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Have you ever had a time when you were hanging out with friends, suddenly one of your friends yawned, and you yawned too? How could that be?
Although often seen as a marker for sleepiness, yawning is actually designed to keep us awake, some researchers say BBC in a study reported in 2007.
Recent research has shown that, more than just a marker for sleep time, the reason yawning is to cool the brain, so it works more efficiently and keeps you awake. However, these various theories still leave many questions about human habits regarding yawning, and one of them is why people tend to yawn when they see other people yawning, or even yawn when they are reading about yawning or thinking about yawning.
Yawning does not mean sleepy
A little insight from scientists from the University of Albany in New York, Dr. Gordon Gallup, who conducted this research on yawning: co-yawning does not mean that we are “catching” other people's drowsiness. "We think the yawning infection is triggered by the empathy mechanism in humans, whose function is to keep the brain alert," said Dr. Gordon, who led researchers at the university.
In another study it was reported that yawning is a habit that has the ability to "herd" unconsciously, as when birds fly and beat their wings together.
Another theory hypothesized that if someone yawned because they "caught" another person, this could help a person communicate their alertness and coordinate sleep time. Basically, if one person decides to sleep, they will tell the other person by yawning, and will be yawned back as a signal that they agree.
It doesn't happen to everyone
Molly Helt, a researcher from clinical psychology at the University of Connecticut, Storrs, said yawning can help doctors diagnose the development of health problems in a person. Yawning can also help doctors to better understand how a person communicates and connects with others.
“Emotional contagion is a natural instinct that all humans have. Yawning might be one of them, "said Molly.
The inspiration for this research came when he tried to clean the ears of his son who has autism. He repeatedly yawned in front of the child, hoping that his son also yawned. But his son never yawned back.
"The fact that autistic children don't do it could mean they are completely unresponsive to the emotional connections around them," he explained.
In addition, Robert Provine, a neuroscientist from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County said that the fetus has also been able to yawn. The fetus evaporates in the uterus approximately 11 weeks after it is formed.
Researchers are still confused
Unfortunately, the exact scientific reasons why yawning is contagious have not been explained by researchers. Just as laughter and crying are contagious, researchers and scientists have theorized that contagious yawning is a shared experience that enhances social relationships. Specifically, Helt said, yawning can reduce stress and spread a sense of calm in a group.
In 2014, a number of researchers from Duke University conducted a study of 328 healthy people by asking them to watch a 3-minute video about people yawning. Few participants started yawning more than others, ranging from zero to 15 yawns, according to a study released March 14 in the journal. PLOS ONE .
Age is a major factor that significantly predisposes people to contracting and yawning. In older people, they are less susceptible to yawning while watching videos of other people yawning. However, age explained only the 8% difference in all participants who responded to the video.
"Our study does not show sufficient evidence that there is a link between infectious yawning and empathetic suggestion," said Elizabeth Cirulli, assistant professor of medicine at the Center for Human Genome Variation at Duke University School of Medicine.
The question is, did you yawn while reading this article?
