Those who bite their nails are aware of how challenging it is to break the habit.

Like pushing a stray hair behind your or itching a mosquito bite, it’s a habit that feels nearly instinctive. You frequently don’t even realize you’re doing it.

Even when you are conscious, you don’t stop because of the negative connotations, such as how it appears unclean and, very frankly, immature.

This is a safe area, so let’s get started. I also bite my nails. You won’t find any criticism or condemnation from me.

1. Why do individuals bite their nails?

You may begin chewing your nails for several reasons, and you may continue to do so.

Nail biting typically starts in childhood. Although it is a habit that is frequently linked to stress or anxiety, it is probably more nuanced than that.

One idea holds, for instance, that it, or what appears to be its effects, assist some individuals in regulating their emotions.

Consider it this way:

Biting your nails offers you the impression that it will give you something to do or make you feel fulfilled when you’re understimulated (also known as bored or unsatisfied).
Biting your nails can be a diversion or short-term escape from an overwhelming emotion when you’re overstimulated (also known as enthusiastic, tense, or impatient).

It’s still only a theory, but I believe many people, like myself, who tend to bite their nails, might find some personal truth there.

2. How come then that we have nails?

First off, it’s not always our nails. Some people bite at their inner cheek, pick at their skin, pull at their split ends, and the list goes on. Additionally, there might be an evolutionary connection as well; all it takes is a quick glance at your pet to be reminded of an animal’s compulsive grooming tendency.

Then why, given the hurt fingers and harm done, do we continue to bite our nails?

Understanding how we develop habits—even “bad” ones—helps in this situation.

The formula that regulates habit formation, which necessitates the following:, turns out that nail biting is a classic example and is no coincidence.

• A reliable cue that always occurs at the same moment and location
• A basic activity, usually one that is regarded as useful.
• A reward (inherent in the behavior or associated with it)
• Repeating the aforementioned a lot

You never stop having nails. It’s as simple to bite them as raising your hand. You must have connected a reward to it sometime along the path, perhaps as a coping mechanism for difficult feelings, if the hypothesis is to be believed. Last but not least, you probably began biting your nails as a child and… just kept doing it.

3. But is it harmful to bite your fingernails?

We all understand how bad it is to bite our nails. Is it, however, a terrible thing?

The following are the effects of nail biting:

• If you bite at your cuticle or the soft tissue nearby, it may increase your chance of developing an infection around the nail.
• Your teeth may be harmed.
• Your risk of getting sick can rise as a result of spreading germs from your hands and fingers to your mouth.

However, since the COVID-19 epidemic started, the last effect has grown to be the most concerning. We probably feel the first one the most. You may not even be aware of how many things and surfaces you touch each day until you contract a contagious infection.