Why Do We Yawn?
We are all familiar with yawning. You may start to yawn when you are tired or bored. Either way, we’ve all yawned before. You may even yawn when you see somebody else yawn. M ost animals yawn as well. But, have you ever wondered why our body does this? Read more to find out why we yawn.
Yawns are one of the most contagious and hard-to-control things that our body does. You shouldn’t try to stop a yawn because our body does it for a reason-our body needs to yawn. There are several theories regarding why we yawn. This includes it helps bring more oxygen to our body or it helps cool the brain. Scientists have most proven that you yawn based on the temperature. According to 2014 study, by Physiology & Behavior, yawning is shown to have occurred less in the winter season. The temperature supports other reasons of why we yawn. For example, when you are bored, and you yawn, it is because the temperature drops. When you are tired you tend to yawn because your brain is slowing down which also causes the temperature to drop. Have you ever saw somebody else yawn, making yourself yawn too? This is because you are in the same room as them, meaning you are in the same temperature as them, making you both start to yawn.
Other theories, including yawning helps cool the brain may be because your blood cots the brain. Blood cots are clumps of blood, that form in response to an injury or wound. When this happens, your body wants to yawn, to cool it down from the blood cot. Another theory is yawning helps wake your body up. When you yawn, your tissue and lungs expand. This allows your body to stretch its muscles and other joints. Your body may need this type of wake up when you didn’t get enough sleep, and are tired. That possibly may be why you also yawn when you are sleepy or tired.
Is it Really Contagious?
Yawning is really contagious. As mentioned earlier, it is hard to control and stop. This may connect to empathy and bonding, according to a study from Baylor University. This is because when you see somebody else yawn, you understand other people’s emotions. Just like you know when somebody is smiling at you, you smile back. Remember, that more research is needed about yawning. Although these are mostly accurate, they might not be 100% true. Scientists are still finding more and more information to this mystery of why we yawn:)!
