Try this therapy if you want to get rid of nail biting habit

Nail biting or picking at your skin might seem like harmless habits, but they actually can be damaging. These are called body-focused repetitive behaviors. They mean you can't help but pull at your hair or skin, even if you end up with sores, scars, or bald spots. These habits could affect about 5 percent of all people around the world, and biting nails is one common behavior.

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How to get rid of the habit of nail biting?

Nail biting habit needs to be changed for better health (Image via Vecteezy)

New research shows that a simple move might help. This research was recently shared in JAMA Dermatology. It suggests that 'habit replacement' might cut down on these behaviors.

Habit replacement means gently rubbing your fingertips, palm, or back of your arm at least two times a day. Although it didn't work for everyone, over half of the people in the research said they felt some improvement. That's way more than the roughly 20 percent in a control group who felt better.

Steffen Moritz, head of the clinical neuropsychology working group at University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf in Germany, led the research. He said in a statement:

"The rule is just to touch your body lightly. Even when stressed, one should perform the movements faster, but not with more self-applied pressure."

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Simple treatment can cure this habit

Treatment can cure nail biting (Image via Vecteezy)

This study is early research that needs further checking. Yet, experts said the outcome was encouraging. The study checked 268 people who either had trichotillomania (pulling out hair due to stress) or nail biting. Volunteers were split into two groups.

The first group was shown a manual and a video. These showed them how to form a new habit that's less harmful by gently rubbing any time they felt the need to bite or pull. They were also told to practice this new habit even when they didn't feel the urge.

The second group was told they were on a waitlist for treatment. They only got habit replacement training after the study wrapped up.

Pretty much eight out of 10 individuals in the treatment group were happy with the training. They'd even recommend it to a friend. People who do nail biting seem to reap the most benefits from the habit replacement thing.

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Limitations of the habit replacement

Habit change needs consistency to be effective (Image via Vecteezy)

Habit replacement, as this study shows, kind of hopes to swap out the often good-feeling sensation of picking and pulling for something else that feels good but won't harm you, like a gentle touch.

Yet, this study wasn't perfect. The control group didn't have some sort of alternate treatment. The study was pretty short, only six weeks. Plus, it wasn't clear if other conditions like anxiety or depression played a role in the intervention or if the intervention reduced impairment.

The study authors also said there were some other limitations. The participants were found through social media, lacked diversity (most were white women in their 30s), and didn't have their diagnoses confirmed.

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Starting to conquer a habit like nail-biting is not easy. These body-focused repetitive behaviors are often misunderstood and can be missed or wrongly diagnosed. So, more research is needed in this area. But any effort to close that treatment gap is definitely an important one.