Why Do We Hiccup?

Don't you always get hiccups in the most inconvenient of times? I hate that! A new study, published in the journal Clinical Neurophysiology, found that when newborn babies hiccup, it helps them develop important mind-body connections and that they can voluntarily control their breathing. Adults do that now no problem, but that is something that needs to be learned.

So that's what is so interesting, that as adults we may not have a biological need for hiccups, but it was definitely necessary as babies to have the ability to control our own breathing.

I hate hiccups as much as the next person, and it's always so annoying when I get hiccups before an interview, meeting or other public speaking event where I just can't start hiccuping through (but have to). It's embarrassing! But it is good that we as humans have the ability to hiccup.