Blog

“Giving up smoking is the easiest thing in the world. I know because I’ve done it thousands of times.”

            -Mark Twain

Here’s the truth: all addictions are difficult to break. We tell ourselves that starting today it’s never happening again, we struggle, we rebound, and we give up. It’s a vicious cycle, and it is especially tough for smokers. Quitting smoking is no easy task, and the tobacco companies designed it that way. Nicotine is pretty much the most addictive chemical substances that you can purchase legally.

According to the CDC tobacco smoke contains a deadly mix of more than 7,000 chemicals; hundreds are harmful, and about 70 of them can cause cancer. From the moment you start, smoking increases the risk for serious health problems, diseases, and even death. Beyond our physical well being smoking can also affect the way we perceive things mentally. Smokers are 70% more likely to suffer from anxiety and depression.

It’s no secret that smoking is horrible for your health. What does seem to be a “secret” though is finding a way to quit and stay cigarette free. People trying to quit smoking cold turkey succeed only 5% of the time, and even though the patch or gum give you a 50% better chance, that still only equates to 7.5% success.

Meet Bud, who (successfully) tried a new way of quitting smoking

Bud was a smoker for almost three years. He wanted to quit because smoking made him miserable: it was causing anxiety and he felt physically sick from smoking. But because nicotine changes the way your brain operates, he just couldn’t stop.

Like so many others before him Bud tried to quit again and again, but it just didn’t happen. Dozens of attempts at quitting cold turkey failed, as did both the patch and gum. He continued to smoke 1-2 packs a day for three years.

“Smoking left me feeling anxious, sick, and with a terrible cough, but I just couldn’t stop.”

The thing that finally got Bud to change his life? His Pavlok.

Bud had been a fan of Pavlok since the very beginning and decided to invest in a prototype with the sole purpose of quitting smoking. “Using Pavlok for the first time (while it wasn’t pleasant) was an incredible feeling. It suddenly helped me maintain focus on my goal.”

Pavlok utilizes psychological conditioning which breaks bad habits quickly and permanently. Every time you perform your bad habit, Pavlok releases an uncomfortable electric stimulus (or you can trigger it manually by pressing the button). Instead of attempting to wean you off nicotine (like the patch/gum) or use sheer willpower (“cold turkey”), Pavlok uses proven behavioral science to quickly reduce cravings and train away the desire to perform the bad habit.

The way Bud used Pavlok was unbelievably simple: if he smoked, he got a zap. No gums to chew or patches to apply. The best (and most counterintuitive) part of the Pavlok process: you don’t need to “try” to stop. As long as you use consistently use Pavlok every time you do your habit, Pavlok does all the work for you.

Let me explain.

Pavlok works by creating an aversion to your habit. Rather than try to deny you access to your habit, or only reduce cravings, Pavlok trains your brain to dislike your habit. Because you learn to dislike doing the habit, your cravings naturally subside and you simply stop wanting to do your habit.

To quit, Bud spent 5 minutes per day purposely having a cigarette and triggering the Pavlok. Doing these training sessions meant that his brain repeatedly got that uncomfortable zap and associated it with the cigarette he was smoking. In addition to the daily 5 minute sessions, Bud zapped himself for every craving he had throughout the day. When he gave into temptation like we all have the tendency to do, a simple button press on Pavlok snapped him out of his cigarette craving state of mind. His brain instantly began to recognize the connection between smoking and the zap he received as undesirable. Within 3-4 days Bud reported that his cravings had lessened significantly and he no longer wanted to smoke. “It was remarkable how quickly that happened. I virtually quit overnight. I can honestly say with no hyperbole that Pavlok really has changed my life.”

Bud reports that using the Pavlok to quit cigarettes has helped boost his self esteem and end his anxiety. Now Bud is healthy, saving over $300 every month not buying cigarettes, and feeling better about himself overall. His body is healing and he can look forward to a healthier life without cigarettes. Bud officially quit in March 2015 and today he is still proudly cigarette-free today.

Here is a video Bud did in March 2015 while he was quitting:

Are you ready to quit? Buy a Pavlok and take the 5 day challenge. In just 5 minutes per day for 5 days, you’ll reduce cravings noticeably, and most users have no desire to continue smoking (and have quit!) at the end of the 5 day challenge.

“Habit is stronger than reason.” -George Santayana

Heather bit her nails for 25 years out of sheer habit, even though she knew she should stop.

It is a habit many people have to a certain degree.  For some, they may only bite their nails when there’s a rough edge or one is longer than all the rest.  For others, it can be a painful habit that is so obsessive the nails are bitten down to the skin, and even then, attempts are still made to bite at the nails.

Onychophagia is the medical term for nail biting.  Nail biting is considered a body-focused repetitive behavior.  Though it can induce stress, it can also be caused by stress.  A recent study found that two of the largest contributing factors to nail biting were boredom and frustration.

Meet Heather, who spent 25 years biting her nails.

Heather’s case of nail biting aligns well with the study as she found herself biting her nails consistently when on the computer, driving, or deep in thought.  Boredom was her trigger and she would usually unconsciously be performing the bad habit.  Heather had tried to quit many times, but continually failed because many times she wouldn’t even realize she was biting her nails.

Heather bought a Pavlok to help with her nail biting habit and her diet for figure competitions.  She started with nail biting because it was such an established habit and she knew she could count on her family to help keep her accountable, and notice when she was nail biting and didn’t even realize it.

With the help of Pavlok and her family, Heather quickly stopped biting her nails.

Days 1 and 2 of using the Pavlock, Heather set aside five minutes a day to bite her nails, and shock herself while she did.  Doing these sessions was key in training her brain to dislike nail biting.  Her brain received the shock and associated it with the nail biting.  She also shocked herself every time she caught herself biting her nails or even thinking about it.  But she realized that she was unconsciously nail biting, so that’s where her family jumped in.  Pavlok offers the option to self shock using either the wristband, or via the app.  So when Heather didn’t realize that she was biting her nails, her family would step in (gleefully, actually), and shock her via the app.

See Heather’s complete story here:

Heather’s nail biting quickly dissipated.  Her brain associated nail biting with the negative consequence of a shock from the wristband, and she soon saw even her cravings to bite disappear.  Heather’s story shows that no matter how long the habit has been around, it is still possible to quit using Pavlok!

Are you ready to stop biting your nails?  Whether you consciously or unconsciously bite your nails, Pavlok can help you kick the habit in as little as a week. We are so sure we can help that we offer a 6 month money back guarantee!

“Self consciousness is the ultimate wisdom of life.” – Debasish Mridha

Naomi was unconscious about just how much she was pulling her hair until she started to use the Pavlok.

Trichotillomania is a chronic disorder that involves an irresistible urge to pull hair from one’s own body.  The severity of the disorder can vary from manageable to overwhelming, and some may be consciously doing it, while other unconsciously perform the act.  The cause is unclear  but can be a mix of genetic and environmental factors.

For some, trichotillomania can be debilitating.  The damage from excessive hair pulling can cause emotional distress and problems with social functioning.  Sufferers can find themselves avoiding others to hide bald patches or missing eyelashes.

Meet Naomi, who found a way to stop having to wear hats due to pulling out her hair.

Naomi had been pulling her hair out since she was 14, for over 12 years.  It was something that she would not realize she was doing.  She found herself constantly wearing a hat, even when she did not want to, because that was the only way she would be unable to pull her own hair.  It also hid the small bald spots she would see from excessively pulling hair from the same spots.

After mentioning to a friend that she was suffering from trichotillomania, he brought up the Pavlok.  Naomi was not interested at first, but after he brought it up a few times, she decided she had nothing to lose.

Because trichotillomania is a behavior that can be performed even unconsciously, a Pavlok is the perfect device for breaking the habit.  Pavlok uses psychological conditioning to take away the desire to perform the undesirable behavior.  By releasing an electrical stimulus every time the undesired behavior is performed, the Pavlok conditions the brain away from the bad habit.

Naomi quickly noticed how often she was touching her hair and was able to stop with Pavlok

Every time Naomi would try to touch her hair, she would zap herself with her Pavlok.  “It was shocking how strong it was.” says Naomi.  Her hair pulling cut down immediately and she did not have the urge to touch her hair at all.  She could now stop wearing hats as they were no longer needed to stop her from pulling her hair.

Naomi received validation a few months later when she ran into a couple friends she hadn’t seen in awhile.  They commented on how much better her hair looked.  Because she had stopped pulling it, it was now fuller and thicker.

See Naomi’s full story:

With Pavlok, Naomi feels liberated.  She is liberated from constantly wearing a hat to control her hair pulling urges, and she feels in control consistently.  Every day life is now better because she has trained her brain resist the urge to pull her hair.

Do you have a habit you’d like to take control over?  In as little as a few days, you too could see results reducing your undesirable habits with a Pavlok.  If it doesn’t work?  We offer a 6 month money back guarantee – but don’t worry, we believe Pavlok is the key to breaking your bad habits.

“Early to bed, and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.” – Benjamin Franklin

Rachman used the Pavlok alarm to condition himself to wake up early and get his day started.

With everything available at our fingertips 24/7, it is increasingly becoming harder and harder to put the electronics down and put ourselves to bed at night.  Studies have shown that electronic devices that emit a blue blacklight actually disrupt the part of the brain that releases melatonin, a sleep regulating hormone.  But it can be hard to pull away from blue blacklight close enough to bed time or get enough sleep.  And though hitting snooze always seems like a great idea when waking up tired, most tend to be even more tired after finally waking up.

Meet Rachman, who broke his snooze addiction using Pavlok. 

Rachman will be the first to admit he’s not a morning person.  Waking up early is nearly impossible because he stays up late most evenings.  Usually, when he tried to wake up early, he hits the snooze button and goes back to sleep.  But on the rare occasion when he would get up early, he’d get more done than ever.

The things Rachman has tried are hilarious, and his ability to sleep in the most random places are a real testimony to his commitment to want to sleep in later!  He’s tried to make himself just roll out of bed, literally on to the floor instead of hitting snooze.  But that backfired.  He will actually continue to sleep on the floor for two more hours!  Waking up grumpy and in pain, he was worse off than if he would have just gotten up to begin with.

With rolling onto the floor being a failure in quitting the snooze button problem, Rachman also tried just getting up and walking to the bathroom instead of hitting snooze.  But he actually would sit on the toilet and fall asleep again.  For two hours!  His roommates would be mad that he’d spent all that time in the bathroom, and he would wake up grumpy once again.

The Pavlok alarm worked wonders for Rachman. If he hits the snooze on his alarm, he gets zapped. The zap gives him a negative association with hitting the snooze button, causing him to not want to hit it.  Once he’s awake, and up, he’s good and can easily proceed with his day.

See Rachman’s whole story:

Why did that Pavlok work so much better than rolling onto the floor, or getting up and sitting on the toilet?  Other methods provided no immediate negative reason why Rachman shouldn’t hit snooze and let his later alarms wake him up.  Later he would be grumpy, uncomfortable, and have less of a day to accomplish things, but in his immediate mind upon waking up, it was totally worth it.  With Pavlok, he quickly trained his mind to associate hitting the snooze button with the negative zap.  His brain naturally wants to wake up instead of hitting snooze and getting zapped.

Are you ready to stop hitting the snooze button and wake up every day ready to hit the ground running?  Get your Pavlok today and add more time to your day!  We guarantee a Pavlok will help break your snoozing habit or we offer a 6 month money back guarantee!