1. If your throat tickles, scratch your ear.
When you were 9, playing your armpit was a cool trick. Now, as an adult, you can still appreciate a good body-based feat, but you’re more discriminating. Take that tickle in your throat; it’s not worth gagging over. Here’s a better way to scratch your itch: “When the nerves in the ear are stimulated, it creates a reflex in the throat that can cause a muscle spasm,” says Scott Schaffer, M.D., president of an ear, nose and throat specialty center in Gibbsboro, New Jersey. “This spasm relieves the tickle.”
2. Experience supersonic hearing!
If you’re stuck chatting up a mumbler at a cocktail party, lean in with your right ear. It’s better than your left at following the rapid rhythms of speech, according to researchers at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine. If, on the other hand, you’re trying to identify that song playing softly in the elevator, turn your left ear toward the sound. The left ear is better at picking up music tones.
3. Feel no pain!
German researchers have discovered that coughing during an injection can lessen the pain of the needle stick. According to Taras Usichenko, author of a study on the phenomenon, the trick causes a sudden, temporary rise in pressure in the chest and spinal canal, inhibiting the pain-conducting structures of the spinal cord.
4. Clear your stuffed nose!
Forget Sudafed. An easier, quicker, and cheaper way to relieve sinus pressure is by alternately thrusting your tongue against the roof of your mouth, then pressing between your eyebrows with one finger. This causes the vomer bone, which runs through the nasal passages to the mouth, to rock back and forth, says Lisa DeStefano, D.O., an assistant professor at the Michigan State University college of osteopathic medicine. The motion loosens congestion; after 20 seconds, you’ll feel your sinuses start to drain.
5. Fight fire without water!
Worried those wings will repeat on you tonight? “Sleep on your left side,” says Anthony A. Star-poli, M.D., a New York City gastroenterologist and assistant professor of medicine at New York Medical College. Studies have shown that patients who sleep on their left sides are less likely to suffer from acid reflux. The esophagus and stomach connect at an angle. When you sleep on your right, the stomach is higher than the esophagus, allowing food and stomach acid to slide up your throat. When you’re on your left, the stomach is lower than the esophagus, so gravity’s in your favor.
6. Cure your toothache without opening your mouth!
Just rub ice on the back of your hand, on the V-shaped webbed area between your thumb and index finger. A Canadian study found that this technique reduces toothache pain by as much as 50 percent compared with using no ice. The nerve pathways at the base of that V stimulate an area of the brain that blocks pain signals from the face and hands.
7. Make burns disappear!
When you accidentally singe your finger on the stove, clean the skin and apply light pressure with the finger pads of your unmarred hand. Ice will relieve your pain more quickly, Dr. DeStefano says, but since the natural method brings the burned skin back to a normal temperature, the skin is less likely to blister.
8. Stop the world from spinning!
One too many drinks left you dizzy? Put your hand on something stable. The part of your ear responsible for balance—the cupula—floats in a fluid of the same density as blood. “As alcohol dilutes blood in the cupula, the cupula becomes less dense and rises,” says Dr. Schaffer. This confuses your brain. The tactile input from a stable object gives the brain a second opinion, and you feel more in balance. Because the nerves in the hand are so sensitive, this works better than the conventional foot-on-the-floor wisdom.
9. Unstitch your side!
If you’re like most people, when you run, you exhale as your right foot hits the ground. This puts downward pressure on your liver (which lives on your right side), which then tugs at the diaphragm and creates a side stitch, according to The Doctors Book of Home Remedies for Men. The fix: Exhale as your left foot strikes the ground.
10. Stanch blood with a single finger!
Pinching your nose and leaning back is a great way to stop a nosebleed—if you don’t mind choking on your own O positive. A more civil approach: Put some cotton on your upper gums—just behind that small dent below your nose—and press against it, hard. “Most bleeds come from the front of the septum, the cartilage wall that divides the nose,” says Peter Desmarais, M.D., an ear, nose, and throat specialist at Entabeni Hospital, in Durban, South Africa. “Pressing here helps stop them.”
11. Make your heart stand still!
Trying to quell first-date jitters? Blow on your thumb. The vagus nerve, which governs heart rate, can be controlled through breathing, says Ben Abo, an emergency medical-services specialist at the University of Pittsburgh. It’ll get your heart rate back to normal.
12. Thaw your brain!
Too much Chipwich too fast will freeze the brains of lesser men. As for you, press your tongue flat against the roof of your mouth, covering as much as you can. “Since the nerves in the roof of your mouth get extremely cold, your body thinks your brain is freezing, too,” says Abo. “In compensating, it overheats, causing an ice-cream headache.” The more pressure you apply to the roof of your mouth, the faster your headache will subside.
13. Prevent near-sightedness!
Poor distance vision is rarely caused by genetics, says Anne Barber, O.D., an optometrist in Tacoma, Washington. “It’s usually caused by near-point stress.” In other words, staring at your computer screen for too long. So flex your way to 20/20 vision. Every few hours during the day, close your eyes, tense your body, take a deep breath, and, after a few seconds, release your breath and muscles at the same time. Tightening and releasing muscles such as the biceps and glutes can trick involuntary muscles—like the eyes—into relaxing as well.
14. Wake the dead!
If your hand falls asleep while you’re driving or sitting in an odd position, rock your head from side to side. It’ll painlessly banish your pins and needles in less than a minute, says Dr. DeStefano. A tingly hand or arm is often the result of compression in the bundle of nerves in your neck; loosening your neck muscles releases the pressure. Compressed nerves lower in the body govern the feet, so don’t let your sleeping dogs lie. Stand up and walk around.
15. Impress your friends!
Next time you’re at a party, try this trick: Have a person hold one arm straight out to the side, palm down, and instruct him to maintain this position. Then place two fingers on his wrist and push down. He’ll resist. Now have him put one foot on a surface that’s a half inch higher (a few magazines) and repeat. This time his arm will fold like a house of cards. By misaligning his hips, you’ve offset his spine, says Rachel Cosgrove, C.S.C.S., co-owner of Results Fitness, in Santa Clarita, California. Your brain senses that the spine is vulnerable, so it shuts down the body’s ability to resist.
16. Breathe underwater!
If you’re dying to retrieve that quarter from the bottom of the pool, take several short breaths first—essentially, hyperventilate. When you’re underwater, it’s not a lack of oxygen that makes you desperate for a breath; it’s the buildup of carbon dioxide, which makes your blood acidic, which signals your brain that somethin’ ain’t right. “When you hyperventilate, the influx of oxygen lowers blood acidity,” says Jonathan Armbruster, Ph.D., an associate professor of biology at Auburn University. “This tricks your brain into thinking it has more oxygen.” It’ll buy you up to 10 seconds.
17. Read minds!
Your own! “If you’re giving a speech the next day, review it before falling asleep,” says Candi Heimgartner, an instructor of biological sciences at the University of Idaho. Since most memory consolidation happens during sleep, anything you read right before bed is more likely to be encoded as long-term memory.
Happy Holidays!
- Kristina
Interesting tips. I didn’t know near-sightedness could be cured.
Sources?
Interesting points, but provide references, please, to all of these studies you mention.
From reddit,:
Do not attempt No 16: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shallow_water_blackout
The final trick is quite useful. As a college student and former Mock Trial member (in college), I was taught that by one of the lawyers teaching my Mock Trial team. I utilized said information during my exam period just weeks ago, and I have to say it was quite successful! Great for memorizing speeches or even information on a study sheet you’ve made (or if you’re lucky – one a teacher has given you).
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hmm I tried #15 and it didn’t seem to work. Do you have a source on that one?
Sounds like it’d be really fun if I can make it work, but it also seems kind of far fetched. Maybe it has to be more than an inch/half-inch?
[...] interesting tricks of the body (from lee and then, many hours later, ken hahaha jk, [...]
Tip 16 is outright dangerous. I’m an apnea diver and this is the worst advice possible, because it’s mainly true. The omitted fact is that hyperventilating will not increase your O2 capacity.
This means that while you will trick your brain into thinking you have more time, you really won’t have more time in reality. It’s dangerous practice among divers, so I don’t see why it should be condoned for lay people…
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haha yeah. i like $7. i also like how big my penis is
Never ever try No 16, hyperventillation. It is the no 1 cause of the shallow water drowining, which killed many of those who enjoyed underwater swimming. Never hyperventilate!
What is wrong with you? #16 is going to get someone killed, look into shallow water drowning…
No. 15 does’nt work and no. 16 is fucking dangerous!!!
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erm, according to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shallow_water_blackout
#16 can actually be quite dangerous to do .. “hyperventilation prior to the dive has artificially depressed CO2 levels without elevating the O2 level. This pre-dive state is likely to result in shallow water blackout. The O2 level drops into the diver’s blackout zone before the CO2 can rise enough to force the diver to resurface to breathe. The dive is slightly extended but the diver may not survive.” It would have also been nice to have links to more information for each item in the list. I realize your intent is to educate and inform, but such cursory explanation of these things, especially when dealing with health sort of strays into the territory of mis-informing.
[...] 17 Interesting Tricks of the Body [...]
[...] Some pretty interesting mind/body hacks. [...]
[...] 17 Interesting Tricks of the Body – [...]
Thanks for all the fun tips and tricks! I have to say, I’m totally jazzed to try some of them out myself as the situations arise!
[...] 17 Interesting Tricks of the Body [...]
[...] Interesting Tricks of the Body http://rockforhealth.org/news/?p=131 haven’t tried any of these tricks, but look interesting 1:05 PM Dec 28th, 2009 from [...]
Wow, this is so cool! And helpful.
Thanks!
Great tips! But reg the 16th point, about hyperventilation, I have read that since you increase the O2/CO2 ratio so much, you won’t feel the urge to breathe due to low level of CO2 even when the O2 levels are below the thershold. Essentially, it means as your O2 decreases, O2 decreases to below the mimum threshold before CO2 levels reach the maximum thershold, thereby leading to blackout and even drowning. It is called Shallow Water Blackout. So it is a risk I believe unless the situation is so critical. The link here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shallow_water_blackout
I LOVE learning weird stuff about bodies. This stuff is really awesome!
Huh, I seriously have never heard of most of these! Very cool! Another good one – for hiccups, hold the inside of your wrist firmly against the inside of another persons wrist. My grandmas’s old secret, works about 95% of the time!
Nice!! Bookmarked!
Funny thing I did not know even one of those tips.
I really like the 4th one I will tried it next time a get a cold.
Thanks for the advice.
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Acne is a common problem for many people from young teens into adulthood. Although there are many reasons for acne breakouts it is helpful to know how to treat these breakouts and prevent future problems.
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these are some really nice things i have tried many and they really do work, the one for hands goint to sleep works great for me. thanks from tampa fl and barbie. have a great new year!
A condition that interferes with the function or structure of any tissues or organs is called a degenerative disease. Cancer, diabetes, liver disease, heart disease, Alzheimer
The last tip about the memory and reading before you go to sleep is very true. I used to write me papers and my speeches in my sleep. It was the best thing ever and I could wake up and remember everything and write my paper that morning.
What a bunch of really cool stuff – I just tried #15 on one of my kids and it seemed to work (although she claims she failed to keep her arm up because she was tired)
Amazing! The human body has an incredible source of power that allows healing to occur in incredible ways. Imaging the process of giving birth…
don’t try this (#15) at home – u will croak! Yes, CO2 is the respiratory drive, and yes, you increase it by hyperventilating, but, u are not increasing your O2 capacity, so u should pass out before u feel the urge to take a breath – not a good thing
Wonderful collection of amazing tricks
The Trick to hold your breath longer is VERY dangerious and is a contributer of SWB -Shallow Water Black out, which is the leading cause to freedivers and spearfishermen. DO NOT USE THIS METHOD FOR HOLDING YOUR BREATH LONGER, take deep longer, slower breaths, and give your body more oxygen and come up when you feel the need.
do not trick your body into thinking u dont need more what will happen is your brain wont know when to tell you to come up for air, and your will pass out underwater and die of hyphyxia. google “shallow water black out, freediving”
Will read this again before I go to sleep
Great info, I would love to read the sources to find out more
#16 will inhibit your CO2 receptors. CO2 is your drive to breathe. If the receptors are inhibited, you will not experience the drive to breathe until you are unconscious, resulting in death. This technique is the reason for shallow water drowning in experienced divers. Do NOT try it.
Thanks for all the fun tips and tricks! I have to say, I’m totally jazzed to try some of them out myself as the situations arise!
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You may wish to consider the mind/body connection with a yoga class. I believe classes are only about $4.00 – $5.00 a class at the MAC for students. I’m not sure if you have to be a full-time student or not. Just a suggestion…
#16 isn’t that bad, they said a few quick breaths nothing too bad, yeah it will raise your o2levels but as long as you don’t hyperventilate for too long you’ll be good, like 4 or 5 breaths will dothe trick, be careful but you should be fine, and never go swimming alone, no mTter hiw well you swim, that’s just dumb
Nick K
NJ Emergency Medical Technician
hello can i steal that article?
#4. (Clear your stuffed nose). I haven’t heard this trick to unblocking your nose before and will try it next time. Sudafed has never done much for me and I have most effective relief with nasal sprays for blocked nose and hay fever. There is a website that has some remedies and solutions to hay fever and blocked noses. Here is the link: http://hayfeversolutions.com
Daniel: near-sightedness cannot be cured. At best it can delayed. The vast majority of people got near-sighted as they reached middle age (and stayed that way) long before electronic displays.
Hello. This is kind of an “unconventional” question , but have other visitors asked you how get the menu bar to look like you’ve got it? I also have a blog and am really looking to alter around the theme, however am scared to death to mess with it for fear of the search engines punishing me. I am very new to all of this …so i am just not positive exactly how to try to to it all yet. I’ll just keep working on it one day at a time Thanks for any help you can offer here.