People of all ages have had bad habits, from nail biting, to smoking or drinking. Some high schoolers have bad habits like knuckle cracking, nail biting, and procrastination. These habits could be caused by stressful situations, leading to a lifelong bad habit.

Habits are formed in a three step pattern, and that loop is continued throughout the habit. The first step is creating a trigger, or influence to start the habit. Next step is the routine, or habit itself that is continued. Then, there is the reward that you get from doing it, like your emotion to the habit. An example of that is freshman student Taylor Blair, who always has a piece of gum in her mouth.

“I chew gum because it helps me focus, and I have good breath,” freshman Taylor Blair stated.

Not only can bad habits affect you emotionally, but there are also times where the habit can physically hurt an individual. smoking can cause lung cancer, and lack of sleep can cause dementia. Habits like knuckle cracking and nail biting might not hurt you, unless you bite your nails persistently, but a habit like procrastination, can cause grades to slip, and students to be tired.

“Procrastination is a really bad habit of mine, and it can seriously hurt my grades. I’ll get sidetracked by a cool bug and put off my actual homework,” sophomore and bug-lover Brendan Lan stated.

Stopping a habit can be really difficult, because habits can become second nature, and you forget that you are doing this bad habit. People can find themselves performing their habit, and stop themselves. Smokers, and alcoholics will go through withdrawal, and that can cause them to go back into their habits. Smaller habits that won’t affect a person’s health can be stopped easier.  Some people can catch themselves, and stop.

“When I notice I am cracking my knuckles, I try to put my hands in my pockets or something,” junior Shannon Johnson stated.

Habits dont always hurt though. Sometimes habits are used to distract, when you are nervous, or bored.