is it true that everytime we sneeze our heart stops???
352983
Yes. This is a very interesting question and have an answer everyone must know. \n\nWhenever we sneeze, our heart stops. This is the only time in the life (of a living person) when a heart stops. There has been a convention of different cultures around the world to welcome (or say welcome back) just after sneezing. These people don't know why we welcome the person who just sneezed. But the truth is that, he/she just came back from a situation between life and death.
1008079
Because the pressure of the sneeze, you close your eyes. You can't control them because its something the body controls. Try holding your nose or biting your tongue though if you're about to sneeze. Then you don't.
1141521
This has been recognized in medical journals for at least 40 years, and is called different things, including the "photic sneeze reflex" and even the "ACHOO syndrome". In a few instances the reflex has been documented by shining bright lights at people to make them sneeze, so it probably really does happen. \n\nNobody is really sure why.  Apparently, somehow, the nerve pathway associated with sneezing is stimulated with the exposure to bright light.
574231
Sneezing is a reflex that occurs when something irritates the mucus membrane in our nose. Particulate matter, bacteria, and other such things get bogged down in the mucus and tiny hair-like cilia wiggle the potentially hazardous material toward the front of the nose or down the back of the throat. A message is sent to the brainstem, which sends messages all over the body. What happens next?…that great spasmodic reflex we call sneezing, a well-coordinated effort of many muscles working at once…your diaphragm muscle flexes, as do your abdominal muscles, your chest muscles, the muscles controlling the vocal cords, and the muscles in the back of your throat…your tongue raises to block your mouth…and your eyelids close. Air is forced out of your nose, sending thousands of bacteria-filled globules of snot into our immediate atmosphere…and then, as good manners dictate…people will invoke higher powers to bestow upon you a blessing. A most sanctimonious event, indeed!
576422
Check this link out.  Another asker had a similar question.\n\nRead the best answer!\n\nANYBODY WHO THINKS THAT IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO SNEEZE WITH YOUR EYES OPEN IS ILL INFORMED AND SHOULD ALSO READ THIS LINK!
375161
In a word, no, your heart does not stop when you sneeze. From my perspective, it is hard to even imagine what this would mean. A sneeze itself is really a very brief event, occurring in a shorter time then a heartbeat. Of course, there is the building up to the sneeze (the "ah" of the "ah-choo"), but the heart certainly does not stop beating because of this ah-ing. Check your pulse next time to prove this to yourself.\n\nAs I answer this question, I am trying to imagine just how the heart might even "know" that you are sneezing. The heart beats because a small part of it called the SA node has a "pacemaker" activity. What this means is that there is a type of electrical cycle going on that triggers beats roughly once every second. Sneezing does not change this electrical cycle, so the heart keeps beating. Said a different way, the muscle of your heart is a big mass of electrically active tissue, and this electrical activity will not stop because of a sneeze, or anything else for that matter.\n\nAnd yet, a sneeze is definitely a complex cardiovascular event. As you "ah" and "choo", you significantly change the pressure inside your chest, which in turn affects blood flow and thus the beating of the heart. Still further, I assume that a sneeze involves a significant activation of certain pathways of the "autonomic" (roughly means automatic) nervous system. These also innervate the heart and do affect the frequency and other aspects of the heartbeat.\n\nSo MAYBE the rapid culmination of these inputs OCCASIONALLY causes the heart to "skip a beat" after a sneeze. Notice I did not say "stop". We all experience skipped beats once in a while, some more than others. You may notice it as a "fluttering" in your chest, a sensation that generally evokes a bit of anxiety. What happens is that there is occasionally a discoordination of the normally organized pathways of electrical activity in the heart. Sometimes one part of the heart does not conduct the beat appropriately, or more commonly, another part actually manages to beat ahead of schedule, thus throwing the whole beat off. Either way, you get one beat that does not occur correctly. But all this means is that you have to wait for the beginning of the next electrical cycle to come around, at which time a normal, organized beat will occur (assuming that we are talking about a normal heart!). You see, the heart didn’t stop, really, since the electrical cycle was still ongoing. It just got out of synch for a while. Again, I am not actually aware that this happens with any increased frequency after a sneeze, but I suppose it is possible.\n\nTom Wilson, MD PhD \n\nhttp://www.madsci.org/posts/archives/mar98/890925984.An.r.html
116068
Does your heart stop when you sneeze?\n– Lauren K, El Cajon\n\nNo. The heart's rhythm is controlled by a natural pacemaker – the sinoatrial node, a group of cells located in the right atrium of the heart. These cells create an electrical impulse by pumping charged particles out of the cell and then allowing them to flow back in. Conducting cells transmit the electrical impulse to all parts of the heart to initiate muscle contraction. Sneezing does not stop this electrical activity.\n\nHowever, the nervous system and circulating hormones, such as adrenaline, alter the rate of the electrical activity in the sinoatrial node to increase or decrease heart rate. Just as exercise leads to an increased heart rate, sneezing works many muscles; therefore it is possible for a "sneeze attack" to increase heart rate.\n--------------------\nSherry Seethaler has a doctorate in science education and is a UCSD science writer and educator. Send your scientific questions to her at Quest, San Diego Union-Tribune, P.O. Box 120191, San Diego, CA 92112-0191. Or e-mail sseethaler@ucsd.edu. Please include your name, city of residence and phone number.\n======================================\nDear Earl,\nWhen I sneeze, does my heart stop?\n\nBen, Age 12\n\nDear Ben,\nDefinitely not, although that is a common myth. Looking at the sites in our Heart category, your heart keeps pumping blood throughout your body from when you're a baby in your mother's womb until the moment of death. Your heart beats all day and all night, all the time. When you run or play hard, your heart beats faster. When you're asleep, your heart beats slower, but it doesn't stop. If a person needs heart surgery, doctors hook the patient up to a machine that pumps blood for the heart. Only then is it safe for the doctor to stop the heart in order to operate. When you sneeze, the muscles in your abdomen, chest, and throat are all involved. And, even though you might not notice it, your heart is working too.\n\nEarl
935672
Say 'Bless you' after someone sneezes. It's supposed to keep the devil at bay. If the Devil doesn't materialise then you'll know it worked.
461348
Yes, that is why people say "God bless you" after you sneeze.
141049
Do you mean "why do we close our eyes when we <sneeze>?"?\n\nWhat a wonderful way to phrase that question :-)\n\nYou can find some answers at these sites:
970529
Other explanations are based on superstitions and urban legends about sneezing and what a sneeze entails. Some well known superstitions that may have contributed to bringing "bless you" into common use are:\n\nThe heart stops when you sneeze (it doesn't), and the phrase "bless you" is meant to ensure the return of life or to encourage your heart to continue beating. \nA sneeze is the expulsion of some sort of evil, and the phrase is meant to ward off the evil's re-entry. \nYour soul can be thrown from your body when you sneeze, and saying "bless you" prevents your soul from being stolen by Satan or some evil spirit. Thus, "bless you" or "God bless you" is used as a sort of shield against evil. \nA sneeze is good luck and saying "bless you" is no more than recognition of the sneezer's luckiness. \nAlternatively, it may be possible that the phrase began simply as a response for an event that wasn't well understood at the time.\n\nAnother urban legend states that you cannot open your eyes while you sneeze, or if you manage to your eyes will pop out. Both of the statements are untrue.
488894
◙ when it's feverish and sneezes alot. :)
947210
You sneeze because you have something in your nose and your body is trying to get it out.  You don't get it out the first time, or your nose is still irritated.
1165185
yes.  you sneeze when something irritates your inner nose.  all that happens is that a little piece of dust gets in the wrong place, and you wake up sneezing--but this does not happen very often.  it is very rare
312636
As in humans, sneezing is normal. It's a reflex for expelling something in the nose that doesn't belong there.
320133
Not an expert, but it seems to be a kind of reflex action in a small percentage of people. If you experience the "sun sneeze" the same way that I do, it only occurs if I look skyward or toward the bright light of the sun.  If  I look away, I lose the urge to sneeze.  My best guess is that it may be a crossed wire of sorts in some people where an overload of the visual senses creates a reaction.  Since it is impossible to keep your eyes open during a sneeze, it could be that this reaction is the body's attempt to protect your eyes from exposure to the intense light.
1049826
It is a superstition.  People used to believe that the devil could enter you when you sneezed.  God Bless You was a way for others to try to help prevent that.