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Comment on If I stick my head out a car window or a gust of wind hits my face it's like my throat closes and I can't breathe. How come motorcycle riders without helmets don't seem to have this problem?

sem@piefed.blahaj.zone ⁨18⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

Thanks! would this reflex trigger when swimming laps and turning your head to the side, or snorkeling with your face submerged?

When kids learn to “bob” down into the water and back up for air, are they fine tuning this reflex?

I’m definitely going to do more research

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Krzd@lemmy.world ⁨18⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
Re: Swimming Strong maybe. During the face down portion definitely, but when they turn their head the skin’s still wet, however your brain definitely knows that there’s air to breathe, probably automatically overriding that reflex.

RE: bobbing Kinda. Especially small children and toddlers are incapable of overriding that reflex, meaning they can and will “drown” when that part is submerged.
The bobbing motion is just more efficient (for 99% of untrained swimmers).
You’ll do the same when exhausted while swimming.
Your body generally isn’t buoyant enough in a normal swimming position. Which means you’ll want to keep your lungs as full as possible, resulting in quick exhale, inhale, and then recouping (and sinking) while being lighter, requiring less force to resurface.

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