Pavlok

Description

Pavlok (a Behavioral Technologies Group product) is a wearable device that helps you break any bad habit. Pavlok combines proven behavioral training techniques, innovative "zaptic" hardware, and tracking software to help you kick habits like smoking, nail biting, eating sugar, being unproductive, hitting the snooze button, and more From the Manufacturer How does it know your bad habit? When we began developing Pavlok, we thought that it “needed to know†when you were doing a bad habit to be effective. So we designed it to be a smart device — it pairs to your phone via Bluetooth 4.0, and its vibration, beep, and electric stimulus can be triggered by Pavlok apps (see below), the Chrome Extension, IFTTT, and other sensors/smart devices. But, in November 2014, after stumbling on a set of studies from the 1980s, we discoveredâ€. Pavlok doesn't need to know your habit, YOU need to know your habit By administering the electric stimulus while doing an action –even if manually administered by the user–, the human brain creates a permanent Pavlovian association. Think back to college: do you know someone who drank too much tequila (or another alcohol?) When someone drinks too much and gets sick, the perception of the flavor and smell of the alcohol changes. The association in the brain has changed permanently. 5 Minutes For 5 Days After listening to our users, we created the ""5 Minutes For 5 Days"" habit change program. See the testimonials below – examples of real users who broke their habits by manually triggering Pavlok during their 5 minute aversion sessions. Read the dozens of Amazon reviews from our users as well. 5-Minutes for 5 Days†Quit a Bad Habit Program â€For 5 days, set a timer for 5 minutes at the same time each day. â€Force yourself do the bad habit repeatedly. Zap yourself at every step of the bad habit. â€?For example, smokers: smoke as many cigarettes as you can for 5 minutes; at every puff, press down on the Pavlok button to manually trigger the zap. â€?Sugar eaters/snackers should zap themselves while eating their favorite item, zapping at every bite. â€?You can use it for negative thoughts, getting over your ex, or even getting a song unstuck from your head – any habit / action / urge you’d like to stop. â€Throughout the day, zap yourself whenever you have the urge to do the bad habit. It’s okay if you find you can’t stop yourself from doing it - just be sure to use the zap while you do the habit. You’ll find that the amount and frequency of cravings will reduce over time. By doing the bad habit, and particularly by forcing yourself to do the habit, most users see a permanent or long-lasting negative association – usually in just 5 days – for many habits. Nagina Quit Nail Biting I've been biting my nails for over thirty years.I tried everything -- I bought that nail polish that tastes disgusting, nothing worked. I wore Pavlok and, in just two days, I became so much more aware. I finally broke the habit, even though I never thought I would. Tasha Quit Eating Sugar After one day, I stopped eating refined sugar. Whenever I had a craving, Pavlok's zap helped me get over it, and now I'm sugar free. Marty Quit Smoking I quit smoking with Pavlok. I don't even enjoy it anymore. It's exactly where I want to be. If apps and integrations are your thing, we've got them Pavlok has two Official apps available for iOS and Android as of January, 2016. Coming in February, we’ll release Chrome Extension and (coming February/March 2016) IFTTT integration: Pavlok Breaking Bad Habits (iOS/Android)- listen to guided habit breaking audio courses, use the remote control function to trigger your Pavlok manually, or test and adjust the strength of the different types of haptic feedback. Pavlok Shocking Alarm Clock (iOS/Android) - Wake up on time, use Pavlok as your alarm clock! Pavlok will vibrate to wake you up, and slowly increase the stimulus to zap you until you get up – for real. Customize the type of feedback that wakes you up, and never wake up late or miss a meeting ever again. Pavlok Productivity (Chrome Extension) - Blacklist websites that you know you shouldn't visit, and banish too many open tabs. If you open one too many tabs or visit a site you shouldn't be on, Pavlok will notify you and vibrate, beep, or zap your wrist. (Coming February/March 2016) IFTTT (If This, Then That) - IFTTT is a web app that allows you to connect hundreds of different applications together. You can connect apps, smart devices, social networks, other wearables, and more. Here are some example recipes that you'll be able to use with Pavlok: IF my unread email count reaches 50 THEN zap Pavlok IF I reach my Fitbit step count goal today THEN vibrate Pavlok IF I enter a fast food restaurant THEN beep Pavlok And set reminders like: IF I get an email from [someone] THEN beep Pavlok IF I open my smart fridge door THEN zap Pavlok EVERY HOUR THEN vibrate Pavlok and notify me to take a deep breath This is just the beginning. We’ve created Pavlok to allow developers to create their own apps, so you’ll see many more over time. We’re a small team working as fast as we can – thank you for supporting us! About the Startup Describe your product in 3 words. Breaks Bad Habits Where did you get the inspiration for your product? I suffered from ADHD, and found myself addicted to Facebook. I wrote a blog post where I hired someone to, ahem slap me every time I went on Facebook, and my productivity skyrocketed. On the other hand, none of my many fitness trackers motivated me at all. So I thought, "why are there so many devices tracking what I do, but not changing what I do?" And Pavlok was born. What differentiates your product from similar products out there? There are apps and devices that help people form new habits, but none that help break bad habits. Partway through our development, we discovered a collection of studies from the 1960s-90s on a type of training called 'Aversion training', which had very high success rates at breaking bad habits – but disappeared for social reasons. So we began testing our device on breaking bad habits, and it's been extremely successful. Tell us about the best and most challenging parts of the creation process. The best part is receiving users' stories about breaking their bad habits. Hearing how some people who have tried everything finally broke their habits with Pavlok is amazing. The most challenging part is the details – I'm a big picture thinker, so it's hard for me to focus on the details. Fortunately, I found a team of excellent people to help make this project a reality.