Why do anesthesiologists ask us to count back from 10 before going under?

Question

I understand they want to know when we pass out, but why count backwards from 10? Why not count forward from 1?

In: 2183

Answer 1

ER nurse here I use it when similarly sedating patients for procedures (despite the rolling eyes of my co workers.)

Often when you’re trying to sedate someone it’s hard to tell when it’s working, especially if it’s a “conscious” sedation where they’ll be awake but not remember the procedure.

The counting backwards method works great because the person being sedated will usually stop once it starts working. Also provides some mild comfort in the process, some people will get paradoxically anxious as they start fading and it gives them something to do.