Ask Mike: Of hearts and sneezes
Hey Guys,
While reading your comments from a recent column I did on why we say “God bless you” after somebody sneezes, I came across another interesting question. Does the heart really stop during a sneeze?
Good news — your heart does not stop, not even for a moment, when you sneeze. Baby just keeps on ticking. An article from the Library of Congress explains that a sneeze does cause the pressure in a person’s chest to change. This “also changes your blood flow, which may change the rhythm of your heartbeat.” This can give the person the sensation that his or her heart is “skipping a beat.” Indeed there may be a delay from beat to beat, but that’s not the same as having your heart stop. So, sneeze all you want. Nothing to fear.
The LOC mentions a few other interesting sneeze-related facts at the end of their article. For example, did you know that “sneezes can travel at a speed of 100 miles per hour”? All the more reason to cover your mouth. And, ever wonder why people don’t sneeze when they’re sleeping? The reason has to do with nerve endings. The ones “involved in nerve reflex are also resting.”
It’s impossible to write about this topic without mentioning explaining whether it’s really impossible to keep your eyes open during a sneeze. Near as I can tell this is actually true. Try all you want, you can’t keep your eyelids up when you sneeze. I wrote a column on this in 2005, and found that, “the sneeze impulse affects a variety of body parts, including the abdomen, chest, neck, and face. During a sneeze, the impulses that travel through your face cause your eyelids to blink. This response is entirely automatic. There’s nothing you can do about it.” (First time I’ve quoted myself — feels a little weird.)
Oh, and by the way, even if you held your eyelids in place and then sneezed, your eyes still wouldn’t fly out of your head. You know, just in case you were worried.
Thanks for reading,
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That sneeze at 100 MPH thing is pretty cool to watch in slow motion too.
I heard and read the very same report.
%Whenever I intentionally keep my eyes held open before a sneeze, it doesn’t come!
So the feeling of which my heart ” skips” is normal?
Toward our response to a sneeze, saying “God Bless you!” is commonplace to accept our soul being returned after being exposed to the Devil during the moment of expelling the evil spirit while sneezing.
Which is why I defer to saying “Gezondigheit!” when others sneeze.
%Gezondigheit is German (translated) to “Blessings!”
we say god bless because the first thing Adam did after the spirit get in him is sneezed and said his first word thanks god , so god said god bless you
Aww… I was really hoping they would. I was gonna master that and freak my kids out one day.
“Hey kids! Watch! ACHHOOOO”
*ends up paying for five years of therapy*
it is that “little” death, the main reason behind the saying…it was believed that evil spirits could take over the body at this time, hence the saying of “God bless you” was to keep you safe…this is according to MY knowlege of information passed down from MY family.
About sneezing and blinking, I felt a sneeze coming on one time and was thinking about that fact at the time, I thought I would try and hold my eyelids open to see what would happen, it stopped my sneeze, true story.
Actually in our religion Islam it’s true that we have to say after sneezing “thank God” The one who sneezed!
Then the one who heard him sneezing should tell him ” God bless you ” why that all?
first because when sneezing as you said the whole body and oregans stop working in less than a second then everything come back naturally that’s why thank god because you haven’t died while there were millions who died while sneezing!
Second thing god bless you is a must between muslims, so muslims hope for each other bless and good health
And there is one more thing after the person say “good Bless you” the one who sneezed should say ” you too”.
Thanks for reading
That’s very interesting post. Until now I was wondering the reason behind saying that by some people.
People shouldn’t cover the sneeze, merely aim it at a tissue or at least away from people. Damage could result to your mucosa if it (the sneeze) can’t get out of you
The reason people say “bless you” when one sneezes is because they used to think that the Devil was trying to take somebody over, and blessing an individual would stop him.
Interesting article I didn’t know it worked liked that.
I saw a show about this on ‘The Doctors’. I’m a nurse, and even I believed the myth that your heart stops! Crazy, huh? Great artical!
The reason we say “God bless you” is because back a long time ago, people used to think that when you had a cold, a demon was inside of you.
I have read that people in the UK with severe hay fever are not allowed to drive during that season because of the constant eye-shutting sneezes. May not be true, but good idea!
where ‘ i bless you ‘ come from is the middle ages when a holy man such as a priest or pastor or what have you would see a person sneeze they would say “god bless you” because they believed if they did not say that then you would die. obvesly in this day of age we know for a fact you dont die from sneezing but the trend is still used to show concern for that person. i had a college corse in psychology and the instructer said “if anyone says ‘god bless you’ in his class they are getting an F and escourted out of class” what i just said is the reason he told us this. need less to say no one said ‘god bless you’ , lol.
Actually, one thing I’ve heard about why people say “bless you” after a sneeze is that it once was believed that a sneeze was the soul’s automatic reaction to bad spirits, sort of like it’s the automatic reaction to the common cold virus. And, when you sneezed, the sneeze was so forceful that it expelled evil spirits from your body or soul. So, the term “bless you” followed.
I remember several years ago, Mercedes Benz ran an ad campaign on TV that claimed they improved the atmosphere in their cars to reduce the chance of sneezing to prevent the driver from closing his/her eyes while driving.
5 years ago I held my eyelids open and sneezed.. my eyeballs flew out at 100mph and I haven’t seen them since.
If sneezing causing your heart to skip a beat were true, i’d be dead in the spring.
I can sneeze without closing my eyes, it doesn’t hurt or anything, but it does feel weird, I also just cover my nose and close my mouth when I sneeze
many teachers, professors, and students told me that it does stop the exact second you sneeze
i was asking my mom this question (she’s in the medical field) and she concurs with you, but she also told me about this one woman that she knew who sneezed and simultaneously had a stroke. she doesn’t think that the sneeze triggered the stroke, but it was strange to say the least.
i can easily sneeze with my eyes open! am i the only one?
Interesting stuff, it won’t stop me from trying to hold my eyes open though
Well before I get to the point, I am Atheist and don’t say, “God bless you”. Although, that saying came from people thinking that sneezing is a curse from God. That’s why my mom (Christian) just says, “Excuse me.” or, “Excuse you”. Now to get to the point. Sneezing is just the body’s way to remove germs and/or mucus. It is also a reflex to get a foreign object out of the nose. That’s why, when one of your boogers tickle, when your have boogers, when your nose is stuffy/runny, etc., you sneeze. Sneezing has nothing to do with blood or the heart. It does not effect the heart or blood flow at all.
Oh, sorry for my answer I did not read the entire entry.
Very interesting. My husband has pulmonary hypertension. Impared circulation and heart function. He sneezes quite a lot. I tell him maybe sneezing helps his problems. Just a theory.
It actually is possible to sneeze with your eyes open. I’ve done it several times.
its weird why people say “god bless u”….
also i keeped my eyes open alittle once.
Hey Mike,
Not too sure about the phyisological basis of a sneeze per se, but it is believed that people say “bless you” post sneeze as it was once thought that an evil spirit was possessing the sneezer. As a child I would attempt to hold my sneezes in. This resulted in a medical procedure where I needed cauterization in my nose. I have also been informed that sneezes can reach speeds of 100 mph. Yep…interesting stuff.
Daina
I see some questions to which I might have answer. But I need time to compose it for better presentation.
Of hearts and sneezes, those having faith in God, they thank Him saying Jesus, whilst Muslims also thank with Hamdullillah (Glory to Allah). If you happen to be holding some water in a container at the time of sneezing, you will see the water jerks and spills. That shows that your entire body undergoes a lightning jerk. Next moment you feel some sort of relief. I have sneezed while at sleep, due to some tickle in the nose. If you have a spring wound table clock and jerk once very hard. You will observe that the ticking of the clock gets disturbed. It might even stop if there is some unknown defects within. Heart is like a clock. The relief you get after sneezing is a blessing that you have got your heartbeat back. You naturally thank your Creator who is in need of nothing but expects gratitute and glory.
Good to know, although I already kind of knew this.
One thing to add: people say “God Bless You” because it was believed that sneezing brought on the devil (or caused by, I forget which, although I think I’ve heard both ways).
yes, your heart completely stops a milisecond.
Very interesting
Hey, Great article. Im a RN and this is great physiology. It is also fun info. to use at a party!!!
No, your heart does not stop when you sneeze.
I stopped saying “god bless you”, and get agitated when people say it to me. Why? Because it’s intolerant to assume the person worships the same god as you. They might worship a different one, or more than one, and by saying “god bless you” to them, you’re insinuating that your god is real and theirs is false. Not so nice after all.
You can force yourself to keep your eyes open, but it’s very difficult. I managed it once, just to see if I could. And indeed, my eyes are still where they are supposed to be (never heard of the eye-popping thing back then).
i have loved all your questions because they are so educative
i heard that “god bless you” after sneezing began LONG ago when many believed that the motion was like.. sneezing out the devil or something. like.. ridding your body of evil. weird but i believe thats how it began.
my mom always told me not to hold my sneezes in (aka hold my nose so boogars wouldnt fly out) or my head would explode LOL
interestinggg.
My aunt who is a nurse says your heart stops for a second when you sneeze. Wow I guess I have to show her this
Interesting. Really!
Skipping a beat is kinda like stopping..
My “sneeze’ question goes a bit farther – Why is it that most people sneeze in ‘threes’?
I’ve held my eyes open while sneezing. The human body is capable of a lot of things if one conquers the art of mind over matter. You CAN sneeze with your eyes open.
I’ve heard that people say “Bless you” beacuse it is believed that a bit of your soul flies out of your body and goes to Heaven (or Hell), so they bless that bit of your soul as it leaves
Antonio- I don’t belong to any religion and I say Bless You when someone sneezes. I’m saying it out of politeness, not actually blessing them in any way. If the comment isn’t follow up with a sermon then just assume politeness. If not you look like a crabby-butt who can’t stop being politically correct for a second. Most people are smart enough to know that they are taking a small risk by saying it to a stranger. Do you think slightly offending some religious zealot is going to stop me from being polite? If you really think about it I cannot say God bless you, or the equivalent in any religion, because I do not practice. To bad, I’m going to say it as a group of words used to be polite, whatever the original meaning. Even if it isn’t your religion why would you be offended if someone wants to bless you? I know it’s a little early, but Merry Christmas to everyone! Got to go, I’m off to say the Pledge of Allegiance.
I heard that the reason you say God Bless you came from a long time ago. The early christians would say God bless you because when you sneeze you loose total control of your body and demons could enter it so they said God Bless you to ward off demons.
In estonian, you just say “terviseks” which literally means “for your health/to your health”. Probably because we estonians are the least religious people of all, really.
Actually the “God Bless You” came about because people thought that when you sneezed your soul came out and the Devil could get in you body… So people used to say “God Bless You”, to keep the Devil out… strange, I know.
i have read way way back on an article that…..r heart stop beating mili-second per hour whenever we sneeze,And about to that” God bless you” ur keeping that person to be safe…after he orshe sneeze…..god bless you alll!!!!:D
it was my understanding that the heart doesn’t actually “stop” but it Skips a Beat….
Ok, I read all the comments and especially the last, I believed that people said “God, bless you” because they thought that your soul came out and it may have been contaminated. So even though it went right back in, it needed to be blessed because it still came out. and you were grateful that it was returned. I don’t remember where I read this but I know it was as a teenager, it may have been middle age myths or something. I guess there would be different variations of the tradition, from all sorts of religions or cultures. I still wonder where it started.