Why do we bite our nails?

I know it’s out of angst, like you said it’s somehow stress relieving. Why do so many people do it? I agree that it’s strange (I do it myself). It’s such a bizarre stress-reliving habit to be so widespread.

I don’t know…I don’t do it, only when I absolutely have to, because a nail broke or something. I pull my hair out instead (trichotillomania) Does nail-biting have a name?? I do mine out of habit. I think nail biting is a habit as well. My husband does it a lot, he is like obsessed with trimming his nails.

I don’t bite my nails, but I have a nasty habit of chewing the inside of my mouth. Same thing I would think. I do it when I’m deep in thought usually. I don’t know why we do it. Maybe it takes the mind away from what is really bothering us? Sort of like an aid in meditation in a way? I could be going the total wrong direction there, LOL.

There’s one school of thought that relates nail-biting to obsessive-compulsive disorder, in that it can be an uncontrollable drive to have things “just so”.

Others see it as a result of a dysfunction of the brain mechanism that regulates the degree of stimulation within the central nervous system. Nail-biters tend to bite when either under- or over-stimulated as an external way of modulating their stimulation.

ooooh @Harp interesting!!! most likely actually… that I’m the latter

@Harp I love that answer. I’m definitely the latter one too, now that I think about it.

Screws don’t taste as good.

@Ender welcome…x

Clearly, you just haven’t tried the right screws.

Nail biting is a filthy, disgusting habit. I don’t understand how anyone could bring themselves to do it, let alone do it myself.

now if you’ll excuse me i have to go find someplace dark and quiet where i can cut myself

Interestingly, How Stuff Works suggests nail-biting is a type of cannibalism. I had never considered it before. I guess it goes against being vegetarian, too.

Could it be that someone might have a shortage of keratin in their diet so they bite their nails to provide them with that since that is what nails are made of?

@simpleD yeah people always making fun of me and tell me to stop “eating my fingers.” Get some real food.

Hmph. :(

@Bluefreedom do we need keratin in our diets?

@lynneblundell. Not as much as other species do, apparently. I did a little research and it appears that reptiles, birds, amphibians, and mammals depend on Keratin a lot more than we homo sapiens do. I stand corrected.

hee hee… i liked the answer though…damn…back to the drawing board…

I never do that. Must be a nervous habit.

I think it could be a subconscious calming mechanism. A thing that someone who is perhaps nervous or stressed does to distract themselves, and by pulling their hair or biting their nails they are causing physical sensations which helps them stay in the present.