The Positive Side of Bad Habits We all have at least one or two bad habits, but did you know that these habits aren’t necessarily bad, and in fact can improve your life? Nail Biting – although it’s considered a bad habit by society, humans have been biting their nails since the dawn of time. Nail biting prevents your nails from getting too long and breaking or cutting you and it exposes you to tiny amounts of bacteria from residue under your nails. Research shows that exposure to small amounts of bacteria on a regular basis actually strengthens the immune system. Fidgeting Keeps You Alert – fidgeting is actually your brain trying to improve its focus and alertness in the same way that yawning is its way to get you more oxygen quickly. Shaking your legs, twiddling your thumbs, doodling, et”c, all help you focus when you’re tired or bored. Cursing – most people would frown upon swearing and cursing, especially around young children, but it also has appropriate uses; Researchers discovered that swearing in stressful times actually helps reducing your risk of a heart attack by half! Just remember that there’s a time and a place for everything… Daydreaming – daydreaming is the mind’s way to deal with complex problems by letting the conscious mind wander and allowing the subconscious to process and solve the issues. This also occurs if you’re doing a task which doesn’t require you to concentrate and allows your thoughts to roam. Gossiping – research performed in Brown University discovered that gossiping for even 20 minutes with a friend helped reduce tension and anxiety and boost the subject’s mood for up to 4 hours. Gossip is great at creating and strengthening bonds between people, but don’t use it for malicious and hurtful reasons. Being Disorganized – while some might think that disorganized people are lazy, the truth is that some people need a degree of chaos in their life and it helps them think outside the box. In a research performed a few years ago, students were put in tidy rooms and in messy rooms, and the ones in the messy rooms actually drew more creative pictures. Sleeping In – endocrinologists recently discovered that waking up before6:30am increases a person’s risk of contracting cardiovascular diseases. The best thing to do is go to bed when you’re naturally tired and letting your body wake up on its own. Social Media – kids and their phones! Actually, also adults and their phones! Everyone seems to be hooked on social media, checking their Facebook and Twitter all the time. The benefit we draw from it is quite surprising; we tend to make statements on social media and people will hold us up to those statements just like we will do for them. This forces us and them to stay on track and achieve our goals together. Tanrums – expressing your anger in small amounts will reduce tension and stress, and is much healthier than bottling up all that anger and frustration inside. Kids know it better than us and that’s why they naturally do it. Just make sure you express your anger in a healthy way – punch a pillow, go off on a short rant, etc. Watching Cute Videos – if you think it’s nothing be procrastination, you’re dead-wrong. Watching videos helps the brain focus and complete tasks more effectively, and watching cute videos specifically increases our care-giving instincts and makes us take more care in the task we perform.