system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELi5: When something painful is about to happen to someone, why are they given something to bite down on?
gpt
There are a number of reasons. One is that biting down can be a reflex to pain, so giving you something "safe" to bite down on prevents you from biting your tongue or damaging your teeth.

Secondly is it provides extra stimulation that can act as a distraction to your brain from the pain. Your brain can only focus and process a certain number of sensations at a time, so by giving it more sensations you can divert some of its attention away from the pain.