In the study, the researchers worked with 48 participants, half of whom regularly engaged in these types of behaviors. The other participants, who didn’t engage in these behaviors, acted as a control group.
The participants were asked questions about the extent to which they experienced emotions like boredom, anger, guilt, irritability and anxiety.
Then, each participant was exposed to situations designed to provoke particular feelings (including relaxation, stress, frustration and boredom). In the boredom scenario, for instance, the subject was simply left alone in a room for six minutes.
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If you do bite your nails from time to time, there’s no need to worry — you’re probably not doing much harm. In fact, the researchers say that such behaviors serve a temporary purpose when we’re not able to channel our energy more productively.
“The positive effects of the habits are stimulation and a (maladaptive) way of regulating emotion,” O’Connor said in an email to The Huffington Post. “What triggers the habit is largely frustration and impatience so the action substitutes for more constructive action.”
Source: Huffington Post
Photo credit: Maxwell GS
