We all have heard about it. We all have experienced it. But very few of us have actually taken the efforts to know why it happens.
‘Contagious yawning’ is a natural phenomenon which most people believe happens because your brain needs oxygen. Some yawn experts have described yawn as ‘ancient and autonomic.’ It’s ancient because it happens to many creatures and autonomic because it stems from the brainstem.
Many people also believe that yawning is a result of boredom, tiredness or sleepiness. But there’s more to it than what you’ve been hearing all these years.
Scientists say that if you become conscious about yawning when you see someone else yawn, it can stop.
There are many theories about yawning being related to empathy and the brain’s ‘mirror-neuron system.’ It has been observed that a deficiency of the ‘mirror neuron’ system might result in missing hidden empathetic cues that result in contagious yawning.
It has been observed in MRI scans that some parts of the brain ‘light up’ when you see pictures of yawning.
Some people also believe that yawning just like laughter helps people bond well when in groups by indicating comfort level, relaxed sleepiness.
While there are a lot of theories related to contagious yawning, there isn’t one specific reason that explains why it happens.
Therefore, being an evolutionary trait, people continue to follow it considering it to be a scientific mystery.
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