Why We Faint (When Other Animals Don't)

Humans are the only animals known to faint due to triggers like shock, fear, or pain; this is due to a combination of our massive brains and upright stance.

LEARN MORE
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To learn more about this topic, start your googling with these keywords:
"Fight or flight": an instinctive physiological response to a threatening situation that readies animals (including humans) to either resist forcibly or escape
Fainting: loss of consciousness caused by a temporary lack of oxygen to the brain, also known as “syncope.”
Vasovagal syncope: a type of fainting that happens when your body overreacts to an emotional trigger like being in danger, seeing blood, or even just hearing some shocking news.
Tonic immobility: an instinctive physiological response to a threatening situation that causes some animals to relax their muscles and “freeze” in place, sometimes causing them to fall over
Jump scare: a technique often used in horror films meant to scare the audience with a sudden change on screen, usually paired with a loud sound

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CREDITS
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Julián Gustavo Gómez | Script Writer, Narrator, and Director
Josh Taira | Illustration, Video Editing, and Animation
Nathaniel Schroeder | Music

MinuteEarth is produced by Neptune Studios LLC

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Sarah Berman • Arcadi Garcia Rius
David Goldenberg • Julián Gustavo Gómez
Melissa Hayes • Alex Reich • Henry Reich
Peter Reich • Ever Salazar • Kate Yoshida

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REFERENCES
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Alboni, Paolo, and Marco Alboni. "Origin and Evolution of the Vasovagal Reflex." Vasovagal Syncope. Springer, Cham, 2015. 3-17.

Blanc, Jean-Jacques, Paolo Alboni, and David G. Benditt. "Vasovagal syncope in humans and protective reactions in animals." Ep Europace 17.3 (2015): 345-349.

Furst, Branko. "The Effect of Gravity and Upright Posture on Circulation." The Heart and Circulation. Springer, Cham, 2020. 319-341.

Roelofs, Karin. "Freeze for action: neurobiological mechanisms in animal and human freezing." Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 372.1718 (2017): 20160206.

Sheldon, Robert S., and Roopinder K. Sandhu. "The search for the genes of vasovagal syncope." Frontiers in cardiovascular medicine 6 (2019): 175.

Sun, Benjamin C., Jennifer A. Emond, and Carlos A. Camargo Jr. "Direct medical costs of syncope-related hospitalizations in the United States." The American journal of cardiology 95.5 (2005): 668-671.

[lovingit]

Watching minute earth is like listening to a parent explain a question when I was young. Including the not funny but very funny dad jokes.

[Ellipsis]

I think "World domination is for the faint of heart" is an astounding quote. Really shows that even big weaknesses can go hand in hand with amazing strengths which I think is something people often forget.

[cfv]

Human: *scared*
Body: oh yeah this is big brain time!!

[riteshsharma]

Another Fact
You might feel dizzy
When you need to walk immediately after you get up from bed. (Not necessarily from sleep)
Because the same reason flow of blood will drop very low in very short time that our brain can adapt to.
So it is advisable to first sit first before leaving the bed in some hurry.

[cannypride]

Conclusion: It's healthier to lie down in your bed

[UltimateStarky]

What's my brain doing hogging up 20% of my blood flow when it's not working 95% of the time?

[spelunkerd]

Decades ago I had a job drawing blood for research in chickens. One day I was about to draw blood on one chicken, and before I touched her with the needle I saw her head flop over onto the table while I was holding her. She had fainted at the sight of the needle. She recovered after a minute and I finished the phelbotomy without problem. So, my experience of one showed that at least once, it has happened in a chicken.

[Seadalgo]

If you are wondering about goats like I was, that's apparently a muscle spasm and not true syncope

[tinamai]

How ironic that before I watched this video, I actually fainted in the shower due to standing too long in hot water.
Don't worry, feeling better now. Cool to know why that faint attack happened.

[Connie.T.]

As someone who has suffered from syncope for years, a lot of things suddenly make a whole lot of sense. Idk why I never researched what caused it, but I'm glad I know now!

[andy-kgfb]

So fainting goats will soon be our overlords.

[meninsilau]

So, to counteract fainting.... Just lay down as low as your heart when your head feels heavy.
And...
If your foot bleeds, foot it above head to slow it down.
You're welcome.
I've done it myself though. ✌️

[kayzeaza]

Person: *Scared*
Body: Let’s go horizontal!

[chris]

I generally assume the answer to questions like this will have something to do with our giant brains being high-maintenance divas.

[danielclv]

also, if you feel like fainting (tunnel vision, gray vision, muscle weakness), try to sit down, or squat, not only it can prevent fainting entirely (since blood reaches the brain easier now), even if you faint you have a very low chance of getting injured now, since you won't fall while standing. A lot might think that it's hard to notice or react, and I can't really confirm since I never fainted, but it happened once to feel like I'm fainting when getting up from my bed at night fast, I remember this, squat, and after around 20 seconds, I felt normal again (I wouldn't have enough time to lie back in bed). 2nd time I almost fainted was when I cut my finger really bad, with a sharp knife, the knife was so sharp that I actually didn't felt any pain before seeing my finger bleeding like crazy, then I just sit down on a chair and support my head on the table. Magically the finger tip grown back with no scarring (I was scared to permanently loose my finger-tip, so I kept a wet sterile bandage every day, and every-time I changed it I first keep my finger into warm water until the wound would be opened again before putting new bandage)

[tuckerricklefs]

1:15 was I little confusing until I remembered human heads in this universe are just circles.

[Foofle]

The jump scare actually frightened me.

[cuttlefishii]

I see y'all there with the Justin McElroy jumpscare reference 👏

[maximellow]

Our bodies are so badly adapted to live as a whole.
It's amazing how we even survived

[Sciencedoneright]

Watching MinuteEarth alone is a room or outside with the soothing voice of the narrator and the pleasant music is just one of many beautiful things in life ;)