Marc RosenthalWhat a brain freeze really is, and other health mysteries explained.
Why is yawning contagious?
No one knows for sure, but a study published in a recent issue of the journal Cognitive Brain Research theorizes that yawning in response to someone else's yawn may be an empathetic response, similar to laughter. "A yawn can be triggered not only by seeing a person yawn but also by hearing, reading about, or even just thinking about yawns," says Steven Platek, Ph.D., a professor of psychology at Drexel University, in Philadelphia, who directed the research. Platek and his colleagues believe that contagious yawning may be a primitive way of modeling our feelings after other people's.
What is brain freeze?
It's a pain in your head that occurs when the nerves on the roof of your mouth are hyperstimulated by cold foods, like ice cream and frozen drinks. The nerves are in your mouth, but the nerve center is in your brain, "so that's where you feel the pain," says Seymour Diamond, M.D., a headache specialist in Chicago and the executive chairperson of the National Headache Foundation. "This is known as referred pain." Why do humans experience pain in one place when the stimulus is elsewhere? No one knows for sure. "We do know that migraine sufferers are more prone to ice cream headaches," Diamond says. "We also know that eating slowly and sipping slowly seem to reduce the effects of the cold. Once the headache sets in, the fastest way to make it go away is to drink something lukewarm." Practice your brain freeze avoidance tactics on these homemade ice cream recipes.
Why Do You Have Earwax?
To keep foreign matter from invading ear canals. Earwax, or cerumen, is produced by glands in the outer ear to protect the inner ear from infection. The sticky substance prevents dust, dirt, and bugs from getting in. "Just leave it alone," says Andrew Cheng, M.D., an ear, nose, and throat specialist at the Manhattan Eye, Ear and Throat Hospital. Ears are self-cleaning: The wax slowly moves up and out of the ears on its own, dries up, and flakes off or washes away when you shampoo your hair. If you're a Q-tip addict, clean just the outside of your ears. "Ear canals are like dead-end streets," Cheng says. "Q-tips just push wax further in." You could also accidentally scratch your ear canal or even puncture the eardrum. A hearing assessment is just one of the tests women often overlook.
Keep reading: Why is yawning contagious?
Related:
Insider tips from medical specialists
What is your body trying to tell you?
First aid for common injuries
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