Bizarre Sensations Everyone Feels But No One Talks About

Summary

This video explores 10 strange and quirky sensations that our bodies sometimes experience, from the illusion of gravity pulling us forward when standing on tall heights, to phantom itches that feel unreachable. It delves into the causes behind the bizarre tingling in fingertips, sudden vision glitches, and afterimages, offering a fascinating explanation of each phenomenon. The video also covers peculiar occurrences like seeing stars after a bump, ghostly tastes, phantom smells, and the feeling of motion after stepping off a moving vehicle. It highlights the science behind these curious body tricks, offering insights into how our brain and nervous system sometimes misinterpret sensory input.

Takeaways

• 😀 Gravity pull sensation: The feeling of being pulled forward when standing at a great height is caused by a mismatch between visual cues and your inner ear's balance system, leading your brain to create a false alarm.
• 😀 Deep unreachable itch: A phantom itch that feels deep under the skin, often caused by nerve miscommunication or neuropathic signals, cannot be soothed by normal scratching.
• 😀 Fingertip buzz: After prolonged pressure on nerves, like from phone use or typing, blood flow is disrupted, causing a buzzing or tingling sensation when the pressure is released.
• 😀 Vision's brief blur: Sudden moments of visual distortion, often when you move your head quickly or focus too long, happen due to your brain resetting the visual system.
• 😀 After image hangover: Staring at a bright light can exhaust your eyes' photo receptors, leading to ghostly after images in opposite colors, a result of the eye's temporary overload.
• 😀 Seeing stars flash: Sudden flashes of light or sparkles, like after a bump or sneeze, occur when your retina is jolted and sends false light signals to your brain, known as phosphines.
• 😀 Tongue's ghost taste: A sudden metallic or strange taste without a source, often caused by medication, acid reflux, or bacteria, is known as dysgeusia, where your taste buds misfire.
• 😀 Sudden sensory flash: Phantom smells, such as burning rubber or rotten eggs, are olfactory hallucinations caused by a misfiring brain, often triggered by hormones or sinus issues.
• 😀 Motionless sway: After experiencing motion, like being on a boat, your brain's internal gyroscope can cause a lingering feeling of movement when standing still, known as mal de débarquement.
• 😀 Hot-cold flip-flop: When touching something that’s extremely cold or hot, your brain briefly confuses the signals from the different types of temperature sensors in your skin, causing mixed sensations.

Q & A

What causes the gravity pull sensation when standing at the edge of a tall building?

The gravity pull sensation is caused by a mismatch between what your eyes see and what your inner ear senses. Your eyes perceive the great height, while your inner ear, which helps with balance, tells your brain you're standing still. This confusion leads to the sensation of being pulled forward, like an invisible magnet.

Why do we sometimes experience deep, unreachable itches?

These phantom itches are caused by your nervous system sending false signals to the brain. The nerves might get their signals crossed, creating the sensation of an itch in a place that's impossible to reach. This is called a neuropathic itch, and it can occur in muscles like those in the shoulders or back.

What is the reason behind the fingertip buzz after using a phone for too long?

The buzzing sensation, known as paresthesia, happens when pressure on the nerves (such as from holding a phone for a long time) disrupts the normal blood flow. Once you move your hand, the nerves 'wake up,' and all the blocked signals rush through at once, creating the buzzing sensation.

Why do our vision sometimes glitch and become blurry for a brief moment?

This brief visual blur happens when your eyes need a quick reset, like rebooting a system. It can be caused by dry eyes, tiny blood vessel movements in the eye, or a quick head movement. Most people don’t even notice it because the blur disappears very quickly.

What causes afterimages or ghost images after looking at a bright light?

Afterimages occur because the photoreceptors in your eyes get overstimulated by bright light, leaving a lingering impression. The afterimages often appear in complementary colors, such as seeing green after looking at red, due to the exhaustion of specific receptors in your eyes.

Why do we sometimes see stars or flashes of light after bumping our head or sneezing?

These flashes of light, called phosphines, occur when your retina gets jostled, either from a bump or a sneeze. The retina sends signals to your brain, mistakenly interpreting them as flashes of light, even though no light is actually present.

What is the phenomenon of 'tongue's ghost taste'?

This phenomenon, called dysgeusia, happens when your taste buds send signals to your brain even when there is no taste stimulus. It can cause strange, metallic, bitter, or other unusual tastes. It can be triggered by medications, acid reflux, or even certain foods like pine nuts.

Why do some people experience phantom smells, and what causes them?

Phantom smells, or phantosmia, occur when your brain misfires and creates a smell that isn’t actually present. These smells are usually unpleasant, like burning rubber or rotten eggs. They can be triggered by conditions like migraines, sinus problems, or hormonal changes, especially in women.

What is 'motionless sway' and why does it happen after stepping off a boat?

Motionless sway, or mal de débarquement, occurs when your internal balance system, which adapts to motion on a boat, continues to feel motion even after you're on solid ground. Your brain still believes you're moving, leading to a disorienting sensation of swaying, which can persist for days or even weeks.

What causes the sensation of hot and cold to flip-flop when touching something?

This happens because your skin has two types of temperature sensors: one for cold and one for heat. The cold sensors react quickly, while the heat sensors take longer. When you touch an object that's both cold and conductive (like metal), the cold sensors might fire too quickly, confusing your brain and making you feel hot and cold at the same time.