The Yawn: A Rundown

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Everyday morning, no matter how much sleep I’ve had and how many cups of Maxwell House I’ve guzzled, I must yawn between 10-20 times per hour until lunch. The worst part is, I think people are starting to take offense to my yawns! 

Is it boredom? Lack of oxygen? Stress? Are they contagious? Well, my research into the causes of my pesky yawns brought a couple of new theories to light.

Various theories have been developed to help explain why we nearly unhinge our jaws numerous times a day; one suggests that yawning is a way for the body to cool the brain so it operates more efficiently and keeps you awake.

It's also been suggested that contagious yawning could be the result of an unconscious “herding behavior”, or a faint way to communicate to those around us. The theory explains it’s like a flock of birds taking off at the same time. In my case, it would be my way of saying wrap up the PowerPoint and let’s go to lunch.

Another theory suggests contagious yawning might have helped early humans communicate their alertness and coordinate sleeping times. Basically, if a person were tired, a yawn would signal to the others that it was time for rest.

I think one of the most well known theories (that I believed to be true until now) is that yawning is a by-product from lack of oxygen to the brain. However, this and all of the above theories, have yet to be officially proven true.

Whatever the scientific reasoning is behind our blasted physical reflexes, an ancient Greek superstition says that a person must cover their mouth when yawning so their soul doesn’t escape. That old superstition perhaps explains why we cover our mouths today and say, “excuse me.”

Here are some things I pulled from various sources that I found interesting:

• Yawning is an involuntary action that actually starts while in the womb (when the fetus is around 11 weeks old.) 
• Chimpanzees suffer from contagious yawning, according to researchers in Japan. They are thought to be the only other creatures, apart from humans, who do so.
• Snakes and fish can yawn.
• Dogs yawn to stay calm in certain situations.
• The word YAWN can make you yawn. (Did you?) Also, a picture of a yawn can make you yawn. (Did you do that too?)
• About half of adult humans are prone to contagious yawning.
• The average yawn lasts about six seconds.
• Your heart rate can rise as much as 30 percent during a yawn.
• Blind people yawn more after hearing an audiotape of people yawning.
• Olympic athletes often yawn before competition.

It’s time for an experiment. Start walking around the office or house, work up some of the best yawns you can and see how many people catch it.  I just started a yawning duel with my boyfriend- 10 minutes back and forth and going strong.

Now that you’re feeling sleepy, my work here is done.