The spins
Encyclopedia
The spins is a term used to describe an adverse reaction of intoxication that causes a state of vertigo
and nausea
, causing one to feel as if he or she is "spinning out of control". It is most commonly associated with drunkenness
or mixing alcohol with other psychoactive drug
s such as cannabis
. This state is likely to cause vomiting, but having the spins is not life-threatening unless pulmonary aspiration
occurs.
. Diplopia
(double vision) or polyplopia are common, as well as the symptoms of motion sickness
and vertigo
.
s, rather than diet drinks delays the dizzying effects of alcohol because the sugary mixer slows the emptying of the stomach, so you get drunk less rapidly.
The dizzying effects of alcohol upset the fragile mechanism that the inner ear
uses to balance.
This "upset" has been seen in experiments in which human subjects were given clinical tests of the vestibular system
before and after ingesting alcohol. The alcohol apparently causes the ampullary cupula in the semicircular canal to become lighter than the surrounding fluid (endolymph
), which causes the system to become sensitive to gravity in addition to rotational acceleration.
The spins are often reported when alcohol is mixed with cannabis
, since both may cause dizziness and magnify each others' effects. Smoking after drinking especially intensifies the effects of the alcohol, often resulting in nausea.
Keeping one foot flat on the ground while trying to sleep is one popular self-treatment for people whose dizziness is exacerbated by lying down with eyes closed. There is no direct scientific evidence to support this treatment, however it is consistent with studies showing that postural balance responses to high and low speed tilts are primarily driven by force and velocity receptors in the muscles with relatively little input from the vestibular system.
One way to mask the symptoms of the spins is to avoid staring at moving objects, such as people who are dancing
or ceiling fan
s. Instead, it helps to stare at a non-moving object and slowly blink a few times. However, it will make things worse to keep one's eyes closed for an extended period. In minor cases of the spins, simply sitting alone in a quiet place or taking a walk
is all it takes to make them subside.
The best ways to avoid the spins are to continuously keep monitoring one's alcohol intake and to eat before drinking, which allows alcohol to be metabolized more efficiently and steadily and will keep one's blood sugar levels more even. Certain foods, such as crackers
and cheese
, have the right levels of carbohydrates, fat
, and protein
to help further slow the emptying of one's stomach
.
, The Stranger Guide to Seattle by Paula Gilovich and Traci Vogel, Rag Man by Pete Hautman
,, The Tin Roof Blowdown
by James Lee Burke
. Visual depictions of the imbalance or dizziness associated with drunkenness were also featured in Mabel's Strange Predicament
and other Charlie Chaplin
movies. The Pittsburgh rapper, Mac Miller
's album K.I.D.S featured a track titled, "The Spins". Danger Ronnie and the Spins associate this into their name and music.
Vertigo
Vertigo is a form of dizziness.Vertigo may also refer to:* Vertigo , a 1958 film by Alfred Hitchcock**Vertigo , its soundtrack** Vertigo effect, or Dolly zoom, a special effect in film, named after the movie...
and nausea
Nausea
Nausea , is a sensation of unease and discomfort in the upper stomach with an involuntary urge to vomit. It often, but not always, precedes vomiting...
, causing one to feel as if he or she is "spinning out of control". It is most commonly associated with drunkenness
Drunkenness
Alcohol intoxication is a physiological state that occurs when a person has a high level of ethanol in his or her blood....
or mixing alcohol with other psychoactive drug
Psychoactive drug
A psychoactive drug, psychopharmaceutical, or psychotropic is a chemical substance that crosses the blood–brain barrier and acts primarily upon the central nervous system where it affects brain function, resulting in changes in perception, mood, consciousness, cognition, and behavior...
s such as cannabis
Cannabis
Cannabis is a genus of flowering plants that includes three putative species, Cannabis sativa, Cannabis indica, and Cannabis ruderalis. These three taxa are indigenous to Central Asia, and South Asia. Cannabis has long been used for fibre , for seed and seed oils, for medicinal purposes, and as a...
. This state is likely to cause vomiting, but having the spins is not life-threatening unless pulmonary aspiration
Pulmonary aspiration
Pulmonary aspiration is the entry of material from the oropharynx or gastrointestinal tract into the larynx and lower respiratory tract...
occurs.
Symptoms
The most common general symptom of having the spins is described by its name: the feeling that one has the uncontrollable sense of spinning, although he or she is not in motion, which is one of the main reasons an intoxicated person may vomit. The person has this feeling due to impairments in vision and equilibrioceptionEquilibrioception
Equilibrioception or sense of balance is one of the physiological senses. It helps prevent humans and animals from falling over when walking or standing still. Balance is the result of a number of body systems working together: the eyes , ears and the body's sense of where it is in space ideally...
. Diplopia
Diplopia
Diplopia, commonly known as double vision, is the simultaneous perception of two images of a single object that may be displaced horizontally, vertically, or diagonally in relation to each other...
(double vision) or polyplopia are common, as well as the symptoms of motion sickness
Motion sickness
Motion sickness or kinetosis, also known as travel sickness, is a condition in which a disagreement exists between visually perceived movement and the vestibular system's sense of movement...
and vertigo
Vertigo (medical)
Vertigo is a type of dizziness, where there is a feeling of motion when one is stationary. The symptoms are due to a dysfunction of the vestibular system in the inner ear...
.
Causes
Ingesting a great deal of alcohol in a short amount of time causes alcohol to quickly enter the bloodstream. Mixing alcohol with normal soft drinkSoft drink
A soft drink is a non-alcoholic beverage that typically contains water , a sweetener, and a flavoring agent...
s, rather than diet drinks delays the dizzying effects of alcohol because the sugary mixer slows the emptying of the stomach, so you get drunk less rapidly.
The dizzying effects of alcohol upset the fragile mechanism that the inner ear
Inner ear
The inner ear is the innermost part of the vertebrate ear. In mammals, it consists of the bony labyrinth, a hollow cavity in the temporal bone of the skull with a system of passages comprising two main functional parts:...
uses to balance.
"Balance in the body is monitored principally by two systems, both of which are affected by alcohol sending abnormal impulses to the brain, [which tells it] that the body is rotating, causing disorientation and making the eyes spin round to compensate."
This "upset" has been seen in experiments in which human subjects were given clinical tests of the vestibular system
Vestibular system
The vestibular system, which contributes to balance in most mammals and to the sense of spatial orientation, is the sensory system that provides the leading contribution about movement and sense of balance. Together with the cochlea, a part of the auditory system, it constitutes the labyrinth of...
before and after ingesting alcohol. The alcohol apparently causes the ampullary cupula in the semicircular canal to become lighter than the surrounding fluid (endolymph
Endolymph
Endolymph is the fluid contained in the membranous labyrinth of the inner ear. It is also called Scarpa's fluid, after Antonio Scarpa.-Composition:...
), which causes the system to become sensitive to gravity in addition to rotational acceleration.
The spins are often reported when alcohol is mixed with cannabis
Cannabis (drug)
Cannabis, also known as marijuana among many other names, refers to any number of preparations of the Cannabis plant intended for use as a psychoactive drug or for medicinal purposes. The English term marijuana comes from the Mexican Spanish word marihuana...
, since both may cause dizziness and magnify each others' effects. Smoking after drinking especially intensifies the effects of the alcohol, often resulting in nausea.
Treatment and prevention
Since at least some of the symptoms of "the spins" can be attributed to alcohol's disturbance of the vestibular system, many symptom relief strategies are based on increasing the body's ability to use other senses to regain balance. In addition to the vestibular system, vision and touch information from the body are extremely important in maintaining balance. In fact, the vestibular system is not necessary at all to maintain standing balance unless information from the other two systems becomes inadequate.Keeping one foot flat on the ground while trying to sleep is one popular self-treatment for people whose dizziness is exacerbated by lying down with eyes closed. There is no direct scientific evidence to support this treatment, however it is consistent with studies showing that postural balance responses to high and low speed tilts are primarily driven by force and velocity receptors in the muscles with relatively little input from the vestibular system.
One way to mask the symptoms of the spins is to avoid staring at moving objects, such as people who are dancing
Dance
Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....
or ceiling fan
Ceiling fan
A ceiling fan is a fan, usually electrically powered, suspended from the ceiling of a room, that uses hub-mounted rotating paddles to circulate air....
s. Instead, it helps to stare at a non-moving object and slowly blink a few times. However, it will make things worse to keep one's eyes closed for an extended period. In minor cases of the spins, simply sitting alone in a quiet place or taking a walk
Walking
Walking is one of the main gaits of locomotion among legged animals, and is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined by an 'inverted pendulum' gait in which the body vaults over the stiff limb or limbs with each step...
is all it takes to make them subside.
The best ways to avoid the spins are to continuously keep monitoring one's alcohol intake and to eat before drinking, which allows alcohol to be metabolized more efficiently and steadily and will keep one's blood sugar levels more even. Certain foods, such as crackers
Cracker (food)
A cracker is a baked good commonly made from grain flour dough and typically made in quantity in various hand-sized or smaller shapes. Flavorings or seasonings, such as salt, herbs, seeds, and/or cheese, may be added to the dough or sprinkled on top before baking...
and cheese
Cheese
Cheese is a generic term for a diverse group of milk-based food products. Cheese is produced throughout the world in wide-ranging flavors, textures, and forms....
, have the right levels of carbohydrates, fat
Fat
Fats consist of a wide group of compounds that are generally soluble in organic solvents and generally insoluble in water. Chemically, fats are triglycerides, triesters of glycerol and any of several fatty acids. Fats may be either solid or liquid at room temperature, depending on their structure...
, and protein
Protein
Proteins are biochemical compounds consisting of one or more polypeptides typically folded into a globular or fibrous form, facilitating a biological function. A polypeptide is a single linear polymer chain of amino acids bonded together by peptide bonds between the carboxyl and amino groups of...
to help further slow the emptying of one's stomach
Stomach
The stomach is a muscular, hollow, dilated part of the alimentary canal which functions as an important organ of the digestive tract in some animals, including vertebrates, echinoderms, insects , and molluscs. It is involved in the second phase of digestion, following mastication .The stomach is...
.
In popular culture
Someone getting or having the spins is mentioned in several books, including: Being Irish by Joseph Keefe, The Girls' Guide to Surviving a Break-Up by Delphine HirshHirsh
Hirsh may refer to:*Carolyn Hirsh, Australian politician*Jason Hirsh, American major league baseball pitcher*Michael Hirsh, the name of many different people*Nurit Hirsh, Israeli composer, arranger, and conductor...
, The Stranger Guide to Seattle by Paula Gilovich and Traci Vogel, Rag Man by Pete Hautman
Pete Hautman
Pete Hautman is the author of many well received young adult novels, one of which, Godless, won the National Book Award for Young People's Literature. Hautman moved to St. Louis Park, Minnesota at the age of five. He later graduated from St...
,, The Tin Roof Blowdown
The Tin Roof Blowdown
The Tin Roof Blowdown is a crime novel by American author James Lee Burke. -Synopsis:After Hurricane Katrina devastates his beloved city of New Orleans, Dave Robicheaux is drawn into the fatal shooting of two young black looters, and the subsequent torture murder of a third...
by James Lee Burke
James Lee Burke
James Lee Burke is an American author of mysteries, best known for his Dave Robicheaux series. He has won an Edgar Award for Black Cherry Blues and Cimarron Rose . The Robicheaux character has been portrayed twice on screen, first by Alec Baldwin and then Tommy Lee Jones...
. Visual depictions of the imbalance or dizziness associated with drunkenness were also featured in Mabel's Strange Predicament
Mabel's Strange Predicament
Mabel's Strange Predicament is a 1914 American-made motion picture starring Mabel Normand and Charles Chaplin, notable for being the first film for which Chaplin donned the Tramp costume.-First "Tramp" appearance filmed:...
and other Charlie Chaplin
Charlie Chaplin
Sir Charles Spencer "Charlie" Chaplin, KBE was an English comic actor, film director and composer best known for his work during the silent film era. He became the most famous film star in the world before the end of World War I...
movies. The Pittsburgh rapper, Mac Miller
Mac Miller
Malcolm McCormick , known by his stage name Mac Miller , is an American rapper from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania...
's album K.I.D.S featured a track titled, "The Spins". Danger Ronnie and the Spins associate this into their name and music.