No matter what age you are, we are all at risk to a number of common bad habits that annoyingly stick around.

Biting your nails, drooling, stress eating, amongst many others, can not only be embarrassing, but also have a detrimental effect in many aspects of your life, whether it be social situations, work or your physical health. 

However, there are many ways one can overcome such bad habits, and we have prepared a list for you with a few possible solutions to keep these pesky habits at bay. 

1. Biting your nails 

Biting your nails is an extremely common habit that exists in over half of children and teenagers. Once the habit is in place, it may be tough as an adult as well to get rid of it. It often is also a result of anxiety and stress, as well as boredom, as a coping mechanism. Most biting of nails happens unconsciously. 

There are many downsides to nail biting. It can result in abnormal-looking nails, chipping of teeth, skin damage and other illnesses, as nails hold a lot of germs.  

However, there are various ways to limit this habit:

• Cutting them short, as there won’t be enough nail to bite
• Using nail polish, giving nails a bitter and thus unsatisfactory taste
• Getting manicures, which people will want to ruin less after spending to make their nails look good
• Wearing gloves
• Tackling the issue from the root and figuring out what is the cause of one’s nail-biting
• Keeping your mouth and hands busy, such as by chewing gum, or playing with a stress-ball 

2. Drooling 

 While drooling is often expected in babies and toddlers, it can still be quite embarrassing for teenagers and adults to drool at an older age, even if common. It usually occurs while sleeping, as that is when people are less likely to swallow their spit. 

 However, there are various infections and conditions that lead to drooling as well. Those with a history of brain injuries, Parkinson’s, a history of strokes, and cerebral palsy, etc, may be more likely to drool. 

 Drooling often makes social situations awkward, and can lead to chapping, breakdown of the skin, and irritation. In serious cases, it can lead to aspiration pneumonia. 

 There are various treatments that may help with drooling:

• Sleeping on your back if you usually sleep on your side helps as gravity will help prevent from saliva coming out the mouth
• Treat allergies and sinus problems that may block the nose and produce more saliva
• Medicine prescribed by doctors, such as patches (hyoscine)
• Botox injections in the salivary glands helps prevent these glands from producing saliva 
• Speech therapy may help one have more control over their mouth and jaw in terms of mobility and stability. Therapy may improve swallowing, which results into less drooling
• Oral appliances to aid swallowing
• In extreme cases such as when drooling leads to neurological conditions, surgery may help, such as by removing salivary glands 

3. Stress Eating

There are many psychological and physical reasons to stress eat, which further leads to more complications in matters of physical health, social situations, mental health, etc. 

Some of the triggers and reasons people may stress eat are childhood development, such as when a child is having a bad day, candy is given to make them feel better, difficulty dealing with emotions, high cortisol levels, boredom, fatigue, habits, and social influences. 

However, there are a few ways people can test out to avoid stress eating. 

• If one is bored, they can try distracting themselves with a hobby, such as reading, playing a game, doing work, etc, instead of mindless eating. 
• For those that feel anxious and heavy, yoga, meditating, or taking a walk may help alleviate various emotions instead of turning to food. 
• If one feels depressed, talking to a friend, seeking therapy, might help, instead of pouring emotions out on food.
• Keeping a food journal and noting down food habits might help self awareness, lessening stress eating patterns. 
• Identifying triggers and root causes and tackling them in itself  

4. Being late 

Being late can hamper your social life, your work, your relationships, your routine, and your mental health by frequently not being on time for a number of different things. 

However, there are many different ways to make sure you’re punctual:

• Planning ahead by leaving space between meetings, accounting for transportation, getting ready, waking up early, prepping the night before, are all ways to make sure you attend your plan on time. 
• Setting your alarm earlier than the actual time is a sneaky way of making sure you’re not late by deceiving yourself.
• Learning to say no to things or ideas by others that may serve as a distraction before your event
• Using the emotional appeal by understanding how others may feel waiting for you, as well as understanding the consequences of being late (scolding from your boss, bad reputation, missing your bus, etc)

5. Slouching

Slouching can harm your muscles, joints and ligaments. It can also be embarrassing if one slouches to an extent where it’s visible in one’s posture, and it can also make one look much shorter.  

There’s many advantages to getting rid of your slouching habit and maintaining good posture. It helps lessen back pain, better breathing, less fatigue, better balance, less injuries, less headaches etc. 

The first step is consciously reminding yourself of bettering your posture. Besides that there’s a few ways you can lessen slouching: 

• Standing tall and straight with your shoulders relaxed and pulled back slightly
• Sitting correctly, up straight without hunching or rounding your shoulders, helps posture. Using a chair to aid straight posture may also help. 
• Exercises such as wall slides, child’s pose, shoulder blade squeeze, planks, and bridges, help aid good posture by stabilizing shoulders and the upper back, as well making chest muscles more flexible. They also help ease tension around the back and neck.  

There you have it! Here are different ways to tackle common bad habits that many of us go through. 

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Source: WebMD, Medical News Today, Greatist, Healthline