Nail Tech shares the frustration with made-up, viral nail trends

The success of Atomic Habits and a million other books about developing good habits or breaking bad habits should tell us something about how much people think about our habits. We all have things we wish we did more or less of, but what if some of our ideas about good and bad habits were just…off?

Some things that are traditionally labeled as bad habits may actually be good for you, but for some reason have a bad reputation. When someone asked Reddit for examples of habits that are considered “bad” but are actually good, people responded.

Here are 7 of the most popular answers:

Fidget

How many children were forced to sit still in school and internalized the message that shaking your leg or foot or fidgeting in your seat was a bad habit? It turns out that such moves are actually good for you. We’ve all heard that sitting is the new smoking, and tapping your toes or rocking in the chair helps keep the blood moving and protect the arteries from some of the damage that comes from excessive sitting.

“Shaking/vibrating your leg when you have to sit for a long time gets the blood moving, better than standing completely still for hours.”

“It’s also useful when my toddler wants to be rocked up and down. I just put it on my already shaking leg and it continues.”

“As someone with ADHD, this is good news!”

“As a wise man once said, ‘Exercise is lotion.'”

“I have two relatives who are doctors. They were both doing geriatric care rotations and saying, ‘Exercise is lotion: if you stop moving, you die,’ really resonated with their patients.”

Cry

How many children have heard “Big boys don’t cry” or “Stop crying or I’ll give you something to cry about”? grow up? Much like “Stop fidgeting,” these admonitions were not only unkind or unrealistic, they were also wrong. Crying can be helpful in relieving stress and restoring emotional balance.

“Crying actually helps relieve physical and emotional pain.”

“Yes, and I heard that our tears actually contain stress hormones, so they literally help our bodies reduce cortisol! That’s why we feel better after a good cry.”

“We evolved to both sweat and cry to survive in the world. Our bodies use both to keep us alive and biologically calibrated. Sweating and crying helped us outcompete and escape our predators and prey, and helped us form cohesive bonds and work units and build civilizations.

As a U.S. Marine, this information is literally the difference between life and death, not just for ourselves, but for others as well.”

Nap at work

Okay, not necessary at Work, but that would be good too. But a short nap can also invigorate and refresh you during a break from work. According to the Mayo Clinic, a short nap in the early afternoon is the best way to get the benefits of a nap without disrupting nighttime sleep.

“Ttake a nap during your lunch break. Some people look down on it, but I get a lot of energy from it.”

“Sometimes it’s not really about falling asleep. All you need to do is close your eyes, sit back and put all thoughts out of your head.”

“The whole of Asia has always done this. Have you ever spent time in an office in China? It’s almost eerie how quiet and dark it gets at lunchtime when the boys pull their cribs out from under their desks and sleep around for a whole hour.”

“At work we have these privacy pod things in our cafeteria that are super comfortable so I take a nap there most days. Definitely necessary, haha.”

Be lazy

Doing nothing all the time is definitely not healthy, but in our go-go-go society that puts a lot of emphasis on “productivity,” taking some time to do nothing is actually beneficial. Rest and relaxation are an important part of a balanced life, and doing nothing has real health benefits.

“Be lazy every now and then. Sleep in. Just do nothing. There are so many hustle ads and posters everywhere. My girlfriend and some of my friends fill their schedules so much that there is hardly any time to rest or enjoy themselves.” I have a pretty hectic everyday life and always make sure that I have at least 10 or more hours a week to do nothing productive , enjoying life, enjoying nature, spending time alone, watching silly videos or playing games. “

“It’s funny, when I was younger I had tons of free time and always felt like it was important to be productive and use it. I often feel a bit guilty after sitting around for hours. Now it’s my days and weekends full of responsibilities and events and things that happen without me explicitly trying to fulfill them, and I find that it feels great when I experience a day where I’m completely alone I’m happy to play video games for 8 hours and not feel like a moment was wasted.”

“Near my house there is a small meadow surrounded by trees where you don’t hear any noise from the nearby village and road. In summer it’s just the rustling of leaves and the buzzing of insects. I go there every now and then and take off my shoes, lie on a blanket in the shade and think about nothing.

My wife and kids don’t understand how I can just fall asleep and spend an entire sunny summer afternoon being happy with myself, but it recharges my batteries like nothing else.”

Talk to yourself

Traditionally, self-talk has been viewed by the public as a curiosity at best and a sign of mental illness at worst. However, research shows that talking to yourself out loud can actually help with organization, concentration and attention, emotional regulation, and more.

“Although self-talk can be seen as a sign of loneliness, it also helps you concentrate and organize ideas without overdoing it.”

“People call me crazy for this but this is what gives me clarity lol. Talking to ourselves is one of the best ways to understand the situation/idea/whatever it is and it also helps us understand ourselves and ourselves. Well, who doesn’t want to have a good relationship with themselves ?”

“That’s what I do when I drive alone! Helps me process my emotions and thoughts.”

“Soliloquies! People think it’s weird or a sign of absent-mindedness, but honestly it’s super helpful. Whether I’m working through a problem, organizing my thoughts, or just cheering myself up, it makes things clearer. Say.” Speaking out loud helps me process information better and stay focused. So if you catch me chatting to myself, just know I’m getting something done!”

Stay awake late

Ben Franklin famously said, “Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise,” and people have advocated that for centuries. But going to bed early and waking up early has no natural advantage, and some people’s natural rhythm puts them in a later cycle. Additionally, some research shows that night owls have better cognitive functions compared to early birds. (Don’t worry, Morning Lark. You’re still awesome.)

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“Staying up late. Some people have different circadian rhythms and it makes evolutionary sense that not everyone can sleep at the same time for a population to thrive.”

“It took me a lifetime to figure this out. Growing up, I always struggled to get to school without being sickly sleep deprived. Often I was in bed between 12:30 and 1:30 and had to get up at 6 a.m..”

This habit carried over into adult life when I graduated college and achieved a 9-5. I remember having the worst anxiety on Sunday because Friday/Saturday I could actually sleep from 2am to 9am, but Sunday I had to try to force myself to go back to sleep early.

Then five years ago I got a job as a bartender. At first I worked from 9pm to 2am, but going to bed at 3-4am wasn’t ideal. Eventually I found a job where I left work between 9:30 and 10:00 p.m. Perfect. Now I have time to relax before and after work, I go in for six hours, make $200-300 and come home.

Working has never been so relaxing. And I will never sacrifice my sleep for “normal” work hours.”

“Also, in most cultures before the Industrial Revolution, there were technically two places to sleep. Waking up in the middle of the night for one to three hours, it was called “the clock.” We have spent eons sleeping and waking like this.” However, it only stopped about 130 years ago. The negative effects are showing.”

Play

In the ’80s and ’90s, adults were convinced that video games would spell the end of the world. Research on this front is constantly evolving, but we’ve learned that moderate video game play can actually have some benefits. For example, a study of nearly 2,000 children found that playing video games for three hours a day was correlated with better performance on cognitive ability tests such as impulse control and working memory than if they never played video games. All in moderation, of course, but gaming itself is not the bogeyman it is portrayed to be.

“Gaming (in moderation). Studies have shown it improves problem solving, critical thinking, multitasking, decision making, hand-eye coordination, spatial awareness, memory and concentration.”

“Video games. Proven to relieve stress and tension and provide an acceptable outlet for your emotions that will not harm any real human being.”

“Most people who criticize games that make you play a lot then scroll through Instagram brain red for the same amount of time per day. Of the two, excessive gaming is much better than excessive social feed.”

““Gaming is healthy – as long as it doesn’t stop you from a variety of other healthy activities!”

Maybe it’s time to rethink many of our behaviors that have been labeled as bad habits but could actually be good.