• Question: why do we yawn, sneeze, cough, and hiccup?

    Asked by confuddled213 to Mike, Pip, Tianfu, Tim, Tom on 27 Jun 2012.
    • Photo: Tim Stephens

      Tim Stephens answered on 27 Jun 2012:

      They’re reactions to things in your body.
      Sneezes are to clear foreign bodies from your nose.
      Coughs do the same for your throat and lungs
      I don’t know why we hiccup – I think it’s something inside your body spasming
      I’ve heard various theories for why we yawn: either it was to cool your brain, get more air into your lungs, or as some sort of pack behaviour to show that you’re in sync with your friends. I don’t know what the reason is though.

    • Photo: Tom Lister

      Tom Lister answered on 27 Jun 2012:

      I once had hiccups for three days. I think it was caused by an inflammation in my stomach which was pushing against my diaphragm – causing it to spasm.

      I think I once did all of these things at the same time as well, like a yawn leading into a cough/sneeze with a hiccup at the end. Possibly a burp in there somewhere too.

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