By Caley Breese
Evidence has shown that wearing that little activity device around your wrist can have positive effects on your health by counting your steps, the calories you burn, and even helping you manage sleep. Now you may wish to add a acelet to the other wrist if you have a bad habit you want to eak, but lack the will. Maybe you want to stop biting your nails, but you’ve tried everything, and nothing has worked?
Using Pavlovian conditioning (remember learning about Pavlov’s dogs in school?), a new device called Pavlok, helps put bad habits to rest by releasing an electric shock—that in turn creates an aversion to said habit. For instance, if you’re trying to lose weight but still can’t resist sweet treats, every time you reach for a cookie, a shock is triggered—manually or automatically—allowing you to associate that bad craving with pain, resulting in less cravings for unhealthy foods over time—making this experience somewhat comparable to aversion therapy.
If this idea sounds familiar, it’s because the Pavlok device has the similar principle of snapping a rubber band on your wrist whenever a bad habit occurs. However, getting mildly shocked is much more effective and the message is more forceful, allowing you to focus your attention away from the bad habit.
The Pavlok device can release a shock ranging in voltage from 50 V to 450 V—something you can control via smartphone. Eventually, the more you receive a shock, the quicker those bad habits and cravings will stop. This device is great for allowing you to focus on your goal and kick those bad habits to the curb for good!