7 Weird & Fascinating Things Your Body Does

Your body has its own "spring-cleaning" mechanism, also known as autophagy (literally, self-eating). This process gets rid of dead, diseased, or worn-out cells and recycles some molecules for energy or new cell parts, according to Greatist. You can encourage autophagy by exercising more, lowering your carb intake, and participating in intermittent fasting.

If you've ever experienced sleep paralysis, you've gotten a taste of what it's like for your body to shut down movement during REM sleep. "During dreams, the brain is able to paralyze the body so as to prevent us from acting them out," says Dr. Robert Pascuzzi, neurologist at IU Health Neuroscience Center, over email.

It sounds crazy, but there's a strong connection between the gut and your brain. "The gut has more neurons than the spinal cord," says Dr. Ashley Gilmore, gastroenterologist and director for the Bariatric Medical Weight Loss Program at IU Health over email. "The communication between the brain and the gut is bidirectional through the brain gut axis. The gut can send the brain emotional signals as well as signals involving sensation." This is why you can get a stomach ache from something like stress or you can become depressed from the way you are eating.

There's a reason pizza tastes so good after you get a big whiff. "Most people do not know that wonderful richness and diversity of flavors of foods is provided by the nose," says Dr. Erich Voigt, clinical associate professor in the Department of Otolaryngology at NYU Langone Health, over email. "The olfactory nerve runs along the base of the brain at the roof of the nasal cavity, and if the nose is blocked by nasal polyps or swelling from a virus. the individual may lose their sense of taste."

"You have a very tight muscle at the edge of your eyelid, which works to seal off your eye to protect it from irritants like liquids, dust, and any other materials that don’t belong in the eye (soap, sea water, etc.)," says Dr. Howard Purcell, F.A.A.O, Senior Vice President of Customer Development, Essilor of America, over email. "This muscle can be influenced by stress and fatigue, which can result in your eyelid twitching."

It might sound like an old wives' tale, but stiff joints can indicate impending bad weather. Changes in air pressure are responsible for the pain many feel in their joints prior to a storm or weather shift, as major joints' sensory nerve endings are sensitive to barometric pressure, according to WebMD.,

If you're trying to hide your emotions from someone, let's hope they don't look into your eyes: Your pupils dilate when you're in love with someone or attracted to someone, thanks to your sympathetic nervous system, according to Woman's Day.