Is Yawning a Sign of Lack of Oxygen to the Brain?
When you yawn, your mouth opens wide and you inhale a large quantity of air. Your eardrums stretch and your eyes close, and you’ll usually feel a little bit of relaxation after yawning. Yawning is a reflex that can be triggered by no thought or action at all.
Yawning is a common involuntary reflex that occurs when you’re feeling tired, bored or simply need to relax. It’s also a good way to get some extra oxygen into your brain without thinking about it.
Many people aren’t even aware they’re yawning until they’re doing something boring or tedious, like watching television, listening to music or studying. In those instances, it’s easy to yawn too much.
Excessive yawning is most likely due to boredom or sleeplessness, but it can also be caused by certain conditions or diseases that make your body want to yawn more often. These include heart problems, strokes and brain tumors.
If you’re yawning excessively, talk to your doctor about it so they can help you figure out the cause. They can also recommend a treatment plan.
It may be related to your environment
Your work, home or school environment can affect the amount of yawning you do. If you’re working in a very hot or cold room, for instance, you might find yourself yawning more frequently than usual.
This is because your body is trying to cool itself down and keep its core temperature at a comfortable level, according to the brain thermoregulation theory of yawning. This happens by increasing blood flow to the face and forehead, where it can dissipate heat that could otherwise accumulate in your brain.
It’s also possible that yawning helps you cool your brain when your body is too warm, such as during heat stress or hyperthermia, a term used to describe an abnormally high body temperature. This is especially true during the summer months, when ambient temperatures tend to be higher than they are in winter, which can lead to more yawning.
Yawning is contagious
A new study shows that yawning can be passed on to others. Specifically, the likelihood of yawning increases sixfold after seeing someone else do it. This is because yawning helps the brain reset, making it easier to focus on the next task.
But there’s another reason why you might see others yawning: It may be linked to social mirroring, which allows organisms to imitate the behavior of other creatures.
While scientists aren’t sure what causes social mirroring, they’re hopeful that they can figure out the exact mechanism. But, in the meantime, they’re also exploring a few other possible reasons for yawning contagiousness.
The biggest question is whether yawning actually does anything to your brain, and how it works. That’s still unclear, but some scientists are hopeful that yawning may be a sign that your brain needs a little extra oxygen.
