Why is it that we innately cover our mouths during extreme surprises?

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Why is it that we innately cover our mouths during extreme surprises?

In: Biology

3 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

When we are surprised our body reacts by taking in a deep breath of air so we have enough oxygen to prepare for the next move we may need to defend ourselves or react to the event that caused us to be surprised, or scream/yell with our mouths open sometimes in fright.

When we take that deep breath in, we also open our mouths- and inherently we may be either trying to:
A. Hide the fact we are shocked, after we realized there may actually be no harm and it was a close call, because we might feel embarrassed
B. Being in a surprised state with our mouths open to take in that breath to take on a defensive posture, instinctively we will cover our mouths to protect our mouth as well.

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