Like
many of us,
you probably think that people yawn when they are hungry or tired.
Actually, this is not exactly true! After many studies, all
scientists do not explain this phenomena the same way.
A whole family happily yawning together |
Yawn
to make our brain colder
One
of those theories is the one of Dean Falk, an anthropologist. He
think that we yawn for make our brain colder. Indeed, when we are
tired our brain is warmer than its normal temperature. But as a
computer, the brain work better when it is not too warm. When we
yawn, air go into us by our nostrils and our mouth, making the blood
in our head colder, and so our brain colder. It is also a good way to
be more concentrated and attentive.
It
has been thought that yawning increased the level of oxygen in the
body, but studies have shown that is wrong. Indeed, we do not yawn
more when we do sport, whereas it is exactly the moment when our body
need more oxygen.
Yawn
to be under less stress
It
allows to relax face muscles and breath deeply. It is by the way
recommended to voluntary yawn through the day, especially when you
feel stressed, tired or upset.
Yawn
is contagious
Scientists
discovered that this phenomena concerns only humans and primates, but
when you see someone yawn, you will probably yawn too. Maybe even
just by reading this text, you are likely to yawn yourselves.
However, some people are less susceptible to contagious yawning than
others. It depends on our capability of empathy. The more you
demonstrate empathy, the more you are susceptible to contagious
yawning.
You
can check how susceptible to contagious yawning you are by watching
this video!
Did
you know?
On
average, we yawn around 240 000 time in our lives. We yawn even as
fetuses, in our mother's wombs. Moreover, all mammals yawn.