5 Weird facts about sneezing

It’s the official time of the year when sneezing is on trend!

It’s cold alright, we are also cold, sneezing around, having red, blocked noses and making weird sounds.

Whether our sneezes come from the common cold, allergies or from more extreme cases such as sinusitis, they all share some of the most bizarre facts.

We’ve gathered the most prominent 5 ones:

1. It’s our rebooting system

Our nasal cavity system needs a reset every now and then, and sneezing seems to do just that.

It serves as a nerve transmission that tells the brain there’s an intruder in the nose and needs to be out immediately. Your body seems to need rebooting as much as a computer does!

2. Sneezing can happen as an allergic reaction to the sun?

We all love a little sun, but our body may have some quirky reactions to it.

About 25% of people have “photic sneeze reflect” a reaction to sunlight. In the same way our eyes tend to squint when exposed to direct light, it is now believed some people’s noses are also triggered.

So, if you sneeze as you go out on a sunny day, chances are you have a case for that reflect. For the rest of us, who have normal Spring allergies, we love the sun but not the pollen.

3. Does it really make your heart skip a beat?

Um not really. What it does, is change the rhythm of your heart.  This happens because your blood flow alters due to that brief pressure on your chest.

4. You can’t sneeze while you sleep!

Sneezing is a reflex. And those nerves that are responsible for it, are relaxed during your sleep.  You can snore all you want though!

5. Sneezing is loud!

All sneezes don’t sound the same, however they all make some sort of sound. This is often attributed to the fact that a sneeze can travel up to 100km/hour inside your nose! The force of this air comes out of your itsy-bitsy nostrils and mouth causing some noise. The resulting noise will depend on the size and width of each person’s nostrils.