13
Is the myth about the ability of getting awake by washing your face with cold water having to do with our fish ancesters true? (gehirneimer.de)
submitted 1 month ago by to c/asklemmy@lemmy.world
27 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

i tried looking on the web but im on phone and bad at searching i guess (also avoid ai)

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] 13 points 1 month ago (5 children)

Yes, it is true. The thing being triggered by the cold water on the face is known as the Mammalian Diving Response.

It's purpose isn't to wake you up exactly, but to prepare the body to use intrinsic oxygen (the oxygen already inside your body) as efficiently as possible.

The physiological changes this causes however, also wake you up.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • hideshow 5 child comments
    •
  • [–] 8 points 1 month ago (4 children)

    The article you linked doesn’t discuss how the DR evolved, but it seems more likely to result from the occasional risk of submersion faced by most land animals, rather than something they all inherited from fish (who neither breathe nor sleep).

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 4 child comments
    •
  • [–] 2 points 1 month ago (1 child)

    Is it accurate to say fish don't breathe? I've seen fish gulp at water to (presumably) push over their gills. Seems kind of like breathing to me.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 1 child comment
    •
  • [–] 3 points 1 month ago*

    I’d just call that respiration. Every definition of breathing I can find is particular to lungs.

    Edit: Actually, that’s not true—I found a dictionary that lists a broader metaphorical usage that encompasses all respiration (including plants and fish).

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent