Did you know that a 2009 study found that it takes 66 days on average to break a bad habit? Now, we’re not talking about the half-hearted, casual attempts to break bad habits that we’re all used to. On the contrary, this study looked at people who were trying their hardest to change for the better. And it’s probably not a surprise that it took the participants a lot longer than they had planned to stop acting badly for good.
We all have bad habits, like smoking or vaping, eating too much fast food, spending too much money, or having bad posture. It’s hard to break these habits because we rarely have accountability partners to help us stay on track. Well, what if we told you that there is a kind of accountability buddy who is with you 24/7 and every step of the way?
Now, this “accountability buddy” isn’t a person. It’s actually a wearable device that uses aversion therapy to help you change your behavior for the better. The Pavlok is a slim, colorful bracelet that looks like a FitBit. It is made to give you haptic feedback (also known as a painful shock) when you are about to do the thing you are trying not to do.
The handy Pavlok bracelet can’t tell when you’re about to grab a french fry or a cigarette. Instead, it depends on you to press a button when you feel a craving coming on, which is how aversion therapy works. According to case studies on the Pavlok website, you should no longer want to do the bad thing you’re trying so hard to stop doing within 3–5 days of using the device. We thought it was pretty cool.
Here’s what the future of wearable technology that breaks bad habits looks like:
So, it’s clear that the Pavlok is cute and sporty, but what do its shocks feel like?
It feels kind of like, if you were to touch a doorknob after rubbing your socks on the carpet,
said one user.
Ok, so this trendy bracelet isn’t quite the electric chair nightmare we were imagining, but it still packs quite a punch.
Watch the video below to see how the Pavlok works and hear what its users have to say about its “shocking” abilities. And if you want to break a bad habit, you can buy one of these babies with just a few clicks on Amazon.
We would love to know what you think about the Pavlok! Do you like the idea of this bracelet that zaps? Have you ever used something like this to get rid of a bad habit? What bad habits do you need to get rid of?
