Great tricks to outsmart your body
The human body is an incredible system that is constantly working behind the scenes. It is always busy keeping everything in check around-the-clock, repairing damage and adapting to its environment. Your body is brilliant, but there are a few tricks out there that can help you outsmart it. Some of these are just funny, others almost seem like superpowers!
Keep one eye closed
This trick is amazing. If you wake up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, try opening just one eye. If the bright light of a bulb enters both eyes, your body will think it is daytime, and it will be more difficult to fall back asleep, but if you leave one eye closed, your brain will readjust much easier to the darkness and you should be able to fall asleep without a problem.
Pull on you ear
When people get headaches, they instinctively rub their temples, but actually there's a better place. Next time you feel a headache coming on, try pulling on your ear. While rubbing your temples can help release tension around your eyebrows, the nerve pathways around your ears can relax the whole body. To do it properly, take your ear between your thumb and forefinger and pull gently up and down. This will help release fresh fluid to the brain and give it some extra nourishment.
Here's how to swallow pills
Some medication is hard to swallow. Even if it's usually no problem, some pills just won't go down. If this ever happens to you, try this: Put the pill in your mouth and lean your head forward before you swallow. When you lean forward, your swallow reflex is activated and your body should swallow the pill all on its own!
Thaw your brain
This is a common occurrence in summertime: You are so excited to sink your teeth into that ice cream or Popsicle, but you go a little too quickly and give yourself a brain freeze. The uncomfortable feeling happens when your brain notices a rapid change in temperature and tries to protect itself. The blood vessels in the roof of your mouth will swell to try to warm up and your brain feels like it's been placed on dry ice. But thankfully there's a way to get rid of a brain freeze just as quickly as it started: Try pressing your tongue against the roof of your mouth. The warmth will relax the blood vessels and should quickly relieve your headache.
Don't cry!
Life isn't always easy and it doesn't always take into account how you're doing and where you are. If you find yourself in a situation where you shouldn't be crying even if you really want to, try using this emergency cry brake. Find a few different points in the room and stare intensely at them. Repeat the colors of these objects again and again in your head. This should lower your pulse and distract you. Your tears won't fall and you can at least make it through that moment.
Roll your head
We've probably all felt this: You sat too long with your legs crossed or your arm fell asleep and it's all pricks and needles. There are two options: Tense the muscles in that part of your body and shake it or hop awkwardly on one leg and wait till the needles go away. Alternatively, you can slowly roll your head from side to side. Your appendages normally fall asleep when there is pressure on certain nerves or your blood flow is interrupted. Once you release the nerves or vessels, the feeling should go away. Warning: this doesn't work with your feet, so if they've fallen asleep you'll just have to do the uncomfortable dance to wake them up.
Stop those hiccups
You never just get one hiccup. When your diaphragm cramps, the air that would otherwise be exhaled, gets held in your vocal chords and causes those uncomfortable hiccups. The causes are many: eating too fast, swallowing air, temperature changes in your stomach, or simply being excited. There are many tips and tricks to get rid of hiccups, but none of them seem to work. Next time you get a hiccup attack, try opening your mouth and swallowing several times leaving your mouth open. If you repeat this several times, your diaphragm will relax and your hiccups will disappear.
Don't be afraid of needles
It's not just kids who are afraid of needles, plenty of adults also get nervous at the sight of a syringe. There is no need to be embarrassed. Try this trick next time you are headed to the doctor's office: Cough lightly a few times as the needle is being placed and the procedure should be painless. It's not quite clear why this works, but your body is somehow distracted.
Wow, quite a few helpful tricks! Amazing that you can fool your own body in so many ways.