THE BAD HABITS THAT CAN BE GOOD FOR YOU

Embrace your guilty pleasures – they might just be your secret weapon!

DO YOU occasionally give the shower a miss? Or find yourself indulging in gossip and then feel a little twinge of guilt afterwards? We all have "bad" habits that can make us feel a little ashamed. But the truth is some of them might actually boost your health.

"Of course habits such as smoking aren't good for you, but others depend on where and when you perform them"," says British occupational psychologist and hypnotherapist Jivan Dempsey. Context is important, she says, and is what determines whether something has a positive or negative impact.

Sound intriguing? It's time to wave goodbye to unnecessary guilt and uncover the positives to these pesky habits.

SKIPPING THE SHOWER

We're not talking about days on end - if you did that, it'd cause a build-up of dead skin cells, dirt and sweat, which could lead to acne and result in skin problems such as dermatitis or worse. Not to mention how it would affect your social life!

However, skipping the shower once in a while could do wonders for your skin because washing daily can strip it of essential oils that help it stay supple.

BEING MESSY

It's true what they say - chaos really does generate creativity. Or at least that's the finding of a study published in Psychological Science.

Researchers assigned the study participants to a messy or tidy room, and they were then asked to think up as many uses for ping-pong balls as possible. Although the participants came up with the same number of ideas, those in the messy room were 28% more creative. So don't feel guilty if you decide to skip the clean-up now and then!

FIDGETING