Nudge Yourself to Health
July 29, 2011 by healthpsychologyconsultancy
I recently discussed Nudge Theory on radio and in a recent blog. There is much discussion about how the government can ‘nudge’ us into shape. However, what about nudging ourselves? Nudging is, after all, merely making healthy choices easier for ourselves. For example, I need to keep a bottle of water on my desk to ‘nudge’ me to drink; without this reminder, I would not drink enough water. A simple, yet useful technique to help keep myself healthy.
So, how else can we provide our own nudges in order to improve our health and well-being?
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We could get a walking budding, so that we have a constant nudge to go for a brisk walk every Friday afternoon – after all, we don’t want to let our walking buddy down, do we?
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We could keep a snack size bag of fruit and nuts in our handbag, so that if we get hungry while we are out, we don’t head for the nearest chocolate counter.
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Having an electric toothbrush with a 2-minute timer nudges us into ensuring we brush our teeth for the recommended 2-minutes each time. A good idea for maintaining oral health.
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Setting the alarm to go off every hour or so is a great reminder to take a quick break from the computer in order to look after our eyes.
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Using a smaller plate can nudge us towards consuming smaller amounts, if this is appropriate and we need to.
The list goes on. Does anyone have any personal nudges they use that they find particularly helpful? It would be great to hear them.
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Posted in Health, Psychology | Tagged Behaviour, Health, Psychology | 3 Comments
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Hi Nicola,
I like these reminders you’ve suggested. I keep pots of herbs close to the back door on the yard so that I remember to add them to our salads. Also, keep face scrub on the ledge of the bath to remind me to use it now and again.:)
Hi Susan, the one thing I always plan to use and never do is my face scrub – no longer – I shall use your nudge idea!
[...] and Sunstein, 2008) by now, and I have written about it a number of times – Nudge Theory and Nudge Yourself to Health. However, how the government can utilise the theory to improve the health of the nation remains [...]