Making Proper Sanitation And Hygiene a Habit in Face-To-Face Classes

“We spend more and more time at our desks, but we haven’t learned to bring the hygiene habits we have at home to the office.”

In today’s blog, we are going to explore the significance of building habits in ensuring proper sanitation and hygiene at schools and other social settings. As well as ways how to create those habits and stick to them. But first, let us define the terms. A habit is a routine of behavior that is repeated regularly and tends to occur subconsciously. As full face-to-face classes started on November 2, 2022, by DepEd Order No. 34, Series of 2022, how well can you say that you are following the protocols necessary for a safe balik-aral? You may either be a student, teacher, or staff; nevertheless, you are not exempted from acquiring various infections and diseases.

To begin, James Clear, author of Atomic Habits, pointed out the 4 stages of acquiring a habit: cue, craving, response, and reward. The cue is a trigger that tells your brain to do something. Cues can be almost anything, from a visual trigger to a time of day, an emotion, a sequence of thoughts, the company of particular people, etc. It can be as simple as a phone buzzing or the act of waking up.

The driving force behind every habit, cravings constitutes the second stage of the habit loop. We have no reason to act unless we have some amount of drive or desire—unless we yearn for a change. Not the habit itself, but the satisfaction it gives us. Just like how we do not crave television, but rather the feeling of entertainment it gives us.

The third step is the response. It is the actual habit you perform, which may be expressed as a thought or an action. Depending on how driven you are and how much effort it requires surrounding the behavior, a response may or may not take place. Apart from this, you must also be capable of doing it. After all, you won't undertake something if it needs more effort than you are prepared to put forth in terms of both physical and mental exertion.

Lastly, the reward. It gives our brain the incentive to repeat the action. In summary, the cue triggers a craving, which motivates a response, which provides a reward, which satisfies the craving and, ultimately, becomes associated with the cue.

Now that we have established a clear foundation of how habits form, let us now try to integrate them into our daily lives. Specifically, in practicing proper sanitation and hygiene. Here are some examples:

Based on my given example, the first step in integrating proper sanitation and hygiene into school settings is through prompting and reminding. This can be done either through verbal communication or with the use of different mediums to create posters and infographics. I’m also encouraging public social settings to readily provide alcohol dispenser stands, soap, and other hygienic tools. In addition, bringing a simple hygiene kit at school can go a long way in building habits regarding proper sanitation and hygiene as they will serve as cues.

Furthermore, proper sanitation and hygiene are crucial as it helps us prevent getting or spreading germs and infectious diseases. With this in mind, building habits help us perform automotive responses that come naturally every day.