This is why it feels strange when you poke your belly button...

Publish Date
Thursday, 28 September 2017, 4:03PM

Belly buttons are pretty strange full stop.

But if you've ever poked the inside of your belly button and felt a weird sensation inside your stomach, you are not alone.

According to a report by Doctor Christopher Hollingsworth from the NYC Surgical Associates, the sensation is the unsettling feeling of needing to pee, but knowing that you don't have to. The pressure you create with your finger sends a signal that replicates this need. 

"At the navel, you have the ability to stimulate not only the skin overlying the navel, but also the fibres of the inner lining of your abdomen. So, as you stick your finger into your belly button, it sends a signal from the deeper fibres that line your inner abdominal cavity to your spinal cord. Because your spinal cord at that level is also relaying signals from your bladder and urethra, it feels almost the same. You interpret this as discomfort in your bladder."