What causes Hiccups?

           Two sudden and involuntary contractions within the diaphragm cause Hiccups. There is a diaphragm located between the chest and the stomach. While inhaling air the diaphragm presses down on the stomach and the lungs are filled with air. While exhaling the diaphragm presses on the lungs and we exhale air. The diaphragm works like a piston. But sometimes due to the formation of gas or increase of acidity in the stomach the diaphragm gets irritated and as a result contracts suddenly. In such a situation the air passing into the lungs experiences obstruction and makes a peculiar sound. This is nothing but a Hiccup. Hiccups can also be caused by eating too fast or too much. It can occasionally be a symptom of mineral disorders, pneumonia, pancreatitis, bladder irritation and stomach disorders.

            For mild Hiccup attacks, we need to hold breath for a tolerably long spell, drinking a glass of water while holding your breath and swallowing in rapid successions three times a glass of water duly holding your breath. If these methods do not work, hold a paper bag tightly over your nose and mouth, breath in and out for a minute or two. The relatively high level of carbon dioxide in blood shall inhibit Hiccups.

   

Motion Sickness - Vomiting while travelling

        Giddiness occurs when we lose our sense of balance. The sensations perceived by the eye, inner ear, skin,  muscles and joints help  the body to know its stability. Several unusual situations, such as travelling in a bus or looking down from a great height, overstimulate and confuse that part of the brain which controls balancing. This condition is called Motion Sickness.

        Researchers have discovered that motion sickness  is caused by the temporary disturbance in what is known as the Vestibular Membranous Labyrinth. This is the part of intricate series in the structure of inner ear, and helps to maintain the body's equilibrium. If the Labyrinth becomes overloaded with information from the eyes and other senses, it can trigger a sudden desire to vomit.

       The Motion sickness can sometimes be avoided by shifting the vision from objects at short range and those  far off. This is the reason why car drivers are not usually affected, while backseat passengers  often are. Those  in the front seat  have a panoramic, more stable and slower-moving scene. Passengers in the back seat see through the side windows, where the scenery flashes past and the brains labyrinth has more information to process.

How does Scratching stop Itching?

       Itching is the result of damage to cells in our skin. As a result of the damage, substances like Histamine (the amine that causes widening f blood vessels and plays a role in allergic phenomena) are set free and irritate the nerve fibers in the skin. These send signals, similar to pain signals, to the Central Nervous System (CNS).

       One can compare the nerve fibers to telephone lines and the central nervous system to a switchboard. The switchboard routes incoming telephone calls, and makes sure that only one line at a time is connected with each telephone number. By occupying the line you can prevent others from having a conversation with the same number. Likewise, the itch message can be blocked by occupying the central nervous system with another signal, for example, the one generated by Scratching, which is less irritating.

Hence scratching is the best remedy for Itching.

Posh people really do think they're better than others

According to new research, Posh people really do think they are better than others. People in higher social classes are "overconfident" about their abilities which means they come across as more competent - even when they don't know what they are talking about.

The study concludes that being able to confidently express what they think means they better at job interviews than working-class people who are socialized to embrace humility and authenticity. Social class shapes the attitudes that people hold about their abilities and that, in turn, has important implications for how class hierarchies perpetuate from one generation to the next. This overconfidence means people who are born into the upper echelons of society are likely to remain there.

 Researchers believe that this overconfidence might be due to the differences in values between middle and working-class people. They carried out four investigations into the connection between social class and overconfidence.

To measure social class, researchers looked at information about the applicants income, education level and perceived standing in society. They also had to complete a psychological assessment which involved using a flashcard game and a cognitive test. After completing the test, they were asked to guess how well they did on a scale of 1 to 100.

When psychologists compared the actual scores with the applicants' predictions, they found people with more education, income and perceived social class had an exaggerated belief that they would perform better. The results suggest that finding solutions to mitigate class inequalities may require a focus on subtle and seemingly harmless human tendencies.

                                                                                             Source: The Independent