8 Quirky Body Reactions Explained

Now here are 8 body reactions that we experience quite frequently, yet we do not know why it happens.

Why do our fingers wrinkle in water?

Evolutionary experts claim that this helps humans to grip objects better in water.

When water seeps into our skin, the upper layers of the skin swell up and cause the nerves in our skin to fire off electrical charges and chemicals. This causes the constriction of blood vessels.  The negative pressure of the constricted blood vessels pulls down the upper layers of our skin to create wrinkles.

Why do we feel a sharp pain shooting up our brain when we eat ice cream?

We call this brain freeze.  The rapid change of temperature causes increased blood flow to the brain through the anterior cerebral artery . This CAUSES  increase in blood volume and resulting increase in size of this artery is believed to cause the head ache. As soon as the artery constricts, the brain-freeze pain sensation wears off.

The pain can be prevented by taking cold items slowly.

Why do our eyes water when we yawn?

When we yawn, our face muscle contract and put pressure on the lacrimal glands aka the tear glands. Tear glands release tears slowly to keep our eyes moist at all times. During a yawn, the tear glands may get squeezed and release a small amount of tears that is stored in them.

Did you just yawn?

Why do we experience numbness when we sit in the same position for a long time?

The pins and needles we feel after sitting in a criss-cross position for too long are caused due to the restricted blood flow to the limb. When we sit in an awkward position for a long time, we exert pressure to our nerves. Once the pressure is off, there is normal blood flow and the pins and needles sensation ends.

If you’re thin you’re more likely to experience this because there’s not as much body fat to cushion the blood vessels in your limbs to prevent them from getting compressed when you sit.

Why do we get a stitch in our side from running?

When running, there is increased abdominal pressure on the diaphragm. At the same time, rapid breathing causes the lungs to expand and this presses down on the diaphragm, due to the pressure  on the diaphragm from above and below, it gets less blood flow and spasms, resulting in painful side stitches. Beginner runners are more likely to get side stitches than experienced runners. Doing a proper warm-up and not eating heavy meals before the run can help prevent this.

Why does our stomach growl ?

Doctors actually have a name for this sound. It’s called “borborygmi” (pronounced BOR-boh-RIG-me). This is the noise of excessive gas moving back and forth in the intestines. This usually happens when we are hungry. Eating food quiets the noise as food takes up space and your digestive muscles become more focused on breaking down and absorbing the food than on moving the air around.

Why do we see spots after a camera flash?

The photoreceptors of our eyes are responsible for converting light into electrical impulses that are sent to the brain to produce images. The camera flash is so bright that it over stimulates the photoreceptors. It takes a short period of time for our photoreceptors to go back to normal. The spots we see are the afterimage of that flash.

Why do we get light headed when we stand up too quickly?

This is a result of abnormal blood pressure regulation. When people stand, blood briefly pool in the veins of the legs due to gravity. This lowers the blood pressure and the amount of blood the heart pumps to the brain. Low blood flow to the brain causes the dizziness. To compensate this, our body quickly increases the heart rate and constricts blood vessels, which rapidly returns blood pressure to normal. This usually happens so quick that we don’t get light headed. But at times our body takes a little longer to readjust.

Explified