There are people who cannot cope with a serious problem — they constantly bite their nails. It happens unconsciously, sometimes out of boredom. Such an activity helps to relax, overcome fear and tension, so it is difficult to wean from it.

Read the following tips if you have a similar problem. These tips will help you get rid of a bad habit, because it is unpleasant and even dangerous, as you can hurt yourself.

The problem is that pathogenic microbes accumulate under the nails and enter your mouth. If you bite your nails for a long time, they will grow poorly and deform.

Therefore, stop biting your nails today … We offer 10 tips to help you …

1. Observation

The first step is to get to know yourself and your habits. Observe how you look when you bite your nails, how you feel while biting your nails, and try to understand why you do it.

2. Visualization

Imagine beautiful, long, healthy nails. Choose one nail and don’t touch it. If you succeed, you will have a great motivation at your disposal — to protect the others as well.

1. Wherever you go most often, stick leaflets with a reminder not to bring your palms to your mouth.

2. Cut out the picture with the nails you dream of. Take a picture of your nails too, stack the pictures together to see the difference, and never bite your nails again.

3. Breath

Once you recognize the reasons why you bite your nails, focus on eliminating those reasons.

1. If stress is the cause, try to manage it by using relaxation techniques, exercise, sleep, reducing the amount of homework…

2. If the reason is general tension, learn to cope with your nerves and problems. For this, proper breathing techniques that soothe and relax are suitable.

4. Step by step

Set short-term goals for yourself and try to beat your records. The longer you hold out, the better results you will achieve. If you are unable to control yourself, ask loved ones to remind you. Take care of your nails. Show them to loved ones so that their praise becomes your motivation to continue fighting the problem. Each positive assessment and recognition will give you a reason to be proud of yourself.

5. A quick solution is nail polish and cream.

Apply polish on your nails and cream on your hands. Their smell and taste will be unpleasant for you, it will also help to cope with the habit of biting your nails. If you are used to the smell, change the cream. But be careful that these substances do not get into food. It is very easy to wean from a bad habit if you build up artificial nails.

6. Make them strong and beautiful

The appearance of nails is most improved by the minerals calcium and magnesium. Take minerals every day, either with food or supplements. In pharmacies, nutritional supplements are available to strengthen nails. If you manage to resist the urge to bite your nails for a while, cover with varnish or go for a manicure. It is much more difficult to “attack” beautiful nails.

7. Find another habit

There are people who like to tap their fingertips on the surface of the table; maybe it’s enough that you admire your own hands, or maybe you need to do some creative work, for example, drawing. Playing with thimbles helps children.

8. Hide them

If you hide your hands, you can refrain from temptation. Put on gloves or cover your nails with a band-aid, apply a healing cream to the injured skin.

9. Don’t take it in your mouth

Keep nail clippers with you at all times. This way, if your nail breaks, you won’t have to bite it.

10. Don’t back down

Quitting the habit of biting your nails is not easy. You need to arm yourself with patience, self-discipline and willpower. Remember that nails are a mirror of your health, and you are responsible for them.

What do the numbers say?

1. The habit of biting nails is common in children and adults. According to some reports, 30% of children and 45% of adolescents bite their nails.

2. Nearly half of children and teenagers between the ages of 10 and 18 bite their nails periodically.

3. After the age of 10, this habit is more common in boys.

4. Young people between the ages of 18 and 22 also bite their nails, but give up the habit before the age of 30.

5. German statistics prove that 15% of adults have this habit. Since this symptom speaks of serious and deep psychological problems, German psychologists pay special attention to such people.