Whether it's stress or squirming while watching a scary movie, try this remedy the next time you feel faint.
If you feel like passing out when you watch a grim-and-gory Nip/Tuck episode, try a simple trick. European researchers recently discovered that crossing your ankles and clenching your thighs together, or interlocking your fingertips and pulling in opposite directions, makes the fainting feeling go away. Squeezing a rubber ball in your hand works, too.
Roughly half the population has fainted at least once, and women are more susceptible than men (although it is not clear why). The sight of blood can trigger the brief loss of consciousness, which is linked to a rapid drop in blood pressure and blood pooling in your lower body. Tensing your muscles helps to raise blood pressure, says Nynke van Dijk, MD, a clinical epidemiologist at Academic Medical Center–University of Amsterdam. The next best solution? Lie down, which sends blood back toward your head. Or change the channel.
