to have promise. For instance, to develop a habit of going for a run every morning, he suggests the best thing you can do for the first two weeks is to actively avoid running. Rather at the same time each day for two weeks, put on your running shoes and walk out to the end of the driveway.