Dr's Casebook with Dr KeithSouter: Use a little self-nudging and apply a bit of friction for better health
Decisions, decisions! We have to make them all the time in life. Whether it is a decision to order a takeaway or make a salad for dinner, or whether to go for a morning run or stay in bed because you hear the rain outside.
These may not seem to have a big impact on your life, but they can be biased one way and have a long term adverse effect because you can get into a pattern of making poor choices. But you can apply Nudge theory to help make better decisions.
Nudge theory was introduced in 2008 by Richard Thaler, an American economist and professor of behavioural science, for which he received a Nobel Prize in 2017. Nudge theory states that when we have a decision between two things we usually choose the easiest option rather than the most suitable one and, therefore, we need ‘a nudge’ to do what best suits our needs.
In health decision-making people often feel that sheer will power is needed. Giving up smoking or drinking or gambling can cause great angst and many succumb when they are tempted or when life causes their defences to weaken. This is where self-nudging and applying a little friction can help.
Essentially, making the things you want to do easier and the things you don't want to do harder, and either adding or removing friction as needed can help make the best health decisions.
Leaving yourself messages are a good start. They can be Post-it notes that you leave on the bathroom mirror, on the snack cupboard or on the fridge. Or they can be pictures of healthy proteins, or even greenhouse emissions in different types of food production if you decide to try reducing meat and dairy intake.
Plan ahead by putting your gym or running kit out the night before. I find that a great help because I wake up knowing it is there and ready for me to go for that planned morning run. Even if it rains it strikes me as a healthy choice. I only desist if it is frosty and therefore I decide the healthy choice is to avoid a fall.
Adding a little friction also helps. By that, make it harder to go for the soft option. Put treats and snacks out of reach and put the healthy choices at the front of the cupboards. You can still have the treat if you really need but the added friction of making that decision may steer you the right way.
For many people this self-nudging may prove easier on the mind than the sheer will power of depriving yourself or feeling guilty. It also gets easier the more you nudge yourself, and you will start to feel the benefits as you go less for the soft options and more for the healthy option.