All Episodes

September 30, 2018 4 mins

What's happening when you get hiccups, and how can you stop them? Learn how hiccups work in this episode of BrainStuff.

Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mark as Played
Transcript

Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Welcome to brain Stuff from How Stuff Works pay brain Stuff.
I'm Lauren Vogelbaum, and today's question is how do we
get hiccups? Science isn't sure, actually, but it's not that
medical science has been ignoring hiccups. When these spasms are
frequent or persistent in adults, they can indicate over a
hundred different diseases and disorders, from multiple sclerosis to cancer

(00:24):
to appendicitis, and hiccups themselves can get serious and what's
called intractable cases. Hiccups don't stop for more than a
month and can go on for years without relief, leading
to complications like irregular heartbeat, weight loss, insomnia, and emotional distress. Understandably,
but okay, science isn't totally ignorant here. We know the basics.

(00:46):
Hiccups are reflexive spasms of the diaphragm and glottis and
more on both of those in a second caused by
irritation to any of several nerves throughout your body. During
normal non hiccuppy breathing, you move air into and out
of your lungs, partially thanks to contractions of your diaphragm.
It contracts pulling downward as you inhale, giving your lungs

(01:07):
room to expand, then releases, relaxing upward and letting your
lungs contract as you exhale, and all that air moves
through your throat and importantly through your glottis, which is
the opening between your vocal cords. But during a hiccup,
at least half of your diaphragm, for some reason, contracts
sharply about eighty percent of the time. It's just the

(01:28):
left half. Go figure that contraction starts pulling in a
deep breath, but that breath gets cut short by the
glottis snapping shut about three hundreds of a second later.
The hick sound comes from that sudden closure. In most cases,
hiccups are caused by irritation of the frenic nerves, which
control the motion of the diaphragm and send your brain

(01:49):
sensory information about what's going on in various parts of
your neck and body. That irritation is usually from your
stomach distending when you accidentally swallow air, or when you
eat or drink too much too fast, especially carbonated beverages
like soda or beer. In rarer cases, lots of other
irritations can be at fault more serious than having over

(02:09):
drank soda or beer, such as infections of or trauma
to anything that the fhrenic nerves touch, like a tumor
pressing against them in your neck, or pericarditis, which is
the swelling of the membrane around your heart. Irritations of
the vagus nerve can also be hiccup culprits, possibly due
to its connection to the larynx, along with everything from
your small intestine to the inside of your ear, and

(02:30):
lots of stuff in between. If you're looking to get
rid of hiccups, some of the most common home remedies
really are worthwhile. They work by either overloading the frenic
or vagus nerves or by interrupting your involuntary breathing cycle.
For nerve overload, try biting into a lemon, placing a
spoonful of sugar on the back of your tongue, pulling
on your tongue, or having a friend tickle or scare

(02:52):
you on the respiratory and try holding your breath, gulping
down a glass of water, or breathing into a paper bag.
And if nothing works, hiccups generally go away on their own.
If they do stick around, for more than forty eight
hours see a doctor just in case. The purpose behind
this reflex is still a mystery. Some researchers say that
they could be vestigial spasms related to how our amphibian

(03:15):
ancestors controlled their gills. Others postulate that they help with breastfeeding.
Hiccups can release small amounts of air from the stomach
into the esophagus, where it can be exhaled, so hiccups
might serve to get air out of baby stomachs, making
more space for milk. Today's episode was written by me

(03:37):
and produced by Tyler Clay. To find brain stuff gear,
check out our online shop at t public dot com
slash brain stuff, and of course, for more on this
and lots of other topics about our weird bodies, visit
our home planet, how stuff works dot com

BrainStuff News

Advertise With Us

Follow Us On

Hosts And Creators

Josh Clark

Josh Clark

Jonathan Strickland

Jonathan Strickland

Ben Bowlin

Ben Bowlin

Lauren Vogelbaum

Lauren Vogelbaum

Cristen Conger

Cristen Conger

Christian Sager

Christian Sager

Show Links

AboutStore

Popular Podcasts

On Purpose with Jay Shetty

On Purpose with Jay Shetty

I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!

Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang

Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang

Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.

Crime Junkie

Crime Junkie

Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.

Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2025 iHeartMedia, Inc.