Achoo: Sneezing Facts and Fiction

The tickle at the back of your nose lets you know that within seconds you’ll be sneezing. A sneeze is also called a sternutation. This explosive release of fluid and air from your lungs, mouth and nose is involuntary and many times your body’s response to irritants in your nasal cavity.

During a sneeze your soft palate comes down and the back of your tongue rises to close off your mouth, routing most of the air from your lungs through your nose. But, since you can only partially close of your mouth with the soft palate and tongue, a considerable amount of air and fluid will also exit through your mouth.

Scientists do not believe that you can sneeze during your sleep as your body experiences a nearly complete inhibition of motor neurons, and thus movement during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep.1 This lack of movement is called REM atonia. A complete REM cycle takes approximately 100 minutes,2 but you may awaken long enough to sneeze during an REM cycle or between them.

The volume of your sneeze may change over time. In some, the sneeze is loud and voluminous while others give a small toot. However loud or large, your body uses a sneeze to rid your nose of an irritant, germ or mucous and to clear the passage for better airflow.3 Pet dander, dust, pollen and germs are all common reasons to sneeze, but your body responds with a sneeze to other triggers as well.

Why Do You Sneeze?

If you suffer from seasonal allergies, you’ll likely have experienced the irritating and burning sensation in your nose that immediately precedes a sneeze. Those protein-based allergens are irritating and frustrating. Sneezing protects your body by clearing your nasal cavity of viruses and bacteria.4 Scientists know that more than allergens and germs trigger this sensation.

Dr. Neil Kao, allergy and asthma specialist from Greenville, South Carolina, explains that sneezing starts in your nervous system when signals passing along your nerves may take different paths to and from the brain.5 This can result in different ways in which people experience sneezing. For instance, you may have experienced a sneeze when plucking your eyebrows that triggered a nerve supplying your nasal passages, and thus you sneeze.

Exercise and sex are two surprising triggers for sneezing. Kao believes that during hyperventilation the mucous membranes in your mouth and nose begin to dry up. In response, your nose may begin to drip and trigger a sneeze.6 Sex stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system that may trigger signals during orgasm, resulting in sneezing. (MORE)

Source: Mercola.com