Debunking the Myth: No, Your Heart Doesn’t Stop Beating When You Sneeze

You must have heard someone claiming that “the heart stops working for a moment when you sneeze, then it starts beating again.” Is this saying true? Is this really happening?

The answer is simply: no!

When you inhale before sneezing, the pressure on the heart increases, but it soon decreases after sneezing. Therefore, it is normal for the heart rate to change during this process, without this meaning that the muscle has stopped.

When a person sneezes, the pressure inside the chest temporarily rises, which leads to less blood flow to the heart. And with a decrease in blood pumping, the heart finds itself forced to change the regular beat, so it takes a second or two in the reset process, without realizing The electrical signals that control heart rate are affected by the physiological changes that occur when sneezing.

Therefore, sneeze as much as you like, as your heart is always with you and works, but cover your mouth so that you do not transmit the droplets to others!

Involuntary and convulsive expulsion of air

Sneezing is an involuntary and convulsive exit of air from the lungs through the nose and mouth, and it is a beneficial movement for humans because it enables the body to get rid of extraneous particles and allergens through the nose and through nasal mucus, according to a report by writer Christina Rudakova on the Russian “AFP” website.

There are many allergens and foreign particles in the air that cause irritation to the mucous membrane in the nose, which leads to sneezing and breathing problems in cold weather.

How does sneezing happen?

When tickling or tingling begins in the nose, a person takes a deep breath that fills his lungs with air, then the uvula rises, and the back of the tongue moves to become close to the hard palate, and the tendon muscles contract; This increases the pressure inside the abdomen and chest due to the forceful exhalation that occurs through the pharynx.

At the same time, the air moves at a speed of 12 liters per second outside the nose and mouth when sneezing, accompanied by small droplets of mucus and saliva that spread over a distance of two or three meters, which represents a danger to the people around you, especially if you are infected with an infectious virus.

The sneezing process does not stop the heart, rather it does not miss any beat, except that the rhythm of the heartbeat may decrease slightly when taking a deep breath, but this effect is slight and does not appear on the person.

Between 18 and 35% of people sneeze when exposed to bright light. This phenomenon is inherited by the child from one of his parents, and it is not an allergy to the sun. According to scientists, sneezing may be a signal from the brain so that the body narrows the pupils of the eye in response to the abundance of light.

Sneezing while keeping the eyes open does not lead to them leaving their place, as this requires more muscles to push the eyes out when sneezing. However, a person closes his eyes when sneezing because there is a nerve that connects the eyes and nose with the brain, and it sends a signal to close the eyelids.

But the reason behind this has nothing to do with keeping the eye in place. Although opening the eyes while sneezing is not dangerous, keeping them open is very difficult.

Usually, a person sneezes twice or a few times, as this matter is repeated until the goal is achieved, and the duration of sneezing varies from person to person; There are those who always sneeze only once, some sneeze twice in a row, and others sneeze more than ten times in a row.

The danger of holding a sneeze

You cannot close your nose and mouth if you feel the urge to sneeze, and if you force yourself to do so, a strong stream of air will rush towards the ears and can rupture the eardrums, which can lead to hearing loss.

At best, this movement may make you dizzy, or damage your diaphragm. Capillaries in the eyes and brain can burst; For this reason, it is best to give in to a sneeze and not try to hold it in.

And a medical report in 2018 warned against suppressing a sneeze, because this suppression may lead to complications that include tearing the throat, ear damage, or even brain aneurysm.

The report was written by a team including Dr Sudip Das, of the University Hospitals of Leicester (NHS) Trust, and published in the British medical journal Case Reports, and quoted by the Guardian.

According to the report, a 34-year-old man visited the emergency room with a change in his voice, swelling in the neck, and pain when swallowing. And that after he muffled a sneeze.

After examination, doctors discovered air bubbles in the tissue at the back of the throat and in the neck. This indicates that suppressing a sneeze led to an increase in pressure, which led to tearing the back of the throat, and air gathering in its soft tissues.

Dr. Sudeep Das said that for reasons of safety and etiquette, a person should hold back a sneeze, but in rare cases this could lead to serious potential complications.

The authors of the report warned that holding back a sneeze could also lead to a ruptured eardrum or even an aneurysm in the brain.