Extent of and reasons for its practice

Although the fainting game is believed to be practiced widely, few empirical studies have been done.

No empirical study is known to have been done on the reasons for its attraction but anecdotally stated reasons include:

• Peer pressure, a challenge or dare, a rite of passage into a social group or amusement over erratic behaviour.
• Curiosity in an altered state of consciousness, the experience of a brownout, an imagined approximation to a near death experience or more recently, copycatting elements of the film Flatliners
• A belief that it can induce a brief sense of euphoria (a rush sensation or high).
• A belief that it may enhance erotic feelings.
• The prospect of intoxication, albeit brief, at no financial cost.
• An underlying lack of knowledge concerning the physiological mechanisms involved and the risk of neurological damage or death.

A 2008 Centre for Addiction and Mental Health study found that at least 79,000 students in the Canadian province of Ontario participated in this act[1]. The 2006 Youth Health Risk Behavioral Survey in Williams County, Ohio found that 11% of youths aged 12-18 years and 19% of youths aged 17-18 reported ever having practiced it. ^[1]