What Happens to Your Body If You Hang Upside Down for Too Long
If you’ve ever wondered if hanging upside down for too long could kill you, the answer is yes. This is what happens to your body if you don’t get upright in time.
In this video from the SciShow YouTube channel, Olivia Gordon explains the science of the inverted human body and explains what can go wrong:
When you walk backwards, blood starts to rush to your head as soon as you roll over. Eventually, it can rupture a blood vessel or cause a cerebral hemorrhage. But this is not the biggest problem. Most complications are caused by suffocation or lack of oxygen.
When you are upside down, your organs put additional stress on your lungs, making it difficult to breathe. Heart problems can also occur because you have a lot more blood going to your heart, which means your heart has to pump harder than usual. And talking too long is bad for the eyes. The pressure inside the eye can double when you are upside down, which can cause vision problems.
Of course, you’ll have to be stuck upside down for hours or more for most of these things to happen, so kids don’t need to avoid monkey bars entirely. But if you’re hanging Christmas lights , climbing, or doing some high altitude work, make sure someone else is around just in case.
This article was originally published in 2019 and updated on March 16, 2020 by Elizabeth Yuko. Updates include the following: Validated references for accuracy, revised the function image, and updated formatting to reflect the current style.