Why do we sneeze, hiccup, yawn and stretch?

Sneezing hiccupping, yawning, stretching ... It turns out that it is very good, hiccupping, yawning, stretching ... It turns out that it is very good for your health! Scientists say that all these are conditioned reflexes created by nature to help our body.

Sneezing

“When too many microbes, allergens and dust accumulate in the nasal cavity,” says Andrey Dyshkovets, Ph.D. In other words, a sharp, powerful exhalation is a sneeze that pushes germs, foreign bodies, allergens, excess mucus and dust into the air. "

It's normal to sneeze once a day, but if you start sneezing every morning or can't stop after just once, that's a cause for concern. “Perhaps your body is telling you that it is not happy with something. Either there is an allergen nearby, or you have chronic rhinitis, or you need to moisturize the nasal mucosa, '' says otolaryngologist Andrei Yakovlev. - Although I had one patient who sneezed when she plucked her eyebrows. After conducting a number of studies, we came to the conclusion that this is really possible, because it is in this place that the nerve endings that provoke sneezing are located "

There is also an amazing phenomenon - the "light sneezing reflex", when a person sneezes from bright sunlight. Scientists attribute this to the fact that the ultraviolet rays of sunlight irritate the olfactory receptors. By the way, it is known that sneezing into the light is hereditary.

But whatever the reason for sneezing, do not forget to cover your nose with a handkerchief, because when we sneeze, more than a hundred thousand bacteria fly out of our nose at a speed of 160 km / h, which can be inhaled by the people around you.

An urge to sneeze at the most inopportune moment? You can stop sneezing. Rub the bridge of your nose vigorously or pinch the tip of your nose, but often you shouldn't restrain yourself, because then the microbes remain in your body.

Yawn

Yawning is the most mysterious phenomenon of the body, the purpose of which is still debated by scientists. Babies are known to start yawning while still in the womb. Almost everyone yawns: frogs, birds, mammals and even fish. Think you're yawning because you haven't slept or are bored? Studies have shown that yawning has nothing to do with lack of sleep or boredom. "There are situations when a person yawns, completely unwilling to sleep," says Roman Buzunov, head of the sleep medicine department. "In particular, when he is worried or when he is stuffy." We yawn for a reason during times of stress. The brain is rebooted and ... overheating! And the nervous system immediately turns on defense - yawning, trying to cool the brain. Or maybe the room just doesn't have enough oxygen or it's too hot.

It's even harder to explain why yawning is so contagious. According to one theory, this is an ancient reflex of imitation and empathy.

Whatever the cause of yawning, all doctors agree: yawning is very beneficial! “When yawning, the airways open wide, and the muscles relax,” continues Marina Orlova, “after which a pleasant and useful state of semi-loss of consciousness sets in for a fraction of a second. Yawning helps relieve stress, fatigue, mental stress and stimulates the brain. "

Yawning also promotes the activity of the lacrimal glands, normalizes blood pressure, improves mood, and helps prevent heart attacks and other heart diseases.

So you shouldn't fight yawning either, well, except perhaps in the boss's office.

Stretching

The most pleasant sutra is to stretch. After sleep, the muscles are numb and require warm-up, so stretching is a kind of awakening of our body. It prepares the muscles for normal work during the day, restores the usual blood circulation, brings the body into a mode of activity. “At this moment, even the mood rises, since it has been proven that stretching acts on the pleasure centers in the brain, - continues Andriy Dyshkovets - and also improves the blood circulation in the brain, vision, taste and tactile sensations.”

“The older we get, the less we stretch,” says Roman Buzunov, head of the sleep medicine department. “This is, of course, due to the lack of time in the morning. But look at newborns, at domestic animals, they stretch very often, since this reflex is inherent in us by nature and therefore is so important. "

Do not regret the health of the time - stretch with pleasure, because whether you stretched the sutra or not, depends on how your whole day will pass. Jumping out of bed can cause headaches, fatigue, and bad moods all day long.

Hiccups

“Hiccups are a complex process,” says therapist Irina Melitseva, “it originates in the so-called 'vagus' nerve that connects the esophagus, diaphragm and nervous system.” If we eat quickly, swallow large, poorly chewed pieces, overeat and the stomach stretches badly - all this disturbs the "vagus" nerve, which, straining, disturbs the diaphragm, and in order to protect it, it produces sharp air shocks that push food.

"Frequent and prolonged hiccups are sometimes an alarming signal for specialists," continues Irina Melitseva.

When we get scared, cry out, sigh sharply, the "hiccuping" nerve is disturbed by the respiratory organs.

Also, hiccups are often the result of nervous disorders. In medicine, there are known cases of a whole mental epidemic, when the inhabitants of the Arkhangelsk region hiccuped for months, becoming infected with hiccups from each other.

How many ways have not been invented to get rid of the annoying state. The most correct and at the same time simple - the usual stretching, deep uniform breaths, holding the breath while inhaling and a few small sips of water. Many people get rid of hiccups with the help of fright, but we have already found out that this method will only increase hiccups.

So sneeze, hiccup, yawn and stretch to your heart's content! Doctors warn that attempts to suppress all conditioned reflexes are dangerous to health!