Fidgeting is the act of moving about restlessly. Fidgeting may be a result of nervousness

Anxiety

Anxiety is a psychological and physiological state characterized by somatic, emotional, cognitive, and behavioral components. The root meaning of the word anxiety is 'to vex or trouble'; in either presence or absence of psychological stress, anxiety can create feelings of fear, worry, uneasiness,...

, agitation

Agitation

Agitation may refer to:* Agitation , putting into motion by shaking or stirring* Emotional state of excitement or restlessness** Psychomotor agitation, an extreme form of the above, which can be a side effect of antipsychotic medication...

, boredom

Boredom

Boredom is an emotional state experienced when an individual is without any activity or is not interested in their surroundings. The first recorded use of the word boredom is in the novel Bleak House by Charles Dickens, written in 1852, in which it appears six times, although the expression to be a...

 or a combination of these. It may be a result of genes

Gênes

Gênes is the name of a département of the First French Empire in present Italy, named after the city of Genoa. It was formed in 1805, when Napoleon Bonaparte occupied the Republic of Genoa. Its capital was Genoa, and it was divided in the arrondissements of Genoa, Bobbio, Novi Ligure, Tortona and...

 and is often an unconscious act. Fidgeting may involve playing with one's fingers, hair, or items of clothing. A common act of fidgeting is to bounce one's leg repeatedly. Ring

Ring

Ring may refer to:*Ring , a decorative ornament worn on fingers, toes, or around the arm or neck-Computing:* Ring , a layer of protection in computer systems...

s are another common focus of fidgeting; variations include ring spinning, twirling or rolling along a table. New research has shown people who fidget are generally slimmer and find it harder to put on weight. Parents often consider fidgeting to be a bad habit, especially in schoolchildren.

Research by Dr. Karen Pine and colleagues at the University of Hertfordshire funded by The Economic and Social Research Council found that children that were allowed to fidget with their hands performed better in memory and learning tests.

Fidgeting is considered a nervous habit, though it does have some underlying benefits. People who fidget regularly tend to weigh less than people who do not fidget because they burn more calories those who remain still. It has been reported that fidgeting burns around an extra 350 calories a day.

Fidgeting is losing its stigma and is now considered one of the most beneficial of the minor hand activities.

Fidgeting may be a symptom of generalized anxiety disorder, ADHD, delirium

Delirium

Delirium or acute confusional state is a common and severe neuropsychiatric syndrome with core features of acute onset and fluctuating course, attentional deficits and generalized severe disorganization of behavior...

, obsessive–compulsive disorder, abdominal aortic aneurysm

Abdominal aortic aneurysm

Abdominal aortic aneurysm is a localized dilatation of the abdominal aorta exceeding the normal diameter by more than 50 percent, and is the most common form of aortic aneurysm...

, heart attack, dementia

Dementia

Dementia is a serious loss of cognitive ability in a previously unimpaired person, beyond what might be expected from normal aging...

, and caffeine

Caffeine

Caffeine is a bitter, white crystalline xanthine alkaloid that acts as a stimulant drug. Caffeine is found in varying quantities in the seeds, leaves, and fruit of some plants, where it acts as a natural pesticide that paralyzes and kills certain insects feeding on the plants...

 overdose.