Why can’t we control how long our epiglottis stays back and swallow stuff continuously?
In: Biology
If you train, you can learn how to do that. I worked as a driver and such skill was useful to learn. Now I can just pour water and drink as much water as I want in one gulp. You really can learn that and it isn’t that hard to do eith practice.
Doesn’t the epiglottis cover the airway when it’s in the right place for you to swallow?
Some people can, look up videos of drinking water bottles fast. It is probably a good thing most people can’t because they could try to eat some dumb things without letting their tongue check if it’s bad for them. This would be especially bad for children.
The epiglottis is controlled by muscles that work in quick succession to seal off your airway when you swallow. Normally, this happens in a short cycle and opens so you can breathe again. The reason that you can’t voluntarily control these muscles is because it is part of a reflex controlled by the brain.
People are able to continuously swallow by having food or drink continuously flowing over the epiglottis and essentially holding open and keeping the reflex arc firing. Not recommended as it can lead to choking, entry of food or fluids into the airway and some other nasty complications.
Hope this helps.
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