Why does holding your breath help you stay awake?!
Question:
Why does holding your breath help you stay awake?
In school, one of the tricks I used to stay awake when I became so sleepy I started nodding off was to hold my breath. After a moment of holding your breath, you get a rush of awareness and the sleepiness goes away. But once you start breathing again, the sleepiness eventually comes back. How does this effect work? Is your body producing chemicals when you hold your breath that give you a temporary boost of awareness?
Answers:
It's your body's response to danger of suffocation, it supplies adrenaline to the brain to awaken it when threatened.