Hello, everyone. Hope you are all doing fine and are safe during this ongoing pandemic.
Today in this new blog, we will be talking about a rather bizarre yet interesting topic that reads, ‘How to make yourself pass out?’ While it may seem all fun and exciting, we do recommend NOT TO TRY the below mentioned actions haphazardly, as it can easily lead to fatal situations.
The safest way to make yourself pass out is to lie on a bed and take quick shallow breaths. You can also try to stand up instantly from a sitting or lying position to forcibly change your blood pressure, which often leads to a feeling of dizziness and even fainting. However, always be aware of the consequences and have a friend on standby to help you out in case something extreme happens.
What happens when we pass out?
As we know, our brain is responsible for the overall functioning of our bodies and hence when there is an insufficient supply of oxygenated blood we feel dizzy. This dizziness can sometimes lead to passing out.
Also known as fainting, passing out, blacking out, syncope, or swooning, when we lose consciousness, it leads to an instant drop in the blood pressure. Although, this generally has nothing to worry about, in case it continues longer than a minute it can produce severe side effects.
During this phase, the brain gets a limited supply of oxygenated blood and hence to cope with the sudden drop, our brain reduces any body movement or response during this phase. This is why passed out people don’t respond to loud sounds or shaking. Even the breathing rate slows down and the pulse becomes very faint. In this case, it is better to seek professional assistance rather than trying to wake up the person on your own. This is because the longer the individual is in this stage, the more serious the side effects.
What causes loss of consciousness?
While a reduced flow of oxygenated blood is the only reason behind fainting, there are many factors that can trigger asphyxiation. These include:
- Sudden body movements
Have you ever felt severely nauseated while trying to stand up too quickly or even when tilting your head to another side suddenly? Then, this is one of the pre-signs of fainting. Although this doesn’t mean that you will pass out every time you stand up or change your body positioning, it simply means that your blood pressure wasn’t able to cope with your sudden change. And hence the dizzy feeling.
When lying down or sitting, our muscles become relaxed and hence the blood pressure drops. The same also happens when we are standing for too long as most of the blood travels down the body to our feet. Thus, when we stand up or sit down after long periods of standing, the sudden shift in the blood pressure causes our senses to get confused. This confusion in return makes us dizzy and even faint.
- Psychological, physical, or emotional factors
When dealing with stress, scary situations or intense physical pain, our brain tries to shut down the negative feeling by causing us to pass out. It is mostly induced by our natural ‘flight or fight’ response and hence is nothing much to worry about. However, medically speaking the sudden elevation and drop of the blood pressure upon facing such situations is the main cause of passing out.
For instance, vasovagal syncope is a medical term which refers to passing out if our body is going through intense physical pain. The pain stimulates the Vagus nerve, thereby causing an individual to pass out to prevent any further damage.
- Low BP or sugar
Another leading cause of passing out in individuals is due to low sugar or low blood pressure. As sugar plays a major role in the production of energy in our body and an optimal blood pressure is essential for all bodily functions to work naturally, a dip in these two can trigger head swooning. This is because, when we are running low on energy or some of our organs are not getting enough blood supply, our brain tries to sustain our body and prevent further damage by forcefully slowing down our functions, hence the dizziness. To prevent this regularly checking of your blood pressure levels is a must if you have had such medical history previously.
- Dehydration or intense coughing
Similar to sugar and blood pressure, when our body has minimal water supply, it stimulates the Vagus nerve causing a black out. Water is highly crucial for our organs to sustain properly and therefore taking less amount of water can intensify the frequency of passing out by a lot.
Apart from that, intense coughing when suffering a cold or due to excessive smoking may also put a sudden pressure on the heart, lungs, and brain, causing them to slow down. The blood vessels start dilating and the body is unable to meet the sudden increased demand, causing a blackout.
How to make yourself pass out?
Now coming to the main part of our today’s topic, here are a few ways that can aid in this bizarre endeavour of yours. However, be aware coz they can be DEADLY.
- Skipping meals- When you skip meals, the body doesn’t get enough sugar and hence reacts to it by causing a pass out.
CAUTION- This can backfire if you have a history of diabetes or diabetic, and hence not attempting this is the best way to being safe.
- Pinching sensitive nerves- Similar to what’s shown in movies, pinching or hitting sensitive nerve areas, like the nerve present on the lower part of the forearm, or just behind your ears, can also trigger a neurally mediated syncope. Any sudden or painful blow to the area invigorates the Vagus nerve leading to loss of consciousness.
CAUTION- If hit or pinched too violently, it can cause irreversible nerve damage which can lead to even more serious side-effects.
- Standing for longer periods- As we discussed earlier, standing for extended periods of time transports a majority part of our blood to the feet. Thus, when the brain starts receiving a low supply of oxygenated blood, voila, you can make yourself pass out.
CAUTION- In worst cases, it can cause chronic brain damage and also drastic seizures, in turn creating even more problems for your body.
- Dehydrate yourself- Reducing water intake greatly causes our body not only to dehydrate but also pass out due to insufficient water supply to the organs.
CAUTION- Not drinking enough water causes acidity, gastroenteritis, and even kidney and gallbladder stones. So be aware.
- Run in circles- Running in circles disturbs the vestibular systems in our ears which is mainly responsible for maintaining our body balance. Thus, as the brain is unable to pull out of this situation quickly, it causes the individual to feel light headed, throw up and even faint.
CAUTION- In extreme cases, you might end up having a drastic seizure requiring immediate medical attention.
- Get up quickly- Standing up suddenly from sitting or lying down induces your heart to suddenly pump blood against the flow of gravity, resulting in dizziness and black out.
CAUTION- The sudden dip and rise in the blood pressure might put heavy pressure on the heart leading to compression of blood arteries, thus risking you with a high probability of heart attacks.
- Suffocate yourself- Lastly, trying to suffocate yourself by holding breath for a while or taking frequent breaks from breathing can induce loss of consciousness.
CAUTION- Doing this puts immense pressure on the lungs, heart, and the brain. Thereby, risking exposure to brain damage, death due to inadequate oxygen supply, heart choke, or multiple organ failure.
Even though you might feel trying to make yourself pass out might help you set a new Guiness World Record, by doing this you are straightforwardly RISKING YOUR OWN LIFE OVER NOTHING. I mean, why risk your life over such an unconventional weird thought, when there are many other safe, interesting things you can do when bored.
For more interesting topics like these, don’t forget to visit wntoknow.com.
