1. Laughter
Laughter is often seen as an instinctive reaction to something funny, and it’s true that laughing can help us bond with people, make us feel more connected to them and even improve our physical health. However, laughing can also be harmful if done too much, and it can even lead to more serious medical conditions like hernias, migraines, and asthma attacks.
Laughing activates your frontal lobe and the limbic system, which helps you interpret sounds and images and determine whether they’re humorous, Gupta explains. Then, the brain triggers your motor cortex, which produces the guffaws and snorts that we recognize as laughter.
Laughing releases endorphins, the body’s natural feel-good chemicals that boost happiness and relieve stress. It can even ease pain by causing the release of inflammation-fighting antibodies and improving circulation. That’s why it’s so important to laugh as much as possible and enjoy the lighter side of life.
2. Venomous Snakes
The venom of the boomslang brown, a solitary reptile found in sub-Saharan Africa, is potent enough to kill a person within an hour. After a bite, victims experience massive muscle hemorrhaging that may lead to shock and death.
Snake venom toxins interfere with blood clotting and heart function, as well as destroy muscles and cells around the bite area, which can result in amputations and the need for skin grafts. In some cases, venom can also cause kidney failure.
When bitten, coastal taipans deliver an incredible amount of paralysis-inducing neurotoxins that are lethal in 80 percent of untreated cases. To avoid this, never put your hands into holes, crevices or deserted buildings, and wear boots and high-topped shoes when walking through wood piles or rocks.
3. Hypothermia
As the body’s temperature drops, the brain slows down and the victim loses their ability to think clearly or move well. In severe cases, the heart can stop beating and a person can die.
People who suffer from circulatory problems or poor blood flow are at higher risk of hypothermia, as are those with diabetes and some thyroid conditions. Certain mental illnesses, such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, increase the risk as well. Drug use and alcohol also impair judgment, making it harder to avoid cold weather risks.
Those who have symptoms of hypothermia should seek emergency help immediately. They will be cold to touch, unresponsive, rigid and may appear to have no pulse and no breathing. If this happens, perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) until help arrives. During the resuscitation, keep the affected individual warm and dry by using passive external rewarming such as clothing, blankets or skin-to-skin contact.
4. Poisonous Plants
Plants can poison your body if you touch them or ingest them in large quantities. Touching certain plants can lead to a painful, itchy rash, or ingestion of some plants can cause serious gastrointestinal upset and nervous system problems.
Some plants can be deadly to people and animals. Poisonous plants vary in toxicity and the level of toxic principles present may differ between plant species, stages of growth, or environmental conditions. Some plants are easy to identify based on their appearance or smell, while others are not as distinctive and can be difficult to distinguish from nontoxic relatives or counterparts. For example, the lily-of-the-valley flower contains the toxin convallatoxin that causes heartbeat irregularities, headache, confusion, and hallucinations and can be fatal. Even drinking water that contains cut flowers of this deadly plant can be lethal. The toxins in the plant contain cardiac glycosides that stimulate the heart muscles to contract and beat rapidly.
5. Being a Couch Potato
Despite being very comfy, being a couch potato can cause back problems, obesity, low blood sugar, poor heart health and even diabetes. It is believed that prolonged sitting affects your body’s fat cells and causes them to grow larger.
A person is a couch potato if they spend most evenings on the sofa watching TV (also called a boob tube). This is a slang term for someone who watches too much television and is lazy.
Some people who exercise for 30 minutes a day but then sit for the rest of the day are considered active couch potatoes. Researchers found that people who meet exercise recommendations but still sit too much are more likely to have elevated blood sugar, cholesterol and body fat than those who sit less. Taking the stairs instead of an elevator and walking or cycling to work rather than driving are some simple ways to get more movement in your day.
6. Falling Out of Bed
Falling out of bed may seem harmless enough, but it can actually cause serious injuries. Depending on how high you fell, your injuries can range from minor bruises to concussions or broken bones. Additionally, falling out of bed can also lead to asphyxia if you hit your head on a hard surface.
While it’s uncommon for adults to fall out of their beds at night, it does happen. There are a variety of reasons why this might occur, including sleepwalking, medical conditions, and restless sleep.
The most important thing to remember if you or someone you know falls out of bed is to stay calm and seek emergency medical attention as soon as possible. If you’re worried about your loved ones falling out of bed, try installing a set of bed rails or getting a device like SafeWander that can send an alert when they attempt to get up.
7. Stress
Stress is a known killer and can cause a wide range of health problems, including heart disease and cancer. It doesn’t matter whether the source of your stress is major, such as losing a loved one or illness, or minor, like getting upset in traffic, over time chronically feeling stressed will do a number on you. High levels of cortisol, the hormone associated with stress, can interfere with learning and memory and lower immune function, bone density, blood pressure and cholesterol levels.
To combat stress, try to get enough sleep and eat a well-balanced diet of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and lean proteins. It’s also important to avoid unhealthy distractions such as sugary drinks, excessive caffeine and tobacco. In addition, exercising regularly can help reduce stress and relax the body.
8. Alcohol
Alcohol is directly absorbed into the bloodstream, and excessive consumption can cause damage to nearly every organ in your body. Alcohol can increase your risk for heart disease by raising triglycerides, which can lead to high blood pressure and heart failure.
Alcohol can also trigger a variety of cancers in the digestive tract, liver and breasts. It can also interfere with your immune system, which can increase your risk for infection.
A lethal dose of alcohol occurs when you consume too much alcohol in a short period of time. Typically, this means having more than four or five drinks within an hour. However, individual tolerance to alcohol varies, and can be affected by genetics, age, diet and other factors. The body breaks down alcohol into acetaldehyde, which is a chemical that can kill you. Having certain gene variants can also affect how quickly the body can break down alcohol, leading to higher levels of acetaldehyde.
10. Cancer
From venomous snakes to laughing too hard, there are plenty of terrifying things that can kill you. All Time 10s shares a gallery of these scary items that will put you out of your misery, in no time at all.
Cancer is when abnormal cells grow and spread quickly, ignoring signals that normal body cells receive that tell them to stop growing or die (a process known as programmed cell death). Cancer cells also grow, invade, and hide from the body’s immune system, which normally eliminates damaged or diseased cells. Cancer cells then group together to form tumors, which can destroy healthy tissues and eventually kill you.