Why do we bite our nails

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

30% of people bite their nails constantly, but the reason for this is still not exactly known. Many people think that nail biting is a sign of excitement or anxiety, but research has shown that this is not entirely true. People bite their nails out of boredom, hunger, irritation, or while working on a difficult task. And sometimes just because it feels good.

“While the finger may hurt afterwards, the process of biting the nail or the cuticle is a pleasure for us,” says Tracy Foose, a psychiatrist at the University of California, San Francisco. This theory arose after studies of animal behavior Stress-induced grooming in the rat-an endorphin mediated syndrome. … During the experiment, the scientists gave rats a hormone called endorphin, which reduces sensitivity to pain. After that, the rats “washed” less. If the endorphin was specifically blocked by drugs, the rats were more likely to cleanse themselves.

This behavior of animals suggests that cleaning and grooming are associated with pleasure. So when we bite our nails, which is a form of grooming, we also enjoy ourselves.

Then it is understandable why we bite our nails in stressful situations or at work: it calms us down. This theory is also supported by a study linking the habit of biting nails with perfectionism The impact of emotions on body-Focused repetitive behaviors: Evidence from a non-treatment-seeking sample. … People who bite their nails are usually the ones who try to plan things out and quickly lose patience if they have to sit back. Nail biting may help these people cope with boredom and irritation.

Some researchers believe that this bad habit may well be due to a genetic predisposition. Onychophagia: A nail-biting conundrum for physicians, according to dermatologists at Cornell University, a third of people who bite their nails confirm that someone in their family does this too. … This can be seen in the example of twins: almost always both children bite their nails, and not just one.

It is not yet entirely clear why this habit appears at an early age. It may just be easier for kids to get into bad habits because their prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for making decisions, is still in its developmental stage. “A child can easily pick his nose right on the street, and an adult’s brain will simply say no,” Tracy Foose gives an example.

In 2012, the American Psychiatric Association classified nail biting, as well as other pathological habits such as skin picking (dermatillomania) and hair pulling (trichotillomania), as obsessive-compulsive disorders (OCD). OCD can manifest itself as a need to wash hands frequently or to arrange things in a certain way. Abnormal behaviors and OCD have similarities: in both cases, natural behavior becomes hypertrophied. However, not all psychiatrists agree with this classification.

It doesn't really matter which category to categorize the nail biting habit, the main thing is that it can lead to real health problems.

First of all, it harms our teeth and even jaws Onychophagia (Nail biting), anxiety, and malocclusion. … Secondly, it is simply unhygienic. “There is a huge amount of bacteria under the nail,” says Tracy Foose. - There may be Escherichia coli. When we bite our nails, these bacteria enter the body, and this can lead to various problems with the gastrointestinal tract, including nausea and diarrhea."

We also have a lot of bacteria in our mouths, and some of them can cause nail infections. In addition, herpes and warts can be transmitted this way.

There are many ways to get rid of the habit of biting your nails: someone does not take off their gloves, wraps their fingertips with tape or plaster, paints their nails with a special bitter varnish, or even uses a device that gives a small electric shock to wean themselves from a bad habit. All this can help, but perhaps the most effective way is to replace such a habit with another. If the need to bite your nails is stressful, try a stress ball or meditation. Also, reading a favorite book or talking to pets can help someone to calm down.