Why do we have the rope?

2000/04/19 Elhuyar Zientzia

• Anatomia/Fisiologia

It only occurs when the stomach is working. The stomach is located very close to the diaphragm. The diaphragm is the muscle we use to fill and empty the lungs of air and when filling the lungs with air the diaphragm contracts and emptying the lungs expands.

Thus, under normal conditions, the breathing rate is regular. But if the stomach moves too much during digestion, the diaphragm gets blows and as a result of blows contracts or expands uncontrollably, expelling small amounts of air from the lungs.

That is the air we involuntarily expel from the lungs. The frequency of hiccups depends on each person and the activity of the stomach, but it can vary from 2 to 60 per minute and usually does not last long. However, in some cases the hiccups can become chronic, which can cause serious sleep problems.