--- title: 3 Steps to Breaking a Bad Habit description: Bad habits tend to have triggers (like stress) that prompt you to engage in them. canonical: https://time.com/4470993/how-to-break-bad-habits/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-09-02T12:00:23.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T00:15:46.483Z article:section: Health og:title: How to Break a Bad Habit in 3 Steps og:description: Try mindfulness og:url: https://time.com/4470993/how-to-break-bad-habits/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfaa7ad255926b04e/6988a4090b72e310946ead09/3-steps-breaking-bad-habits.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2804 og:image:height: 1577 og:image:alt: Midsection Of Man Smoking Cigarette og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: How to Break a Bad Habit in 3 Steps twitter:description: Try mindfulness twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfaa7ad255926b04e/6988a4090b72e310946ead09/3-steps-breaking-bad-habits.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # How to Break a Bad Habit in 3 Steps > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Health Matters: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Health Matters is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. The latest health news and expert advice on living well. Health Matters makes the fast-moving world of health more useful, surprising and human, from the latest science and medical breakthroughs to practical ideas for living better. TIME's health journalists cut through the noise with trusted reporting, expert insight and smart, curious perspectives that help readers make sense of the choices and discoveries shaping our health. 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Health Matters is TIME's daily health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free daily newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. by [Health.com](https://time.com/author/health-com/) ## Health.com Contributor Sep 2, 2016 12:00 PM UTC  Getty Images by [Health.com](https://time.com/author/health-com/) ## Health.com Contributor Sep 2, 2016 12:00 PM UTC You’re a [nail biter](http://news.health.com/2015/09/19/kicking-the-nail-biting-habit/). Spend too much time on the couch watching TV. A chip fiend and chronic late-night snacker. But here’s some good news if you have a weakness you just can’t seem to shake: Research is shedding light on the most effective ways to break a habit for good. Here, three simple tactics to help you quit once and for all. **Tune in to the urge** One study of [smokers](http://www.health.com/smoking) found that mindfulness training was twice as effective at helping people quit as a more standard, behavior-based cessation program. The researchers believe mindfulness can work for any type of pattern you’re trying to fix. Plugging into the feelings associated with a craving helps you become less in thrall to it, so you can learn to let it go. **_Health.com_**_:_ [_Women Feel Better About Their Bodies Than They Used To_](http://www.health.com/mind-body/women-body-image-obesity/?xid=time) **Change your environment** Your surroundings can encourage a bad habit or facilitate a good one. Practical pointers: To stave off autopilot snacking on sweets, for example, swap the cookie jar with a fruit bowl. Or, if you need to stop checking your phone at red lights, move it from the cup holder to your zipped handbag. **Replace that habit with a healthier one** Bad habits tend to have triggers (like stress) that prompt you to engage in them. So come up with a plan ahead of time for how you will respond to those cues: If you, say, chew your nails when you get frazzled at work, start practicing deep breathing each time you feel overwhelmed. _This_ [_article_](http://www.health.com/mind-body/breaking-bad-habits/?xid=time) _originally appeared on_ [_Health.com_](http://www.health.com) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4470993/how-to-break-bad-habits/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4470993/how-to-break-bad-habits/"},"headline":"How to Break a Bad Habit in 3 Steps","datePublished":"2016-09-02T12:00:23.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T00:15:46.483Z","description":"Try mindfulness","url":"https://time.com/4470993/how-to-break-bad-habits/","keywords":["Research","Addiction"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfaa7ad255926b04e/6988a4090b72e310946ead09/3-steps-breaking-bad-habits.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Health.com","jobTitle":"Contributor","url":"https://time.com/author/health-com/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfaa7ad255926b04e/6988a4090b72e310946ead09/3-steps-breaking-bad-habits.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Midsection Of Man Smoking Cigarette","caption":"Midsection Of Man Smoking Cigarette","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/research/","name":"Research"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4470993/how-to-break-bad-habits/","name":"How to Break a Bad Habit in 3 Steps"}}]}] ```