Tejal Somvanshi
Most people believe they control their daily actions. They think about what to do, weigh their options, then make conscious choices. But new research shows something different. Your brain runs on autopilot far more than you realize.
A recent study from the University of Surrey, University of South Carolina, and Central Queensland University found that 65% of what we do each day happens automatically. These aren’t planned decisions. They’re habits kicking in without any conscious thought.
The researchers tracked 105 people from the UK and Australia for one week. Six times each day, participants received random prompts on their phones. They had to describe what they were doing and whether it was a habit or an intentional choice. The results surprised even the scientists.
Two-thirds of daily behaviors started automatically. People weren’t making conscious decisions. Instead, their brains triggered actions based on familiar situations and past routines.
Think about your morning routine. Many actions happen without conscious planning. Your brain recognizes familiar settings and launches routines automatically, requiring minimal active thought.
“People like to think of themselves as rational decision makers, who think carefully about what to do before they do it,” said Dr. Amanda Rebar, lead author from the University of South Carolina. “However, much of our repetitive behavior is undertaken with minimal forethought and is instead generated automatically, by habit.”
This automatic system serves an important purpose. Habits free up mental resources for other tasks that need more attention.
The study found something else interesting. Nearly half of these automatic behaviors—46% to be exact—actually align with people’s conscious goals. This means your brain often autopilots you toward things you want anyway. When you set good intentions and repeat them enough times, helpful patterns can develop that support those goals.
Professor Benjamin Gardner from the University of Surrey explained what this means for changing behavior. “Our research shows that while people may consciously want to do something, the actual initiation and performance of that behavior is often done without thinking, driven by non-conscious habits. This suggests that ‘good’ habits may be a powerful way to make our goals a reality.”
This creates a challenge for breaking bad habits. Simply wanting to change isn’t enough. As Gardner noted, “For people who want to break their bad habits, simply telling them to ‘try harder’ isn’t enough. To create lasting change, we must incorporate strategies to help people recognize and disrupt their unwanted habits, and ideally form positive new ones in their place.”
Breaking unwanted habits requires disrupting the triggers. The researchers suggest strategies like avoiding places associated with the habit and creating new routines to replace old ones. For smoking cessation, this might mean chewing gum after a meal instead of having a cigarette, or avoiding places where someone used to smoke.
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Exercise proved to be an exception in the research. Unlike other habits, working out doesn’t fully operate on autopilot. People might automatically start the process of exercising out of habit, but actually completing the workout still requires more conscious attention.
“Exercise was the exception in our findings, as it was often triggered by habit, but less likely to be achieved purely on autopilot, compared to other behaviors,” said Dr. Grace Vincent, a sleep scientist from Central Queensland University.
This explains why exercise routines can be challenging to maintain. The automatic trigger may get you started, but sustaining the activity requires ongoing conscious engagement.
The research has important implications for public health and wellness programs. Traditional approaches often focus on education and awareness, telling people what they should do. But if most behavior happens automatically, different strategies may be more effective.
The researchers recommend that programs designed to help people adopt new behaviors should focus on building new positive habits. For someone trying to exercise regularly, the most effective approach involves identifying a specific everyday situation where exercise can realistically happen—such as a certain time of day or following a regular event like leaving work—and consistently exercising in that situation.
For behavior changes around nutrition or sleep, similar principles apply. Building specific, consistent routines in response to regular cues can help establish patterns that eventually become automatic.
Dr. Vincent offered an encouraging perspective. “Our study shows that two-thirds of what people do each day is sparked by habit, and most of the time those habits are also aligned with our intentions. This means that if we set out to create a positive habit, whether that’s around better sleep hygiene, or nutrition, or general wellbeing improvements, we can rely on an internal ‘autopilot’ to take over and help us maintain those habits.”
The study was published in Psychology & Health and used a method called ecological momentary assessment. This approach captures real-time data about what people are actually doing, rather than asking them to remember behaviors later, which tends to be more accurate than traditional surveys.
The findings may influence how health interventions are designed going forward. Rather than focusing solely on motivation and willpower, programs could emphasize environmental changes and consistent routines that make desired behaviors automatic over time.
Understanding how much of daily life operates automatically opens new approaches to personal change. The research suggests that creating the right conditions and consistent patterns may be more effective than relying on willpower alone. When positive behaviors become habitual, they require less ongoing effort to maintain.
