Yawning is an unconscious breathing act, a deep long inhalation and a rapid exhalation. At the same time, the mouth is open, and the process of yawning itself is accompanied by a characteristic sound. At first glance, yawning seems to be a natural process for the body, but in some cases, excessive yawning can become a symptom of the disease. There are several hypotheses that answer the question of why people often yawn. Doctors are studying why this process is necessary for the body, but they have not come to final conclusions.
Why do people yawn?
Let's consider the most common hypotheses that explain why people often yawn and how it affects the general condition of the body.
Yawning as a help to the body with a lack of oxygen in the brain tissues. During a deeper breath, more oxygen enters the bloodstream than during normal breathing. Saturation of the body with oxygen leads to accelerated blood flow and metabolism, which makes the person feel better and the whole bodycomes into tone. Therefore, in various situations when the oxygen balance is disturbed, a person yawns and becomes more cheerful. For example, yawning after sleep or long monotonous work
Yawning to cool the brain. Scientists were able to prove this effect by conducting an experiment in which two groups of people watched videos of yawning actors. Participants with a cold compress on their forehead yawned less compared to those with or without a warm compress
Useful properties of yawning
- Help stuffy ears. Why do you often yawn when the plane changes altitude? Yawning helps relieve ear congestion caused by extreme pressure differences.
- Warm-up for muscles. During yawning, a person usually involuntarily stretches and kneads the frozen body. Thus, yawning prepares a person for action. So, students yawn, preparing for the exam, and artists - before the performance. This also explains why people yawn when they are bored or want to sleep - yawning helps to cheer up and work stiff muscles.
- Protection of the nervous system. During a serious conversation or an exciting situation, a person may ask himself: "Why do I often yawn?" Such a reaction will be a kind of sedative for the body, which will help to cope with stress.
- Relaxing effect. If a person wants to sleep, then yawning will help the body relax and prepare for sleep.
Yawning as a sign of illness
Frequent and prolonged yawning is a symptom of an unhe althy state of the body. This may be one of the signs of sleep problems, high blood pressure, depression, or severe anxiety. Therefore, in cases where yawning overcomes a person constantly, it is better to consult a doctor - to check your pressure, the state of blood vessels and the heart. And first you need to try to be less nervous, get enough sleep and replenish the supply of vitamins and minerals in the body.
Mirror property of yawning
Yawning is a phenomenon that can be "infected". Why do you often yawn when you see people with their mouths open in real life or on TV? There are mirror neurons in our cerebral cortex that are responsible for sticky yawning. It is enough for a person to read about yawning or think about it, and then he immediately begins to yawn. But not all people are susceptible to this “disease”. Children with autism can watch a provocative video without yawning. And children under five years old are not capable of mirror yawning, as they still do not know how to empathize with other people's emotions.
Frequent yawning of the owners is transmitted to the dogs, and they completely copy the physiological state of the owner, becoming relaxed and sleepy, like a yawning person. Dogs also see the difference: if the owner just opens his mouth wide, the dog will not mimic his behavior, and the yawn will definitely copy.
Yawning as a sign of emotional intimacy
Frequent yawning comes from relatives and close friendsyawning. And distant acquaintances and strangers almost do not show mirror signs. Proximity is the only factor that scientists were able to identify, because both gender and nationality do not affect a person's need to yawn in response.
Yawning as a way of communicating
Scientists believe that even during the evolution of primates, yawning began to be used as an imitative action. The reasons were very different. So, at the sight of danger, one of the group members yawned, and his condition was transmitted to everyone else and put them on alert. And in order to send a signal to people that it was time to go to bed, the leader yawned, and the tribe supported him with an appropriate reaction.
Ways to deal with yawning
The periodic occurrence of yawning is natural for the body, but if a person constantly asks the question "Why do I often yawn?", then this may mean that some kind of malfunction has occurred in the body. Simple recommendations will help to defeat yawning:
- He althy sleep. It is necessary to determine how much time a person needs to sleep in order for the body to recover. Also, with severe fatigue in the daytime, you can afford a small 20-minute rest. This will help the body to relax, but will not allow you to switch to a good sleep.
- Equal posture. A bent back can cause frequent yawning. The reasons for this effect is that the hunched state does not allow the diaphragm to work fully and causes its involuntary contractions. Whereas straight posture will lessen desireyawn.
- Fresh air and sports. A person is saturated with oxygen during exercise, and this allows him to remain alert throughout the day. An even better option would be to spend more time outdoors, taking walks or doing light outdoor workouts.
- Food. Good nutrition will help bring the body in order and get rid of frequent yawning for no reason. You should try to take vitamins, cut out unhe althy foods from your diet and drink more fluids.
Popular questions about yawning:
- Why do my eyes water when I yawn? Yawning, a person closes his eyes, which compresses the lacrimal sac, and the vessels in the lacrimal ducts contract. Because of this, tears spill out, as they did not have time to get into the nasopharynx.
- Why do small children yawn? Children yawn when they want to sleep, this process calms them down. If the baby yawns too often, it is possible that he does not have enough oxygen, and then it is worth walking with him more in the fresh air.
- Why do people often yawn in church? This is a normal phenomenon due to human physiology. The service takes place in the morning, when the human body has not yet woken up, and with the help of yawning, it is enriched with oxygen, helping to cheer up. Also, the room is usually stuffy and the lights are dimmed, which slows down blood flow and causes a lack of oxygen.
- Why do people often yawn while talking? This does not mean at all that the person is bored or indifferent to the topic of discussion, but on the contrary - yawningovercame the interlocutor due to the active work of the brain. He listened so carefully and thoughtfully to the story that his oxygen metabolism was disturbed, so the body replenished its strength with the help of a yawn.
The simple process of yawning has important functions for the proper functioning of the whole organism. It is worth paying attention if yawning has become unusually frequent and prolonged, and help the body recover.
