The easiest way to make yourself sneeze is to gently stimulate the inside of your nose with a twisted tissue corner, but several other tricks work too, depending on your body’s sensitivity. Sneezing is a reflex controlled by the trigeminal nerve, a large nerve that runs through your face, nose, and mouth. Anything that irritates or activates branches of this nerve can set off the reflex.
Tissue or Cotton Swab Method
Roll the corner of a tissue into a tight point and gently insert it into one nostril. Wiggle it against the inner wall of your nose in a circular motion until you feel a tickle building. This directly stimulates the nerve endings lining your nasal passages, which sends a signal to the sneeze center in your brainstem. It’s the most reliable method for most people, though it sometimes takes 10 to 15 seconds of gentle movement before the reflex kicks in.
A cotton swab works the same way. Be careful not to push anything deep into the nose. You only need to reach the lower part of the nasal passage, roughly the first centimeter or so, to trigger the tickle. Pushing deeper risks irritating or scratching the delicate nasal lining, which can cause bleeding or infection rather than a satisfying sneeze.
Look at a Bright Light
About 23% of people sneeze when suddenly exposed to bright light, a trait known as the photic sneeze reflex (sometimes called ACHOO syndrome). If you’ve ever noticed yourself sneezing when stepping outside on a sunny day, you carry this trait. It runs in families and follows an autosomal dominant inheritance pattern, meaning if one of your parents has it, you likely do too. Researchers have tracked it across three generations in some families.
To use this method, close your eyes for 30 seconds or so, then quickly look toward a bright light source like the sun or a bright lamp. The sudden shift from dark to bright is what triggers the reflex. If nothing happens after a few attempts, this trick probably won’t work for you since it’s genetically determined.
Tickle the Roof of Your Mouth
Press the tip of your tongue against the roof of your mouth and rub it back and forth. This stimulates the maxillary branch of the trigeminal nerve, the same nerve responsible for the sneeze reflex. The sensation travels from the palate to the brainstem and can trigger a sneeze in some people. The effect varies: some people sneeze almost immediately, while others just feel a mild tickle that doesn’t quite get there.
Smell Something Pungent
Strong spices are effective sneeze triggers because they activate specific receptors on the sensory neurons inside your nose. Black pepper contains piperine, and chili peppers contain capsaicin. Both activate a receptor called TRPV1, which is broadly expressed across nasal sensory neurons and is the primary pathway for chemically induced sneezing. Research published in Cell confirmed that TRPV1-expressing neurons are the ones responsible for triggering the sneeze reflex in response to chemical irritants.
To try this, crack some black pepper near (not into) your nose and inhale gently. You can also open a spice jar and wave it under your nostrils. Sniffing pepper directly is effective but can cause intense burning and prolonged irritation, so keep some distance. Other options include cumin, coriander, or crushed red pepper flakes.
Pluck an Eyebrow Hair
Pulling a single eyebrow hair triggers pain signals in the ophthalmic branch of the trigeminal nerve, which sits close to the nasal branch that controls sneezing. For some people, the signal crosses over and activates the sneeze reflex. This doesn’t work for everyone, but when it does, it’s fast and reliable. Pluck from the inner edge of the eyebrow, closer to the nose, for the best chance.
Why These Methods Work
Every sneeze starts the same way. Sensory neurons in your nasal lining detect an irritant, whether it’s physical (a tissue touching the wall), chemical (pepper compounds), or even light-related. These neurons fire a signal through the trigeminal nerve to your brainstem, which coordinates the sneeze: a deep inhale, closure of your throat, buildup of pressure, then the explosive release through your nose and mouth.
The reason some methods work for certain people and not others comes down to individual variation in nerve sensitivity. Your trigeminal nerve has multiple branches covering different parts of your face, and the degree of cross-activation between branches differs from person to person. That’s why plucking an eyebrow makes one person sneeze instantly and does nothing for another.
One common belief that doesn’t hold up: cold air as a sneeze trigger. Research has shown that activating the cold-sensing pathway in the nose (through cold air or menthol) does not reliably produce sneezing. This matches clinical observations that people rarely sneeze from cold air alone, even though it might feel like they do. What’s more likely happening in cold weather is that dry air irritates the nasal lining or triggers mucus production, which then causes the sneeze through a different mechanism.
What to Avoid
Stick to gentle methods. Inserting small objects into your nose beyond a soft tissue tip risks injuring the nasal lining, causing bleeding, or pushing material deeper where it’s harder to retrieve. Multiple insertion attempts increase the risk of local injury. The nasal mucosa is thin and well-supplied with blood vessels, so even minor scratches can bleed noticeably and create an entry point for infection.
Inhaling fine powders directly is also risky. While waving pepper near your nose is fine, snorting ground spices can cause intense, prolonged burning and swelling of the nasal passages. If you’re using any substance to trigger a sneeze, keep it at arm’s length and let a small amount of the scent reach you naturally through a gentle inhale.