'Bad' Habits That Actually Turn Out To Be Good For Your Health
Drinking excessively still kills your brain cells, jerking off will still make you go blind and stalking your ex-girlfriend still won't get her back. Those aren't the habits we're talking about today. However, there are many other habits that most people would find rather annoying that, well, actually seem to be good for your health. For instance...
Picking Your Nose
Scott Napper, associate professor of biochemistry at the University of Saskatchewan (who evidently had too much time on his hands), believes eating mucus in the nose may boost the immune system by introducing small and harmless amounts of germs back in to the body.
His theory follows others that suggest improved hygiene has led to an increase in allergies and auto-immune disorders.
Biting Your Nails
Experts believe the same argument could hold true for nail biting.
Dr Hilary Longhurst, consultant immunologist from Barts and the London NHS Trust, said: “Unless your hands are truly filthy, the bugs we encounter when biting our nails could boost our immune system.” The immune system works by developing a “memory” and making a note of how to fight each bug it has ever encountered.
When a bug is encountered a second time, the immune system reaches into its memory to release weapons – called memory lymphocytes – that know how to kill it.
Burping
This natural gas release is a normal part of digestion and suppressing it can cause problems (like a normal social life). If you don’t belch and the gas stays on the stomach, this can cause the valve that separates the gullet and the stomach to relax, allowing stomach acid to splash up into the gullet, triggering heartburn.
Cracking Your Knuckles
A large study following people that did and didn’t crack their knuckles over a five-year period found that knuckle crackers’ joints were just as healthy as those who didn’t. People’s joints tend to feel more comfortable after cracking because they have stretched out the joint and have a greater degree of movement.
Picking Your Nose
 |
| "Is it still there?" |
Scott Napper, associate professor of biochemistry at the University of Saskatchewan (who evidently had too much time on his hands), believes eating mucus in the nose may boost the immune system by introducing small and harmless amounts of germs back in to the body.
His theory follows others that suggest improved hygiene has led to an increase in allergies and auto-immune disorders.
Biting Your Nails
 |
| Oddly enough this still looks kinda hot... |
Experts believe the same argument could hold true for nail biting.
Dr Hilary Longhurst, consultant immunologist from Barts and the London NHS Trust, said: “Unless your hands are truly filthy, the bugs we encounter when biting our nails could boost our immune system.” The immune system works by developing a “memory” and making a note of how to fight each bug it has ever encountered.
When a bug is encountered a second time, the immune system reaches into its memory to release weapons – called memory lymphocytes – that know how to kill it.
Burping
 |
| "Well, what's that got to do with me?" |
This natural gas release is a normal part of digestion and suppressing it can cause problems (like a normal social life). If you don’t belch and the gas stays on the stomach, this can cause the valve that separates the gullet and the stomach to relax, allowing stomach acid to splash up into the gullet, triggering heartburn.
Cracking Your Knuckles
 |
| "I pity the fool who doesn't crack his knuckles!" |
A large study following people that did and didn’t crack their knuckles over a five-year period found that knuckle crackers’ joints were just as healthy as those who didn’t. People’s joints tend to feel more comfortable after cracking because they have stretched out the joint and have a greater degree of movement.
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