The Wellness Wire: Issue 12

🌱 Why your brain loves habits — and how to hack the habit loop

Willpower is overrated. Habits win every time.
If you’ve ever wondered why some people make exercise, eating well, or sleeping early look easy, here’s the secret: it’s not motivation — it’s their habits doing the work.

The best part? Habit-building isn’t about superhuman discipline. It's about understanding how your brain is wired and learning to work with it, not against it.

👩‍🔬 The research says: Your brain is built for habits

Habits free up mental energy
A 2025 study using brain scans found that habits are encoded in a different area of the brain than goal-directed behaviours — allowing you to run on autopilot and save mental resources for more complex tasks. But they don’t come easy! New habits can begin forming within about two months but can take up to 335 days to establish.

A new playbook for changing habits
Groundbreaking research out of Trinity College Dublin introduced a cognitive blueprint for habit change. It shows how habits form when automatic responses overpower goal-directed control — and how we can rebalance the brain systems involved using environment design, repetition, and smart strategies like “if-then” planning.

Sleep and routine impact your job performance
In a 2023 study of over 12,000 Japanese employees, insufficient sleep was the strongest predictor of poor work performance, followed by lack of exercise and late-night meals. Small, daily habits are quietly dragging down productivity — especially among men.

🔧 Hacking the loop to make a change

Now that you know your brain runs on habits to conserve energy, the real question is:
How do you change the ones that aren’t serving you — and build the ones that will?

Let’s revisit the loop:

🔔 Cue – the trigger that sets your habit in motion
 ⬇️
🏃 Routine – the action you take
 ⬇️
🏆 Reward – the payoff that reinforces the behaviour
 🔁

To build better habits (or break old ones), you don’t need more motivation — you need to intervene in the loop. Here’s how:

1️⃣ Control the cue
Design your environment to reduce friction. Want to move more? Lay out your workout clothes the night before. Want to snack less? Keep junk food out of sight — or out of the house.

2️⃣ Replace the routine
Don’t just try to break a bad habit — swap it. If your stress response is a social media scroll, try a short walk, deep breath, or stretch instead. The cue stays the same, but the routine shifts.

3️⃣ Redefine the reward
Rewards don’t have to be big. Progress tracking, a fist-pump, or a moment of reflection (“I feel better after that”) reinforce new habits faster than you think. Go with whatever works for you.

These small changes are powerful because they align with how your brain is already wired to work. You don’t have to overhaul your life — just hack one loop at a time.

🚀 Build momentum with the Zero-to-Hero challenge

Understanding how habits work is one thing — putting that knowledge into practice is where the magic happens.

That’s why we launched the Zero-to-Hero Challenge this month: a 21-day movement plan designed to help you build a consistent fitness habit from scratch — no gym, no experience required.

Created by expert PT with an honours degree in biokinetics, Richard Woolrich, the challenge is structured to align with the habit loop:

🔔 Cue – Daily prompts to remind you to move
🏃 Routine – Strength, cardio, and mobility sessions under 30 minutes
🎉 Reward – Track your progress and earn Strove points as you go

🎥 Watch the 60-second explainer video

Want in? If you're already using Strove, sign up in-app.
If not, put us in touch with your favourite HR person. We’ll see what we can do.

📊 Poll results are in — and here’s what you said

Last issue, we asked:
Do you feel that social media usage negatively affects your mental health?

Here’s how you responded:

• 😔 Yes – 71%
  

• 🙂 No – 19%
  

• 🤔 Unsure – 10%

No surprise, most of you feel the scroll is taking a toll. We'll keep exploring ways to help you manage tech in a healthier way — and maybe even build better digital habits.

This week’s poll:

🎁 Bonus resources

 🎥 Watch this: Rich Roll’s conversation with James Clear is one of the all-time best podcast episodes on habits 👇

💬 Final word — your habits are your superpower

If there’s one thing to remember from this issue, it’s this:
Your brain is wired for habits — and that’s a good thing.

Once a habit loop is in place, your brain does the work for you. The challenge is making sure it’s running the right scripts.

Whether it’s moving more, sleeping better, or managing stress, real change doesn’t come from overhauling your life — it comes from consistently doing the small stuff that matters.

You don’t need more motivation. You need a system.
You already have the framework. Now, it’s time to put it to work.

👉 Pick one habit loop this week and try to hack it.
Start small. Stay curious. Let consistency do its thing.

📤 Share & support

Know someone who could use some habit advice? Forward this issue—knowledge is power! 💪✨

💼 Could Strove help at your organisation?

Employee wellbeing is key to productivity and a thriving workplace culture. Try Strove free for 7 days to see the difference.