Why do we yawn ?

If your head is overheated, there's a good chance you'll yawn soon, according to a new study that found the primary purpose of yawning is to control brain temperature.

The finding solves several mysteries about yawning, such as why it's most commonly done just before and after sleeping, why certain diseases lead to excessive yawning, and why breathing through the nose and cooling off the forehead often stop yawning.

The key yawn instigator appears to be brain temperature.

www.msnbc.msn.com...

"Brains are like computers," Andrew Gallup, a researcher in the Department of Biology at Binghamton University who led the study, told Discovery News. "They operate most efficiently when cool, and physical adaptations have evolved to allow maximum cooling of the brain."

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.

Contagious yawning is thought to be an evolved mechanism for keeping groups alert so they "remain vigilant against danger," Gallup said.

Im not so sure i buy into this, yet I have no alternative answer. Do any of you know for sure? Why do we yawn?

I read an article one time stating that yawning was built into our brains as a way to alert others that you were tired. They claimed we trained ourselves to do it when humans travelled in packs.

I can't find a specific link, but I remember reading that some stage hypnotists use it as a predictor of suggestibility. By going into the audience and faking a yawn he or she can see the likeliest candidates when they return the yawn.

There's a great site that debunks ideas about yawning.. Surprisingly, it has nothing to do with increased oxygen. That was an idea I took for granted.

Out of interest, if you ever feel that someone is looking at you ( for whatever reason), a fake yawn or a glance at your left wrist will see most people mirror the action.

Maybe there are different types of yawning each appropriate towards specific physiological functions. I had mostly heard about replacing air in the lower parts of the lungs but it makes sense that it serves various purposes.

If your head is overheated, there's a good chance you'll yawn soon, according to a new study that found the primary purpose of yawning is to control brain temperature.

The finding solves several mysteries about yawning, such as why it's most commonly done just before and after sleeping, why certain diseases lead to excessive yawning, and why breathing through the nose and cooling off the forehead often stop yawning.

then why do we always (well i do anyway) yawn when we see other people yawning and that is scientificly proven that we do that

It may not be one of life’s deepest mysteries, but as scientific conundrums go, it has a peculiar staying power. Why is yawning contagious?

Oh man you know i have yawned atleast 50 times while doing this post

It may not be one of life’s deepest mysteries, but as scientific conundrums go, it has a peculiar staying power. Why is yawning contagious?

Researchers recently found that yawning isn’t only catching among people; it is also among chimpanzees.

www.world-science.net...


[edit on 24/1/2009 by Anti - Government]

On the rare occasion i ride an elevator UP, say 30 floors, i require
a yawn to 'pop' my inner ear stuff.

Now, that does not seem like a temperature difference is involved does it?


the group of technicians led by some engineer-scientists, for some university study,
will put out a 'paper' so as to be viewed as a 'valuable' team....
and all the implications which go along with the notoriety...

[edit on 24-1-2009 by St Udio]

Cool Grock!

I've been wondering why (sometimes) when I'm at certain places, I start yawning non-stop You know, one yawn, after the other.

Once someone told me, it's because I'm releasing "negative energy" absorbed from that specific place.

But then I thought, it's probably because I'm somewhere I really don't want to be, and therfore, I start feeling incredibly bored.
And that makes more sense

Well, I read somewhere that yawning is caused by CO2 buildup in the bloodstream, and it is the body's was of getting an oxygen burst. I guess when you're tired, you breathing becomes shallower, you get less oxygen, and the CO2 starts building up.

I don't know if this is true or not, but it makes sense.

Originally posted by plutoxgirl
Once someone told me, it's because I'm releasing "negative energy" absorbed from that specific place.

That could explain why it seems contagious, if people are in the same place.

[edit on 24/1/09 by NuclearPaul]

reply to post by leisuredrummer


wOuLd u pLeaSe mADe sOme thEsis aBOut tHat YawninG tOpic...
i aM a fOrmER hiGh sChoOL sTudEnt in tHe pHiLiPpiNes aNd i aM reALLy cOnFuseD bOut thAt yAwning!!..bCOz wHO kNOwz tHat nOn sEnse tOpic mAde mAny oF the pEOLpe in Our sHoOL crAzY???
gOsh!..wiLL yOu pLeaSE hELp mE!!!!!!