Benefits of Habit Stacking for ADHD

Starting a new habit (or changing an old one) isn't easy. Fortunately, there are things that you can do to make the process a little easier. Habit stacking is one kind of genius tactic that works wonders. It involves pairing the new habit you want to establish with one that you already have. By "stacking" them together, you create an association that makes it a little easier to make them stick.

Habit stacking can work for anyone, but it can be particularly helpful for people with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. When it comes to ADHD, it’s important to develop habits that help manage symptoms. These habits may include healthy lifestyle practices like diet, physical activity, and good sleep hygiene.

The problem is that people with ADHD often have a more difficult time forming healthy lifestyle habits. Because they tend to have trouble with memory and remaining focused, it can be even more challenging to "organize daily tasks and routines."

If you are trying to start and maintain a lifestyle change, it's important that it becomes a regular part of your routine for the rest of your life. Using habit stacking to create these habits can be a game changer, particularly if you have a condition like ADHD and need a little extra help. 

What Is Habit Stacking?

Habit stacking (aka piggybacking) is a type of behavior change strategy that involves pairing a new health habit or behavior with one that already exists. Researchers suggest that it takes advantage of cue salience—the old habit cues the new one. It also incorporates the power of momentum—by engaging in the existing habit, you become more motivated to perform the new one as well.

For example, let's say you want to make regular flossing a habit. Since you already brush your teeth every morning, you can add flossing to your morning ritual. Over time, flossing will become just as regular for you as brushing.

When trying to form a new habit, people often jump right in with the hope that the habit will stick. The truth is that committing to behavior is not as simple as it seems. Forming a habit takes time and, often, multiple attempts. This is where habit stacking can help.

For example, if you are trying to incorporate a certain food into your daily diet, like blueberries, you may want to try eating a few blueberries with your first glass of water in the morning. Integrating a new behavior with an already established routine can help you remember and feel this habit is more attainable.

After developing this habit, you can include more; after eating blueberries, you make sure to wash the dishes used for breakfast. All of these different behaviors will eventually become a morning routine. 

Benefits of Habit Stacking

Habit stacking can have several important benefits. First, by relying on existing behaviors, you have a built-in reminder to help you know when you need to do something. The ingrained, automatic habit you already have (flipping on the coffee maker each morning) helps you remember the new behavior you are trying to make a part of your routine (taking your medications). 

It also helps keep things simple. Instead of having a big list of "to-dos," habit stacking makes things just a part of your everyday routine. Doing so requires less mental energy, freeing up some of that mental space to tackle other important tasks.

It can also be helpful for people with ADHD. Habit stacking can help you with the following ADHD challenges:

• Focusing
• Organization 
• Commitment 
• Prioritization 
• Memory
• Managing emotions
• Reducing stress 
  

How to Habit Stack

Below are some steps that can help you during the process of habit stacking:

Determine the Habit

First, you must consciously decide to implement new lifestyle habits into your life. Determine the present habit you hope to form and reflect on how this habit enhances your life.

Examples of things you might try to habit stack include:

• Getting up + Making your bed
• Drinking your morning coffee + Taking your vitamins
• Taking a lunch break + Taking a quick walk
• Brushing your teeth + Flossing your teeth
• Doing laundry + Listening to a podcast
• Watching TV + Doing yoga
• Getting ready for bed + Meditating
• Walking on the treadmill + Reading a book
• Cleaning up after dinner + Meal prepping for the next day
• Washing your face in the morning + Cleaning off the bathroom counter

Give It Time

This is the part that most people find challenging. No matter what, habits take time to build. It is essential to know that forming a habit takes time and commitment. It usually takes months for a behavior to become a habit.

Accept Failure

It is okay if you do not get it right the first time. You may fall off the behavior before it becomes a habit, and then you stop it together. This happens all the time to all of us, but there is always the ability to try again. So do your best not to give up and keep trying until you hit a home run.

Get Organized

Getting organized may sound hard if becoming organized is the new habit you are trying to pursue. Luckily, this pertains to habit forming particularly and only takes sitting down once and creating a realistic list of other habits you want to pursue along with the current one. 

Start Stacking (Only If You're Ready)

After determining your overall goal of habits, you can then begin incorporating each behavior gradually. For example, if you are now eating fruit with your first glass of water in the morning and choose to wash the dishes after eating fruits, it will be your new addition to habit stacking.

You may want to add one more thing to your morning routine, which can even mean doing a task before your first glass of water. Maybe you started to notice that you constantly forget to do your daily stretching after getting out of bed, so you decide to make stretching your first habit of the day. 

Don't Overdo It

Be realistic with your habit stacking. Do not choose to stack too many habits all at once. Be sure to focus on one new behavior at a time. Once that habit is formed, or you see yourself remembering to complete this habit often, then attempt to add a new one.

It is not about how much you stack but about bettering your life. So make sure that you're not getting so distracted by the stacking itself that you lose sight of what you're hoping to achieve.

Takeaways

Implementing a new habit into one's life isn’t an easy thing. It usually takes multiple attempts for a habit to stick. The added roadblocks associated with ADHD, like disorganization, memory issues, and difficulty focusing, make habit forming even more difficult.

Luckily, habit stacking can help accomplish the goal of forming new lifestyle habits, even if factors like ADHD make things a bit more challenging. You might have tried your own tactics to make certain behaviors a consistent part of your routine but received no results; it’s possible that habit stacking is just what you’ve been looking for.