verified expert: 
Under normal circumstances, the human body is inhaling oxygen and exhausting exhaust gas all the time.
Therefore, if a person interrupts his breathing, his life will inevitably be threatened. Strong1strong can say that the importance of breathing to the human body is self-evident.
Recently, some netizens asked a very interesting question about the rumors, since breathing is so important to the human body, can suffocate oneself to death by holding his breath?
To answer this question, we need to first look at the human body's breathing is going on.
The principle of breathing: a symphony involving multiple organizations
The breathing process of a normal person is like this. First, the breathing center issues breathing instructions, and then the respiratory system can complete the inhalation and exhalation actions .
In this process, there are roughly three parts of the human body involved:
first is respiratory tract , such as pharynx, larynx, trachea, bronchi, alveoli, etc.;
followed by Breath-related muscles , which are components that drive breathing. For example, when inhales, strong2strong requires diaphragm, intercostal muscles, scalene muscles, and requires intercostal muscles when exhaling . Transverse abdominis, internal obliques, etc.
There is also 's nervous system that controls breathing, such as the respiratory center located in the brainstem and the part of the cerebral cortex , the nerve that controls breathing.
The human body's two respiratory systems: conscious and unconscious
In fact, breathing can be controlled both consciously and unconsciously , depending on The human breathing is controlled by two systems .
is breathing with consciousness participation, in this case you can adjust the depth and rhythm of breathing at will, the control nerve of this system is located in cerebral cortex, here is the production of human consciousness The place.
Consciousness is the sum of the various thoughts and feelings of the human body. Strong1strong But consciousness can only control some logical things. For example, the logical reasoning in our mind when we think is a part of consciousness.
But consciousness is not all. In fact, there are many non-conscious things that control our body. , such as our body still has breathing and heartbeat when we sleep. These are all instincts and do not require consciousness to participate.
It can be said that for human breathing, consciousness controls only part of the control of breathing ,The center that really controls breathing is still located in the brainstem , this part is not controlled by human consciousness.
nerve cell
The brain stem is composed of , medulla oblongata , midbrain and pons. It has important physiological functions in the central nervous system and can be strongly involved in the regulation of visceral movement and maintain normal respiratory circulation in the body_ Basic life activities such as strong2strong.
The respiratory system with the participation of the brainstem will not be controlled by consciousness , relying on the brainstem respiratory-related nerve cell population , these cell populations control and regulate breathing according to their own rhythms.
Does holding your breath really suffocate yourself to death?
The answer is impossible.
Imagine that holding your breath is a conscious action . In other words, although you can consciously hold your breath, because your body lacks oxygen supply after holding your breath, the carbon dioxide in your body will increase, and your body will gradually lose consciousness.
At this time, the ability of consciousness to control breathing gradually disappears, that is to say, you can no longer hold yourself in a state of holding your breath.
At this time, since the respiratory center on the brainstem is not under conscious control, will automatically "take over" breathing. operates in accordance with the respiratory rhythm of the nerve cell population, and will not return to normal.
Because of this, it is impossible for a person to suffocate himself to death by holding his breath.
For another example, vegetative has lost self-awareness. Although still has breathing and heartbeat, why?
This is related to autonomic nerve. The so-called autonomic nerve is also called autonomic nerve, which is a group of nerves that are not controlled by the human consciousness. They have their own set of operating rules, which is equivalent to A designed program runs completely in accordance with the established design.
The autonomic nerves of the human body is mainly responsible for some internal organs and instinct-related physiological functions, such as breathing, heartbeat, gastrointestinal peristalsis, sweating, etc. , These functions are closely related to the human body, but are not affected by the human body's consciousness control.
Therefore, although vegetatives have lost consciousness, , their unconscious physiological regulation is still in normal operation , so they can naturally breathe normally.
Of course, if you want vegetatives to hold their breath to control breathing, don't think about it, after all they cannot control breathing through consciousness.
Do people stop breathing because they sleep too soundly?
Normally,This is also impossible. Even after a person goes into deep sleep and loses consciousness, the breathing center located in the brainstem can still follow the established procedures to help the body continue to breathe to maintain life.
Of course, if a person's respiratory system has a problem, may still be dangerous while sleeping.
For example, some patients with respiratory polyp may have airway obstruction due to sleep posture and other problems. In this case, apnea may occur.
Another example is obstructive sleep apnea syndrome . In this case, the patient may suffer from long-term apnea due to respiratory center problems .
These apnea conditions often cut off the supply of oxygen to the body, and also stop the removal of carbon dioxide for a few seconds. At this time, the brain will wake up the person for a short time, reopen the airway, and restart breathing.
Therefore, when sleeping, frequent apneas will seriously affect the quality of sleep, not only easy to cause languidness and drowsiness during the day, may also cause various complications, Such as hypertension, myocardial infarction, myocardial hypoxia, stroke, etc.
Conclusion
In summary, it is impossible for a person to try to suffocate himself by holding his breath.
Generally speaking,It is impossible for a healthy person to pause his breathing indefinitely.
Because after a long pause of breathing, the oxygen in the body will gradually be exhausted, and the carbon dioxide in the blood will gradually rise. At this time, people's consciousness will gradually lose, and they will not be able to consciously control breathing, and the body will turn to automatic Breathing pattern until it returns to normal.
However, if the body has underlying diseases, such as some patients with poor cardiovascular and cerebrovascular conditions, if they hold their breath for a long time, the body is likely to aggravate the primary disease due to hypoxia, which may endanger life.
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