A new study is raising alarms about a trend many young women quietly accept. It found that sexual choking—often seen as “harmless” or “trendy”—may actually trigger real, lasting brain changes.

Researchers say more than half of female college students have been choked during sex. Many didn’t think it carried serious risk. Yet the science now shows something different… and far more worrisome.

The research team, led by Dr. Debby Herbenick, studied women who were choked at least four times in the past month. They discovered measurable shifts in the brain—particularly in areas tied to memory, language, and visual processing. One participant captured the fear simply: “I didn’t know it could hurt my brain.”

That moment changes everything.

Because choking stops oxygen from reaching the brain, even for seconds. Ten seconds can make someone pass out. A few minutes can cause irreversible damage. Many people don’t realize that the “rush” some describe comes from a drop—and then sudden return—of oxygen.

The study compared these women to others who had never been choked. Only the choking group showed increased cortical thickness in key regions, a sign of the brain responding to stress or injury. Researchers warn that this is not a harmless trend. It’s a public-health concern.

Experts say young people may copy behaviors they see online without understanding the danger. Even experienced communities have long treated strangulation as too risky to include without high-level training and consent.

And for some families, the danger became heartbreak. In 2021, UK woman Sophie Moss died after her partner applied pressure to her neck. A judge later called the act “obviously dangerous… with an obvious risk of brain damage or worse.”

It’s a reminder we all need: some risks simply aren’t worth taking.