TORONTO -- As public health officials repeatedly advise people to stop touching their faces in order to protect themselves against the new coronavirus, many individuals are starting to notice how often they do it and how difficult it is to stop.

Healthcare professionals have warned the public to wash their hands often and to avoid touching their faces, particularly their eyes and mouths, because severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus which causes COVID-19, can linger on some surfaces for hours or even days.

While it sounds simple enough, many people touch their faces multiple times a day with one study out of the U.K., which came out a few years ago, suggesting it could even be as often as 23 times an hour.

Vivian Lee, a clinical psychologist, said there鈥檚 a simple explanation for why most people touch their faces throughout the day.

鈥淔or most of us, it鈥檚 just an automatic habit,鈥 she told CTV鈥檚 Your Morning on Wednesday. 鈥淚t鈥檚 so automatic, we don鈥檛 notice it.鈥

For others, Lee said they might touch their face by absentmindedly rubbing their chin or temples when they鈥檙e stressed. For an even smaller population still, she said they could touch their faces as a form of compulsive behaviour.

Now that people have been warned not to touch their faces, Lee said they鈥檙e probably more aware of how often they鈥檙e doing it.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 think we鈥檙e doing it more, I think it鈥檚 just that if something has been brought to our attention we start to notice it more so we have this increased awareness,鈥 she explained.

How to stop touching your face

Awareness

Lee said the first thing people should do is try to be aware of how often they鈥檙e touching their face on a daily basis.

鈥淚f you don鈥檛 know you鈥檙e doing it, it鈥檚 hard to stop something you don鈥檛 know you鈥檙e doing,鈥 she said.

In order to figure out how often someone might be touching their face throughout the day, Lee suggested they have a roommate or work colleague point it out to them every time they witness it.

For those that live or work alone, Lee said they can put on a pair of clean gloves for a few hours because they will notice the texture of the glove every time they touch their face.

Similarly, they can also rub heavily scented lotion on their hands so they smell it every time their hands come close to their face.

Mindfulness

Another approach people can take to not touch their face is to be mindful of the urge to touch it, Lee said.

鈥淭his is easier said than done because if I have an itch on my face, it鈥檚 natural for me to want to scratch it; however, if we just kind of sit with it, often that sensation goes away,鈥 she said. 鈥淥f course, that can be very difficult because it鈥檚 our automatic reaction.鈥

To achieve mindfulness, Lee suggests people should take note of the urge to scratch or touch their face, sit with it, and keep breathing until the sensation passes.

Substitute better behaviours

Finally, Lee said that if awareness and mindfulness is not enough to stop people from touching their faces, they can try to distract themselves by doing something else.

鈥淚t鈥檚 much easier to find something better to do than just telling yourself 鈥楽top it, stop it, stop it鈥 because then all you鈥檙e doing is thinking about it,鈥 she said.

Lee recommended that people get up for a stretch, take a drink of water, and give themselves a hand massage if they鈥檙e about to touch their faces.