Why Do We Yawn?

You get up in the morning. You stretch your arms and there it is. Your mouth opens wide, you breathe in slowly and deeply, and then exhale quickly. You might even hear a rumbling sound in your ears. We call that a yawn. In fact, chances are that you just yawned right now because you were thinking about it. Babies do it. Adults do it. Even birds and mammals like our dogs and cats do it. We yawn when we wake up. We yawn when we need to go to bed. We yawn when we are bored.

Yawning is an involuntary reflex consisting of a wide mouth opening, a deep inhalation, and a short exhale. It typically lasts a few seconds and is common when you feel tired, bored, or waking up. It also happens when other people yawn. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yawn)

But why do we yawn? There are several theories about why it happens. One idea says that the body is trying to get rid of excess carbon dioxide in our blood. Carbon dioxide is the stuff we breathe out. Another one saws that it is the body’s attempt to help keep us alert. It’s possible that the extra oxygen we breathe in can help wake us up. One researcher thought it might help cool the brain. For me, I notice is that my eyes get watery when I yawn. Maybe it helps us see better also.  Others think it could be a group signal to tell everyone it’s bedtime. One other theory says that it might help us keep our airway open and help us to be able to swallow and speak easier.

Did you know that yawns are thought to be “contagious”? Try it. If you are someone around you yawns, there’s a good chance that it will cause others to yawn also. Group yawn everybody! It could be that we are showing empathy (letting them know that we know how they feel). Some researchers have noted that some individuals that struggle with empathy also do not yawn along with other people as often. Although it has been used in movies by profilers to check for sociopathic, or psychopathic tendencies, there has not been a definite link established. This is still hotly debated since empathy is a difficult trait to measure. It might be that we just learn to imitate it when we were children. They say that our dogs learn to yawn from us!

Most of us cover our mouths when we yawn. Most likely this is because your parents said that is the polite thing to do. I mean, no one really wants to look down your throat! (We’ll maybe your doctor: and he tell you to say ah.) In the Middle Ages it was thought that you might “yawn out your spirit”, or that and evil spirit might get into you if your mouth was open too long, but we know that was just a myth. Still it’s probably better for everyone if you still cover your mouth when you yawn. Don’t want a fly to get in! Wow, I think I have yawned 5 times just writing this. Empathy? Or maybe I just need a nap…