I read this on the internet and thought I'd share it with forum members. I do not know if all of the tips really work, that is for you to decide.
17 Tricks to Teach Your Body
1. If your throat tickles scratch your ear. When you were 9
playing your armpit was a cool trick. Now as an adult you can
still appreciate a good body-based feat, but you're more discrim-
inating. Take that tickle in your throat. It's not worth gagging over.
Here's a better way to scratch your itch: "When the nerves in your
ear are stimulated, it creates a reflex in the throat that can cause
a muscle spasm," says Dr. Shaffer MD, president of and ear,
nose and throat speciality center in Gibbsboro, NJ. " This
spasm relieves the tickle. "
2. Experience supersonic hearing. If your're stuck chatting up a
mumbler at a cocktail party, lean in with your right ear. It's better
than your left at following the rapid rhythms of speech, according
to researchers at the UCLA school of medicine. If on the other
hand you're trying to identify that song playing softly in the ele-
vator, turn your left ear toward the sound. The left ear is better at
picking up music sounds.
3. Feel no pain. German researchers have discovered that
coughing during an injection can lessen the pain of the needle
stick. According to Taras Usichenko, the trick causes a sudden
temporary rise in pressure in the chest and spinal canal, inhibiting
the pain-conducting structures of the spinal cord.
4. Clear your stuffed nose! Forget sudafed. An easier, cheaper
quicker way to relieve sinus pressure is by alternately thrusting
your tongue against the roof of your mouth, then pressing between
your eyebrows with one finger. This causes the vomer bone,
which runs through the nasal passages to the mouth, to rock
says Lisa Destefano, D. O., an assistant professor at the
Michigan State University college of osteopathic medicine. The
motion loosens congestion; after 20 seconds you'll feel your
sinuses start to drain.
5. Fight fire without water! Worried those wings will repeat on you
tonight? "Sleep on your left side" says Anthony Star-poli, M.D.
a New York city gastroenterologist and assistant professor of
medicine at New York Medical College. Studies have shown
that patients who sleep on their left side are less likely to suffer
from acid reflux. The esophagus and stomach connect at an
angle. When you sleep on your right, the stomach is higher than
the esophagus, allowing food and stomach acid to slide up your
throat. When you're on your left, the stomach is lower than the
esophagus, so gravity's in your favor.
6. Cure your toothache without opening your mouth! Just rub ice
on the back of your hand, on the v shaped web area between
your thumb and index finger. A Canadian study found that this
technique reduces toothache pain by as much as 50% compared
with using no ice. The nerve pathways at the base of that V stim-
ulate an area that blocks pain signals from the face and hands.
7. Make burns disappear! When you accidentally singe your
finger on the stove, clean the skin and apply light pressure with
the finger pads of your unmarred hands. Ice will relieve your pain
more quickly, Dr. Stefano says, but since the natural method
brings the burned skin back to a normal temperature, the skin is
less likely to blister.
8. Stop the world from spinning!
One too many drinks left you dizzy? Put your hand on something
stable. The part of your ear responsible for balance-the cupula-
floats in a fluid of the same density as blood. "As alcohol dilutes
blood in the cupula the cupula becomes less dense and rises"
says Dr. Shaffer. This confuses your brain. The tactile input from
a stable object gives the brain a second opinion and you feel
more in balance. Because the nerves in the hand are so sensi-
tive this works better than the foot on the floor conventional
wisdom.
(To be continued..this is a lot of typing. Cut and paste wouldn't format correctly.)
DonnaZ