I’ve noticed that yawning happens when I’m tired or bored, but why do we actually yawn? And why do I feel the need to yawn when I see someone else yawning?
In: Biology
Pretty sure the consensus is that we don’t really know. I’ve heard lots of stuff that’s mostly based on social cohesion, but I don’t think the science is in on it yet.
I thought yawning was the primate way of announcing to the group that they’re safe and can go to sleep. That’s why it’s contagious.
I would swear I saw that in some nature documentary, but I may have made it up. 🤷♂️
Lots of theories on why we yawn, but main one that I tend to see is to keep us awake. Yawning can cause our heart rate to increase slightly. This means our brain (which could be sleepy) gets more oxygen in a slightly shorter time period to keep alert for a little longer.
https://muschealth.org/medical-services/geriatrics-and-aging/healthy-aging/yawning#:~:text=Yawning%20is%20associated%20with%20some,only%20for%20a%20brief%20time.
The reason we feel like we need to yawn when someone else is yawning is because we are built to mirror others in our social circles. Mirroring behavior or speech helps us reinforce social bonds by essentially showing “you like this? Me too! Same hat!!” It’s not just a human behavior either, it works with other social species with dogs… granted dogs also yawn when they’re stressed to try and diffuse tension.
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