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The Yawn Explained: It Cools Your Brain
- trickjarrett 18y agoInteresting hypothesis, not sure I buy it. Doesn't explain to me still why it's 'contagious.'
- jerf 18y ago"Because, statistically speaking, if conditions have induced a yawn in one person (according to these reasons), anybody else in the immediate area is likely to have the same conditions too." Quoted because I'm just proposing it, not claiming it is true.
- tyn 18y agoThen why the yawning when reading the article?
- ivank 18y agoMy speculation: because there are no drawbacks to yawning too much, we've evolved to yawn with even the slightest triggers.
- jamesbritt 18y agoMy speculation: because there are no drawbacks to yawning too much, we've evolved to yawn with even the slightest triggers. Unless, of course, you're talking to your wife/husband/whatever and a case of the yawns kicks in.
- sokoloff 18y ago"Sorry honey, I was thinking very intently about the deep thought you just shared, and my brain just needed some additional cooling." Get out of jail free...
- jamesbritt 18y agoThe funny thing is I often yawn when I'm really paying attention. It still doesn't go over well. :(
- scott_s 18y agoMisfire. Evolutionary adaptions aren't perfect. It could be that thinking about yawning in a certain way fires off the same response as viewing others around us yawn.
- tyn 18y agoWhat was so wrong with this question?
- ObieJazz 18y agoAnd contagious it is -- I couldn't stop yawning the whole time I read the article.
- mechanical_fish 18y agoI take it you don't buy the hypothesis that is sitting right there in the article? Contagious yawning is thought to be an evolved mechanism for keeping groups alert so they "remain vigilant against danger," Gallup said. There's even a link to a related article on contagious yawning: http://health.howstuffworks.com/contagious-yawn.htm http://health.howstuffworks.com/contagious-yawn.htm The scientists described in this article took some pains to ensure they were studying spontaneous yawning instead of contagious yawning: He and colleagues Michael Miller and Anne Clark analyzed yawning in parakeets as representative vertebrates because the birds have relatively large brains, live wild in Australia, which is subject to frequent temperature swings, and, most importantly, do not engage in contagious yawning, as humans and some other animals do.
- JacobAldridge 18y agoWell, yawning equalizes air pressure in your inner ear (let's say decreasing the pressure). If I decrease the pressure inside my head, Boyle's Law dictates that must increases the pressure outside of my head (ie, the entire earth's atmosphere). Which means everybody around me now needs to equalize the air pressure in their head. So they yawn. Duh!
- nreece 18y agoIt's been suggested contagious yawning could be a result of an unconscious herding behaviour - a subtle way to communicate to those around us, similar to when flocks of birds take flight at the same time. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/6270036.stm http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/6270036.stm
- seiji 18y agohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirror_neuron http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirror_neuron
- vaksel 18y agohow come you yawn just when you wake up?
- shimon 18y agoFrom page 2: "Prior studies reveal yawning leads to a heightened state of arousal, so a morning yawn may function somewhat like a cup of coffee in providing a jolt of energy."
- scott_s 18y agoInteresting theory, but I want them to comment on exercise. I don't yawn much when I work out - sometimes, but rarely. This could be explained by the fact that usually when I get the hottest, I'm in a hot environment. But that's not awlays the case.
- deleted 18y ago[deleted]
- alex_c 18y agoSo, does this mean that we can use yawning as a tool to focus (as long as the ambient temperature isn't too high?)
- ars 18y agoI'm not buying this. And why didn't they study humans? The explanation I heard many many years ago still seems right: yawning gets you more oxygen. And if you need to test that, next time you feel the urge (meeting?), just breath deeply and it will go away.
- puffythefish 18y ago"And why didn't they study humans?" "He and colleagues Michael Miller and Anne Clark analyzed yawning in parakeets as representative vertebrates because the birds have relatively large brains, live wild in Australia, which is subject to frequent temperature swings, and, most importantly, do not engage in contagious yawning, as humans and some other animals do."
- thomasmallen 18y agoA rush of blood to the head would have a cooling effect in addition to providing the needed oxygen. I think that the two go hand-in-hand.
- tlrobinson 18y agoOk, now please explain hiccups.
- thomasmallen 18y agoDiaphragm spasms.
- KevBurnsJr 18y agoSo why then aren't fevers associated with yawning?