Oh, I’d love to know that. If you take an evolutionary view, you’d say that there was some advantage to animals sleeping at the same time. Maybe that helped survival. If we all huddle together around the campfire and sleep, we’ll be less vulnerable to attacks by saber-toothed tigers, etc. Maybe.
That doesn’t apply now, but maybe it stuck. Someone yawning reminds us it’s a good idea to sleep, and that helps us.
Did you know that birds yawn, fish yawn, and even babies in the uterus yawn?
Yawning is considered ‘contagious’ as seeing, thinking or reading about yawning can prompt a person to yawn themselves (is it working on you?). This is thought to be an evolutionary behaviour which helps to keep groups awake and alert (how does yawning help? read below). The idea is that we have ‘mirror neurons’ which mimic other people’s actions even though we are unaware of it. This helps with group bonding. It’s also thought that people with more empathy (those who recognise and share the feelings of others) are more likely to ‘catch’ a yawn, as they are more in touch with the behaviour of others and more likely to mimic it.
There are a lot of ideas about the reasons for yawning. One is that yawning is to increase the amount of oxygen in the blood. So the idea is that we yawn when we are bored or tired because we have ‘forgotten to breathe’ and don’t have enough oxygen. However, it’s been shown that this is unlikely, as the rate at which we yawn is not affected even when breathing higher concentrations of oxygen.
Another idea is that the purpose is to cool the brain when it is overheated. Sounds weird, but sleep deprivation and exhaustion increase the temperature deep within the brain. These are times when we yawn more frequently, drawing in cool air which could help to cool our brain and keep it functioning properly.
Excessive yawning in an epileptic person can signal an oncoming seizure and people with Multiple Sclerosis are prone to bouts of yawning, as both of these disorders involve thermoregulatory dysfunction (difficulty controlling body/brain temperature).
One theory that most scientists talk about is that yawning together around the same time is similar to how how large groups of birds can take off as one group. It could be something left over from evolution where it was a good idea to go to sleep at the same time so that the people who are tired don’t get left behind if moving. This would have helped with surviving against possible attacks and also getting enough rest for the next day.
Another theory is that in our brains, we have mirror neurons. These neurons copy the actions of other people automatically as a normal response.
There is quite a bit of research being done on this area. And even while answering this question, I’ve yawned a few times!
I do not know. That is what makes science. People decide that it would be good to find the answer to something they do not know and then do research on that. Perhaps you could research this for a Science Talent Search project?
Oh, I’d love to know that. If you take an evolutionary view, you’d say that there was some advantage to animals sleeping at the same time. Maybe that helped survival. If we all huddle together around the campfire and sleep, we’ll be less vulnerable to attacks by saber-toothed tigers, etc. Maybe.
That doesn’t apply now, but maybe it stuck. Someone yawning reminds us it’s a good idea to sleep, and that helps us.
0
Did you know that birds yawn, fish yawn, and even babies in the uterus yawn?
Yawning is considered ‘contagious’ as seeing, thinking or reading about yawning can prompt a person to yawn themselves (is it working on you?). This is thought to be an evolutionary behaviour which helps to keep groups awake and alert (how does yawning help? read below). The idea is that we have ‘mirror neurons’ which mimic other people’s actions even though we are unaware of it. This helps with group bonding. It’s also thought that people with more empathy (those who recognise and share the feelings of others) are more likely to ‘catch’ a yawn, as they are more in touch with the behaviour of others and more likely to mimic it.
There are a lot of ideas about the reasons for yawning. One is that yawning is to increase the amount of oxygen in the blood. So the idea is that we yawn when we are bored or tired because we have ‘forgotten to breathe’ and don’t have enough oxygen. However, it’s been shown that this is unlikely, as the rate at which we yawn is not affected even when breathing higher concentrations of oxygen.
Another idea is that the purpose is to cool the brain when it is overheated. Sounds weird, but sleep deprivation and exhaustion increase the temperature deep within the brain. These are times when we yawn more frequently, drawing in cool air which could help to cool our brain and keep it functioning properly.
Excessive yawning in an epileptic person can signal an oncoming seizure and people with Multiple Sclerosis are prone to bouts of yawning, as both of these disorders involve thermoregulatory dysfunction (difficulty controlling body/brain temperature).
0
No one really knows for sure.
One theory that most scientists talk about is that yawning together around the same time is similar to how how large groups of birds can take off as one group. It could be something left over from evolution where it was a good idea to go to sleep at the same time so that the people who are tired don’t get left behind if moving. This would have helped with surviving against possible attacks and also getting enough rest for the next day.
Another theory is that in our brains, we have mirror neurons. These neurons copy the actions of other people automatically as a normal response.
There is quite a bit of research being done on this area. And even while answering this question, I’ve yawned a few times!
0
I do not know. That is what makes science. People decide that it would be good to find the answer to something they do not know and then do research on that. Perhaps you could research this for a Science Talent Search project?
0