Are you a nail biter? Maybe you’re trying to quit smoking and normal cessation techniques aren’t working?
A new wearable wants to help you kick those bad habits using Pavlovian conditioning to make the person associate the bad habit with a negative action. The device, called Pavlok, is worn around the wrist like a watch.
Any time a user wants to engage in the bad habit, a tap of the device administers a shock, and you can even choose how strong it is. The product’s website claims you can see results in as little as five days and shows videos of people who claim to have broken nail biting, smoking, and junk food-eating habits by using the device.
Pavlok is not the first wearable of its kind, as other companies have created technology that can be worn to help condition patients out of bad habits or to reach goals. However, many of the other products simply vibrate as a reminder, where Pavlok actually shocks you with the intent of making you associate your bad habit with a negative feeling.
The jury is still out in the medical community on exactly how useful this technology will be, but there are doctors and psychiatrists who are interested in supplementing their patients’ treatment with a device like Pavlok, and even some who have used it and claim success.
Would you ever consider using a wearable like Pavlok?
Guest:
Michelle Freedland, psychiatric nurse practitioner at Union Square Practice