Body tricks

TRICKS TO TEACH YOUR BODY
(Men's Health)

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 discriminating. 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 the ear are stimulated, it creates a reflex in the throat that can cause a muscle spasm. This spasm relieves the tickle.
Experience supersonic hearing! If you'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. If, on the other hand, you're trying to identify that song playing softly in the elevator, turn your left ear toward the sound. The left ear is better at picking up music tones.
Overcome your most primal urge! Need to pee? No bathroom nearby? Fantasize about Jessica Simpson. Thinking about sex preoccupies your brain, so you won't feel as much discomfort.
Feel no pain! German researchers have discovered that coughing during an injection can lessen the pain of the needle stick. The trick causes a sudden, temporary rise in pressure in the chest and spinal canal, inhibiting the pain-conducting structures of the spinal cord.
Clear your stuffed nose! Forget Sudafed. An easier, quicker, and cheaper 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 back and forth. The motion loosens congestion; after 20 seconds, you'll feel your sinuses start to drain.
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. 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 sensitive, this works better than the conventional foot-on-the-floor wisdom.
Make your heart stand still! Trying to quell first-date jitters? Blow on your thumb. The vagus nerve, which governs heart rate, can be controlled through breathing. It'll get your heart rate back to normal.
Thaw your brain! Too much Chipwich too fast will freeze the brains of lesser men. As for you, press your tongue flat against the roof of your mouth, covering as much as you can. Since the nerves in the roof of your mouth get extremely cold, your body thinks your brain is freezing, too. In compensating, it overheats, causing an ice-cream headache. The more pressure you apply to the roof of your mouth, the faster your headache will subside.
Prevent near-sightedness! Poor distance vision is rarely caused by genetics. It's usually caused by near-point stress. In other words, staring at your computer screen for too long. So flex your way to 20/20 vision. Every few hours during the day, close your eyes, tense your body, take a deep breath, and, after a few seconds, release your breath and muscles at the same time. Tightening and releasing muscles such as the biceps and glutes can trick involuntary muscles -- like the eyes -- into relaxing as well.
Wake the dead! If your hand falls asleep while you're driving or sitting in an odd position, rock your head from side to side. It'll painlessly banish your pins and needles in less than a minute. A tingly hand or arm is often the result of compression in the bundle of nerves in your neck; loosening your neck muscles releases the pressure. Compressed nerves lower in the body govern the feet, so don't let your sleeping dogs lie. Stand up and walk around.
Impress your friends! Next time you're at a party, try this trick: Have a person hold one arm straight out to the side, palm down, and instruct him to maintain this position. Then place two fingers on his wrist and push down. He'll resist. Now have him put one foot on a surface that's a half inch higher (a few magazines) and repeat. This time his arm will cave like the French. By misaligning his hips, you've offset his spine. Your brain senses that the spine is vulnerable, so it shuts down the body's ability to resist.
Read minds! Your own! If you're giving a speech the next day, review it before falling asleep. Since most memory consolidation happens during sleep, anything you read right before bed is more likely to be encoded as long-term memory.