👩‍🏫 For Teachers

Manage your classroom time efficiently: allocate 15 minutes total for this activity. Quickly review student progress using the provided answer explanations.

🎓 For Learners

Read the text carefully first, then complete all 8 questions. After you check an answer, read the explanation that appears.

A

Have you ever tried to start a new healthy routine, like going for a morning walk or drinking more water? Researchers at University College London, including Phillippa Lally, wanted to know how long a new habit actually takes to form. In their study, 96 volunteers each started one new healthy behaviour. They were asked to do it once a day in the same situation.

B

Many people think it takes just 21 days to build a habit, but the research summaries show a different story. On average, a new habit took 66 days to become automatic, meaning people started doing it without thinking. The researchers also noticed that the required time depends heavily on the type of habit and on how a person builds it into their daily life.

C

The timeframe was actually very different for different people. For some simple habits, it took only 18 days for volunteers to make it routine. For other, more challenging habits, the study predicted it could take up to 254 days. This clearly demonstrates that 66 days is just an average figure, and it is certainly not a fixed rule for everybody.

D

The summaries also share something encouraging about missed days during the process. In the study, missing a single day did not reduce the overall chance of forming a habit. Researchers found that a missed day had little effect on how automatic the habit became later. So if you forget once, you do not need to give up!

____ TRUE ____ FALSE ____ NOT GIVEN

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____ A. The specific nature of the habit and the way an individual integrates it. ____ B. The strict rule that every person must follow a 21-day program. ____ C. How many missed days occur during the initial 96-day testing period. ____ D. The exact location where Phillippa Lally conducted the London interviews.

____ A. It is a guaranteed rule that applies equally to every single volunteer. ____ B. It represents the maximum amount of time needed for difficult routines. ____ C. It serves as a general average rather than a fixed deadline for all individuals. ____ D. It was proven wrong because most people formed habits in exactly 18 days.

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