I’m not sure if “turning white/pale” is an exaggeration or if people actually do turn pale in certain situations. I’ve never witnessed it myself, anyone here who has?
In: Biology
Yes! This can happen two really cool ways.
When the sympathetic nervous system (the flight/fight/freeze system) is activated, and we get a big rush of adrenaline, your body is thought to redirect blood from your skin to where it’s needed — your muscles, heart and brain.
Your heart rate increases and so does your blood pressure, and few other cool things.
**BUT**
In *some* people, this adrenaline rush triggers something else — the blessed vasovagal reaction.
Here, you get a *big* rush of adrenaline, your heart rate and blood pressure increases, and your body thinks “oh shit, I’m gonna accidentally kill myself, better fix this”.
Its solution? Immediately drop your blood pressure and heart rate. It does this by activating your parasympathetic nervous system (the rest and digest system).
Your vagus nerve (vagal) tells your blood vessels (vaso) to dilate, most of the blood in your body drops to your feet, making you pale. In a lot of people this results in fainting.
Most of the time it’s the former scenario rather than the latter, but about 30% of people will experience a vasovagal episode at some point in their life.
And the process is much more complex than what I’ve described, of course.
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