Uncovering 10 Things the Human Body Does Every Day

The Popular Health Network recently published an article that listed 10 things that people do every day but can't explain why, and the results are pretty magical.

1. Crying

Of all animals, only humans cry out of emotion. Why do tears come out of our eyes when we are sad? Tears are not only a way to express sadness. Scientists believe that they can also expel some hormones and proteins that are bad for the body caused by excessive stress. This is the "cathartic effect" of tears.

2. Hiccups

Hiccups are involuntary spasms of the diaphragm in the chest cavity, usually caused by too much or too little food stored in the stomach, which causes irritation of the diaphragm. Hiccups can alert the body to abnormal food storage. But it doesn’t do much for the body. One hypothesis is that hiccups are a remnant of a primitive sucking reflex.

3. Sleep

People spend one-third of their lives sleeping. In addition to helping the body repair itself, it is also beneficial to memory and learning, and can help store situational memories for a long time. REM sleep also involves high levels of neural activity during a period of brain development.

4. Blushing

Blushing cheeks is a common human response to social attention. People blush in social situations, such as when meeting important people, receiving compliments, and when they become emotionally excited. Blushing is caused by the dilation of facial veins, which allows more blood to flow into the face, resulting in a rosy complexion. But scientists still don't understand what the purpose of blushing is.

5. Kiss

You may think swapping saliva is a romantic act, but it's actually instinctive. Kissing allows people to judge potential mates through smell and taste, and even to judge the other person's health or the fertility of women through their breath and saliva. In addition, kissing allows both parties to exchange pheromones on their skin to determine whether they are attracted to each other. Kissing can also enhance people's feelings of care and trust.

6. Farting

All the food we eat produces gas when it is digested. Each person emits about 1.9 liters of gas per day (about 15 to 20 farts). The fragrant gas usually comes from the bacterial communities that gather in the intestines, and those microorganisms that break down food produce a hydrogen sulfide gas that smells like rotten eggs, which is the stinky fart. These microbes are particularly fond of sugary foods, such as milk, fruit and beans.

7. Laugh

When people hear a good joke, they feel the urge to laugh. Psychologists believe this is a signal that spreads positive emotions, reduces stress and enhances group cohesion. Other hypotheses suggest that laughter evolved from panting. Our great ape ancestors made panting sounds when they were playing in groups, and these sounds evolved into laughter over time.

8. Blink

It only takes 1/10 of a second for a person to blink, and blinking is mainly to block dust particles and supply lubricating fluid to the eyeball. Scientists have discovered that the human brain automatically ignores brief periods of black vision. When people blink, the area of ​​the brain responsible for detecting changes in the environment is suppressed, so the world we see remains continuous.

9. Distracted

No matter how hard we try to focus on one thing, our minds can't help but wander. This is actually a good thing, as mind-wandering is essential to creativity and imagination. When we are doing something, we are distracted 13% of the time. During this time, we are free to wander in our internal stream of consciousness and let our thoughts lead us forward. This often leads to a lot of interesting ideas, even brilliant ones.

10. Long body hair

Too much body hair may not be aesthetically pleasing to modern people, but it is a physical need: human hair is used to store and release pheromones to attract the opposite sex. For example, a beard is a sign of a man's maturity and makes the male jawline more obvious. But modern people believe that hair smells bad and should be shaved off, thus destroying the originality of the body.