A 15-Minute Plan Helped Adults Practise a Habit 34% More

You’ve probably heard that it takes 21 days to form a habit.

The research says it usually takes longer. About two months is typical, and for some people it takes most of a year.

A new 6-month trial from UC Berkeley adds the useful part: what actually helps a habit stick.

Here’s how long habits take, what the new study found, and a simple plan you can copy.

How long does it take to form a habit?

The best estimate is about two months, but it varies a lot from person to person.

A 2024 review pooled 20 studies with 2,601 people. In the studies that measured it, the typical (median) time was 59 to 66 days.

The averages were longer, at 106 to 154 days.

Some people got there in 4 days. Others took 335.

The authors put it plainly: the evidence refutes the popular idea that habits form in about 21 days. They suggest planning for two to five months.

So if a new habit still feels like hard work after three weeks, that’s normal. It doesn’t mean you’ve failed.

What the new study tested

A 20-second habit

The main study, published in Scientific Reports in 2026, comes from psychologists at the University of California, Berkeley.

It tested a “micropractice”: a tiny well-being exercise that takes 20 seconds or less a day.

The practice was called self-compassionate touch. You think of something that’s been bothering you, like a mistake.

Then you put one hand on your chest and one on your belly, like giving yourself a hug. You ask yourself: how can I be a friend to myself right now?

Two groups, one difference

The team recruited 497 adults across the US and randomly split them into two groups.

Everyone learned the practice from a short video. Everyone also chose a cue, such as brushing their teeth, and was asked to practise daily for 6 months.

Half the group also watched a video on building habits and filled in a plan. That was the only difference, and the whole session took 15 minutes.

What was in the habit plan

The extra session ended with a written plan. People wrote down:

They were also allowed up to two “emergency skip days” a week. Then they closed their eyes and pictured themselves following the plan.

What the study found

People practised more, for longer

The habit plan worked on its main goal. People who got it practised more often, and the habit felt more automatic.

At both check-ins, people with the plan practised about 34% more often.

That’s almost two extra practice sessions a week. Over 6 months, the authors estimate about 50 extra sessions, or about a third more practice.

The gap held up at 6 months, long after the single session.

A small extra benefit for well-being

The habit group also scored a little higher on self-compassion at 3 and 6 months.

At 6 months, they had a slightly bigger drop in mental health symptoms, such as low mood and worry. There was no such difference at 3 months.

Stress was the exception. The two groups ended up with similar stress scores.

Why it seemed to work

The team checked what explained the benefits. The key was how automatic the practice had become by 3 months.

That accounted for roughly 40% to 83% of the extra benefits seen at 6 months. In other words, the habit itself seemed to do much of the work.

The catch

Here’s what I’d keep in mind. Both groups did the practice, so this study can’t show that the practice beats doing nothing.

The effects were small, and everything was self-reported, including how often people practised. The participants were also unusually well educated: 83% had a college degree.

The comparison group had a cue too, so the plan faced a tough test. The authors note that’s a higher bar than comparing with people who got nothing.

Who funded it

The study was funded by the US National Science Foundation, the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and two well-being research groups.

The lead author later signed a contract to write a book on micropractices, after the study was finished. The authors say the funders had no role in the study.

What earlier research found

A review found habits take two to five months

The 2024 review in the journal Healthcare is the best summary of how long habits take. Most of its 20 studies were rated at high risk of bias, so the numbers are rough.

It found habits formed more strongly when people chose them themselves, and when they practised in the morning.

In one stretching study, morning habits took an average of 106 days to form. Evening ones took 154.

The same team’s first trial found no clear effect

In 2024, the Berkeley team tested the same 20-second practice in 135 college students for one month. The comparison group did a finger-tapping exercise.

Overall, the practice made no significant difference. But among students who practised more than 28 times, it was linked to more self-compassion and less stress.

That result is why the team tested habit tools next. The practice only seemed to help people who actually did it.

Self-touch lowered a stress hormone

A 2021 German trial put 159 young adults through a standard stress test: a mock job interview and a mental arithmetic task.

Some gave themselves 20 seconds of soothing touch first, and some got a hug. Both groups had lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol afterwards than a control group.

But people didn’t report feeling less stressed. Most chose a hand on the heart and a hand on the belly.

Self-touch matched a short meditation

A 2026 trial gave 78 stressed young adults 14 days of either soothing touch or a short meditation.

Both reduced stress, tiredness and loneliness in the moment, by similar amounts. Neither changed people’s longer-term questionnaire scores.

How it fits together

The research agrees on two things. Habits take months, not weeks, and tiny practices only help if you actually keep doing them.

The new trial shows that a little planning can make that much more likely.

How much should you trust this?

Promising. It’s a well-designed trial with a long follow-up. But it’s one study, and the benefits were small.

What makes it convincing

• People were randomly assigned, and the plan was compared with an active control.
• The analysis was registered in advance, and the data are public.
• Few people dropped out: 6% by the 6-month check.
• The effect on practice lasted 6 months.

What makes me cautious

• Practice and well-being were self-reported.
• The effects on well-being were small, and the mental health result appeared only at 6 months.
• There was no group that did nothing, so the practice itself wasn’t tested against no practice.
• The sample was mostly well-educated, white Americans with smartphones.

What this means for you

You can use the study’s plan for almost any small habit, not just self-compassion.

• Start tiny. A 20-second habit is easier to repeat than a long one.
• Pick a cue you never miss. Do the new habit straight after something you already do daily, like brushing your teeth.
• Make the cue specific. “After brushing my teeth, in the bathroom, in the morning” beats “sometime in the morning”.
• Set a phone alarm. It’s a backup while the habit is still new.
• Allow two skip days a week. Missing a day is normal. Just pick up where you left off.
• Notice the reward. Pay attention to how the habit makes you feel.
• Expect months, not weeks. If it still takes effort after 21 days, keep going.

To try the practice itself, put one hand on your chest and one on your belly. Take a few slow breaths and ask: how can I be a friend to myself right now?

For more ways to look after your mental wellbeing, see the free tips from the NHS Every Mind Matters service.

This self-help practice isn’t a treatment for depression or anxiety. If you’re struggling, talk to a doctor or a mental health professional.

If you’re in crisis, please contact someone now. In the US, call or text 988.

In the UK and Ireland, call Samaritans on 116 123. Elsewhere, Find a Helpline lists free services.

If procrastination is the habit you’re fighting, we covered a brain stimulation trial on procrastination.

In this short video, BBC Global explains the surprising benefits of self-soothing touch:

What we still don’t know

1. Which part of the plan mattered? The cue, the alarm, the skip days and the rewards were all tested together.
2. Does it work for bigger habits? Exercise or healthy eating may be harder to build than a 20-second practice.
3. Do the benefits grow? A longer follow-up could show whether the well-being effects get bigger.
4. Does it work in other groups? Most participants were well educated and owned smartphones.

My take: plan the habit, not just the goal

What I like about this study is that it tested something most of us skip. We decide to start a habit, but we rarely plan how.

I’m less convinced by any claim that 20 seconds of self-touch will transform your mental health. The well-being effects here were small.

So my reading is simple. Pick one tiny habit, tie it to something you already do, and give it two months.

And if you miss a day, be kind to yourself. That’s part of the plan.