Why do we yawn? Yawning remains one of the greatest mysteries of the human body

    Why do we yawn? Yawning remains one of the greatest mysteries of the human body

    Why do we yawn? Science has been trying to answer for centuries but still does not know for sure. The theories are different.

    Don't store avocado like this: it's dangerous

    Why do we yawn? Science has been trying to answer for centuries but still does not know for sure. The theories are different.





    That yawning is contagious is well known and several studies have attempted to prove why, but the causes of yawning however remain a mystery. Despite the many theories formulated over time, more or less valid, the authentic reason for this phenomenon, which concerns not only humans but also animals, has not yet been fully understood. Let's try to clarify by reporting some of the most accredited. (READ also: The more you yawn, the smarter you are. The study that proves it)

    The oldest of all dates back to Hippocrates and states that yawning helps eliminate "bad" air from the lungs by replacing it with "good" air. Starting from this theory, nowadays it is said that yawning is useful for oxygenating the blood, however some scientists have shown that this may not be the case. Like the 1987 study of 18 college students, who were asked to breathe air with varying concentrations of oxygen and carbon dioxide, without their knowing such concentrations. The experiment showed that the different concentrations had no impact on the frequency of yawning in the various students. So the students didn't need to yawn to compensate for the lack of oxygen. (READ also: Here's why yawning is contagious)

    The second theory, formulated by yawning expert Andrew Gallup, claims that yawning aids in temperature regulation. Because the breath of air you inhale cools the brain, allowing for a replacement of the warmer blood with the colder one coming from the heart.

    On the other hand, Austrian and US researchers, in 2014, published a study that had examined 120 participants, detecting the frequency of yawning after they had been subjected to viewing images of people intent on yawning during the winter or during the the summer. What did they find? That reactionary yawns were more frequent in summer, with 41,7%, than in winter, 18,3%. This would depend on how our body adjusts to stay cool in warmer temperatures. By inhaling more air through yawning, the body refreshes itself.



    A similar result was achieved by an experiment on thermoregulation: in this case the participants were given an injection that included a pyrogen to induce fever or a placebo. The researchers monitored the participants by recording their yawns over the next 4 hours. Those with the induced fever yawned much more on average than those who received the placebo.

    We then come to the third theory which has to do with the social context. We know that yawns are contagious and, therefore, if those around us yawn, we will tend to do so too. And so do dogs, but also chimpanzees and other animals such as mice, fish, penguins and elephants. Why does this happen? According to some researchers, it could depend on mirror neurons located in the parietal cortex, involved in imitative processes.

    And a 2010 study from the University of Connecticut found a correlation between yawning and empathy. The children examined began the so-called contagious yawn from age 4 onwards, the age at which empathy skills begin to develop.


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