Yawning is the reflex action of opening the mouth wide and inhaling deeply due to tiredness or boredom.
Also known as oscitation, it is regarded as a sign of exhaustion, it is also regarded as a sign of disrespect in social settings. This simple bodily function, however, may also be a sign of underlying health issues.
Why Do We do Yarn?
First, it that when changing elevation rapidly as in an airplane, you will both voluntarily (on purpose) yawn and also involuntarily (not on purpose) yawn to try and equalize pressures within your ear. This works and is an accepted reason.
Another indisputable cause is called social empathy. What this means in plain English is “suggestion.” If you see someone yawn, or if you read about yawning (like right now reading this column) some people will follow suit. In fact, psychologists have proven that the more empathetic you are, the more likely you are to yawn when someone else does. There has been fascinating research about the hierarchy of this suggestion. If you are very close to a person emotionally, you will yawn if they do. The rank order of this suggestion is family, friend, stranger. The closer one is to the person who yawns, the more likely one is to yawn as well.
Oscitation clearly is associated with sleepiness and boredom. However, almost paradoxically, it is theorized that it is not a sign of sleepiness or boredom, but actually a reflex that your brain induces to wake you up or make you more alert. Yawning is associated with some hormones that are released that briefly increase the heart rate and alertness.
Related to arousal is the common phenomenon upon awakening after sleep or nap. This is further evidence that yawning is a stimulation and arousal reflex rather than the opposite.
A final theory is that it is a reflex that helps cool a warm brain. This is unproven and although there are some examples in heat related scenarios, yawing is not something we see when playing sports or playing in the sun. Physiologically, deep breaths and open mouths can cool the brain slightly, but the evidence that this is a real cause of yawning is not convincing.
if there is an increase in yawning that cannot be explained by lack of sleep or some of the other causes mentioned above, then yawning can be a symptom of some disease.
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Five Things your Yawns May be Trying to Tell You
- You must slow down: Your brain, in particular, requires rest. Yawning exchanges hot blood from the brain for cooler air from the lungs, which is why yawns are also known as the body’s natural radiator system.
- You’re exhausted: When you only get a few hours of sleep, your brain temperature rises, causing you to yawn in an attempt to cool it down. Unfortunately, while yawning may help you focus for a short period of time, it is not a complete cure for your tiredness.
- It’s contagious: You may be yawning because you saw someone else yawn. You yawn when you see someone else yawn.
- A medication side effect: Yawning can be a side effect of medications such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs, which are commonly used to treat anxiety or depression.
- Excessive yawning has also been linked to heart disease, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, liver failure, and hypothyroidism.
The most common medical problems that are associated with increased yawning are sleep deprivation, insomnia, sleep apnea, narcolepsy, and many medicines that cause sleepiness. There are some other medical diseases that cause yawning including bleeding around the heart, brain tumor, multiple sclerosis, stroke, and even heart attack.
In most people yawning is a normal reflex, although poorly understood. However, if you experience excessive yawning for no apparent reason, it is wise to visit your physician and make sure there is nothing going on that is abnormal.
