My Curious Mind Knows No Limit

Surprising Human Body Talents

Hold Back Tears!

If you’re tearing up at an inappropriate moment, just clear your throat. “It interrupts the mechanism in the nasal passage and larynx that controls crying,” says Rebecca Nagy, a Charlotte, North Carolina-based meditation expert. Plus, after you clear your throat, you tend to swallow. This lifts your tongue to the roof of your mouth, which blocks the soft palate, making you unable to cry. “I’ve suggested this technique many times to brides and grooms who had trouble getting through their vows,” Nagy says.

Silence Hiccups!

Take the deepest breath you can, hold it for 10 seconds, then, without exhaling, suck in more air and hold it for five more seconds. Finally—still without exhaling!—breathe in as much more air as you can squeeze in, hold for another five seconds, and exhale. Then breathe normally. This technique immobilizes the diaphragm (the muscle at the base of your lungs), preventing the spasms. Luc Morris, M. D., and his colleagues at the New York University School of Medicine tested the method on 30 patients who were prone to frequent hiccups. “It worked immediately on everyone who could do it,” he says. 

Break a Fainting Spell!

Cross your legs, squeeze your thighs, and contract your abs. You can feel faint when your blood pressure drops and blood pools in your extremities. By tensing muscles, you keep your BP up and divert blood back to your heart and brain. University of Amsterdam researchers who tested muscle-tightening exercises found that they reduced the risk of passing out by 30 percent.

Heal Nighttime Heartburn!

Feeling the fire? Sleep on your left side. This preserves the natural curve of the esophagus, which helps keep stomach acid from creeping up. (When you sleep on your back or on your right side, gravity straightens out the curve.) A study by Graduate Hospital in Philadelphia found that frequent heartburn sufferers had fewer episodes when they slept on their left sides than when they slept on their backs or right sides. 

Stop Needle Pain!

Make your next flu shot feel less piercing by putting pressure around the area that’s about to be stuck, says Ross I. Donaldson, M.D., M.P.H., assistant clinical professor of medicine at UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine. “Make a circle with your thumb and forefinger and push down for a few seconds as you’re receiving the shot,” he says. By stimulating receptors for pressure or touch, you can override nearby pain receptors in your skin. “It confuses your nerves, so a shot feels more like a gentle poke than a sharp jab,” Donaldson says. 

Beat Brain Freeze!

Fold the tip of your tongue backward and stick the bottom of your tongue to the roof of your mouth. The warmth will help heat up the nerves in your palette and cause the blood flow to your brain to normalize, says Jorge Serrador, M.D. of Harvard Medical School, who has researched the mechanisms at work during brain freeze. You can also sip slowly so your body has time to heat the tissue in the roof of your mouth and cup your hands around your mouth like you would in the winter and exhale deeply. Doing so will trap warm air in your mouth and help thaw your noggin, Serrador says.

Prevent Motion Sickness!

Seat yourself wisely: “Always ride where your eyes will see the same motion that your ears and body feel,” says Keri Peterson, M.D. internal medicine physician at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City and Women’s Health advisor. So in a car, ride in the front seat; on a boat, position yourself on the deck and keep your eyes on the horizon; on an airplane, try to score a window seat over the wing of the plane, Peterson suggests.

Relieve Stress!

Tap on your body’s acupressure points while repeating certain statements aloud, says Jessica Ortner, co-producer of The Tapping Solution, a documentary film that explores tapping.

Research shows that the Emotional Freedom Technique (a.k.a. EFT or tapping), a treatment which combines ancient Chinese acupressure with modern psychology, can reduce cortisol levels in the body and counteract the negative impact of stress by sending a calming signal to the amygdala (the part of our brain responsible for our fight or flight response).

Start by using the tip of your index and middle fingers to rhythmically tap the side of your hand point while saying the “setup statement” aloud (speaking out loud will help with focus): “Even though I have this problem [insert your particular problem, such as neck pain, stress from a deadline, or anxiety], I accept myself.” Repeat three times. 

Tap briefly where the eyebrow begins at the bridge of your nose, to the side of your eye, under your eye, under your nose, on your chin, on your collarbone point, under your arm, and on top of your head while you express how you feel aloud, as if you’re venting to a friend. Then repeat on the other side.

More from Yahoo! Health

Madonna Behen, additional reporting by K. Aleisha Fetters, Alexandra Duron, and Caitlin Carlson

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7 health benefits of chocolate

7 health benefits of chocolate

Chocolate makes you slim

Chocolate may not be an obvious food choice for dieters, but research findings suggest that eating chocolate in moderation could actually keep you slim. The study conducted by the University of California tested the theory that, as chocolate is believed to increase your metabolism, these benefits may cancel out the calories consumed. The results suggested that chocolate may not only be calorie neutral; it can also help you to lose weight. The researchers discovered that adults who consumed chocolate frequently had a lower BMI than those who didn’t, despite them often eating more calories and not exercising more.

Chocolate makes you smarter

Got a tough exam coming up? Boost your IQ and indulge your taste buds at the same time by snacking on a few squares of chocolate. Dark chocolate is rich in brain-boosting chemicals, called flavonoids, which can enhance your cognitive skills by inducing the creation of new neurons in the brain and improving their ability to form new memories, as well as improving blood flow to the brain. One study of adult women found that when given flavonoid-rich chocolate drinks, the blood flow to participants’ brains increased within two hours and they performed better on a complex mental task.

Chocolate gives you energy

Chocolate not only offers many amazing health benefits, it is also a great pick-me-up snack so can help you stay energized for your workouts. Chocolate is high in energy-boosting chemicals including theobromine (a stimulant found in many popular energy drinks) and caffeine. Furthermore, chocolate is a great source of magnesium and chromium, which both play a role in energy production. Have a few squares of chocolate in the afternoon or before a workout to help stay energized for longer.

Chocolate prevents wrinkles

While skin creams are great for keeping your skin looking more youthful, they can only do so much; to really keep the wrinkles at bay, you need to look to your diet. Antioxidants, found in fruits and vegetables, help to fight the free-radicals that can lead to wrinkles, and luckily there is an even tastier way to get your fill. Research has suggested that, when it comes to fighting free-radicals, chocolate could be even healthier than fruit! When tested and compared to juices from ‘superfruits’ such as blueberries and pomegranate, dark chocolate was found to be higher in antioxidants.

Chocolate slows down muscle ageing

This may sound too good to be true, but shockingly scientists have discovered that small amounts of dark chocolate can improve your health in a similar way to exercise! Researchers from Wayne State University found that a plant compound (epicatechin) found in chocolate stimulated the same muscle response as vigorous exercise, which could help to slow down muscle ageing. Now, we’re not suggesting you should swap your workouts for chocolate, but surely this is a good excuse to treat yourself post-workout with a few squares of your favourite bar!

Chocolate helps you live longer

Jeanne Louise Calment – the oldest verified human being to have ever lived – lived a grand total of 122 years and 164 days, and put her good health down to her regular chocolate consumption. Now researchers have found that there may be some truth in the claims that chocolate can help you to live longer. Cocoa beans are packed with antioxidants which studies have found can help fight disease and cut your risk of heart disease – the biggest killer in the Western world. Indeed, US researchers published in the British Medical Journal believe that chocolate can lower your risk of heart disease by over a third.

Chocolate makes you happy

If you ever find yourself reaching for chocolate to ease a bad mood, it seems you could be onto something. Chocolate is known to be high in mood-boosting chemicals, and findings published in the scientific journal Nutritional Neuroscience have suggested that the food can even help reduce the symptoms of depression. The popular treat is not only high in magnesium, which can aid relaxation, but it contains anandamide, a neurotransmitter which can help to regulate mood, and phenylethylamine, which raises endorphin levels.