It Is Normal To Do These Things But Do You Know Why?

Handshake

A lot of people shake hands every day. It's a way to seal a deal or greet someone right? Well yes and no. It was originally used to assure that the person you were meeting wasn't carrying a concealed weapon of any sorts and the "shake" was to force out anything that might be hidden up their sleeve.

Nose

Our nose is something we use everyday with out even thinking about it....just a natural reflex to breathe in and out. We do it to keep air in our lungs to help keep us alive! We also use it to smell things. Some scents are very pleasing to our nose while others are not. Some smells even being back memories. Did you know our noses can remember 50,000 different scents?

If that seems like a lot....a dog's nose can remember up to 4 times what ours can!

We also breathe more air in through one nostril than the other....and every 15 minutes it changes to the other side. Go a head try holding one side of your nose closed and see which one is easier to breathe through!

Driving

Most of us are in the car at least once twice a day. We go to work, school, pick up the kids from school, shopping and the list goes on. We are all aware of those nasty bug gut marks on our windshields but here is something we don't even think about, American drivers alone obliterate an estimated 32.5 TRILLION insects every year. That averages about 1.625 million for every moving car. That may be good news for those who really hate bugs but it is really bad for the environment.

Yawning and Stretching

One doesn't think - Oh I think I will yawn now - It's just something that happens. And contrary to a common belief that we yawn due to a lack of oxygen, it is actually caused by a rise in brain temperature. Yawning pushes the warmer blood away while allowing cooler blood in. Yawning when bored isn't because we are tired. It is to help us be more alert and focus better. Yawning at bed time is to delay sleep and in the morning it is to prepare your brain to be more alert and ready for the day.

Stretching while yawning you hold your mouth open for about 6 seconds and in doing so you are stretching your respiratory tact, diaphragm and inflating your lungs. While it may seem like we are "stretching", the muscles contract together until all of your body is tension is completed extended. This coordinated stretching and yawning is an involuntary act called pandiculation.

Petting Animals

When an animal comes up to us the first thing we do is reach out our hand to pet it (once we observe the animal is friendly). We don't even think about it we just do it. Why do we like to pet animals so much? We do it because it makes us feel better, but have you even given thought as to why it makes us feel better? Turns out that petting an animal releases the hormone oxytocin in both animals and humans. Oxytocin is also called the "Cuddle Hormone".

Oxytocin is a hormone secreted by the posterior lobe of the pituitary gland, a pea-sized structure at the base of the brain.

Oxytocin helps in reducing blood pressure, anxiety and stress. It also helps strengthen social bonds.