Why are yawns contagious?

Question

Why is it that if some one in a group yawns, before too long, so does everyone else? Is it the relaxing release of energy a yawn provides, or is it simply the power of suggestion? Even if you see some one on T.V. yawn, a body is inclined to do the same... What's up with that? You feel like yawning right now, dont you?

Answer 1

This is from the book, "Why Do Men Have Nipples? Hundreds of Questions You'd Only Ask a Doctor After Your Third Martini" by Mark Leyner and Billy Goldberg, M.D.

"...there are several theories for what causes yawns and why are they contagious. It was originally thought that people yawned to get more oxygen, but this appears not to be true.

The most common theory is behavioral. In an article examining contagious yawns , Dr. Steven M. Platek and others state, 'Contagious yawning may be associated with emphatic aspects of mental state attribution and are negatively affected by increases in schizotypal personality traits much like other self-processing related tasks.'

Huh? I find myself yawning right now.

What they mean is that people are unconsciously imitating others when they yawn. Humans are not the only species that yawn. Yawning is seen in many animals, including cats, fish, and birds, although we don't know what a yawning fish looks like either."

Answer 2

All I've heard about yawns is that they are required to supply more oxygen to the brain. The more you yawn, the more oxygen you need. I think people find it to be contagious because usually when you are in a group (let's say for instance you're having some buddies over to watch a movie.) When one of you yawns, so will the others, because you all are in a relaxed state, and aren't moving much. Most of your attention is focused on the movie. Once someone sees you yawn, they too will do it, because the lack of movement, and also the lack of oxygen to the brain. It'll remind them that (somehow on a subconscience level perhaps) that your brain needs more air too.

Answer 3

I read in a 'resolved' answer that even scientists are wondering why yawn is contagious !
May be because, the scientists who research on this are good at human physiology but did overlook body to body communication, using the memory bank as a reference where impulses are stored !
If we keep looking only at yawn , we will end up yawning, and miss further view !
Keep it aside, and look at giggle. Remember in school, one fellow squeaks a close-mouthed giggle, escaping un-traced for its origin, where as this squeak-giggle triggers a suppressed uncontrollable giggle in the nearby weak students, and they get caught , and remain 'at wits' end' , genuinely, when teacher asks "come on, why were you laughing ?"...
So also, if two or three children, in a group asks permission from teacher, to go to urinals , almost soon after one another, then many more requests will come up ! Ofcourse, in these examples, there is an element of body conditions being somewhat similar, but not warranting an contagious reaction. So it is contagious because, the mind(unconsciously) seeks to ape the other (sort of sense of security , if you follow the herd ) !
I feel, if scientists and researchers of both fields, physiology and psychology, team up and look at it they may get better results.

Answer 4

Yawning belongs the the very primordial animal instincts.
It is actually a way to show power and or aggressivity.
Bizzarre that it may sound, its the same instinct that takes animals to show their jaws, in human beings it is as to state that they arent defenceless. (before falling asleep for example)
As animals do, when one individual behaves that way, its fellows reply showing the same signs of power & individuality.

Answer 5

the reason we yawn is because our respiratory slows causing a lack of oxygen and so we yawn to soak up a deep breath, it truly is why we yawn when we are drained-our respiratory slows down. And when we see somebody else yawn our respiratory slows down truly back so we yawn :)

Answer 6

There must be something physical to it, or my dog is even smarter than I thought. If I yawn, she will too!

Answer 7

I think I read somewhere that when you yawn you are equalizing the pressure in your ears but in turn you may be disrupting someone closeby's pressure so they have to yawn to equalize their pressure.

Answer 8

A yawn is a reflex of deep inhalation and exhalation associated with being tired, with a need to sleep, or from boredom. The word "yawn" has evolved from the Middle English word yanen, an alteration of yonen, or yenen, which in turn comes from the Old English geonian. Pandiculation is the term for the act of stretching and yawning. Yawning is a powerful non-verbal message with several possible meanings, depending on the circumstances. It is also claimed to help increase the state of alertness of a person. The exact causes of yawning are still unknown.

Causes of yawning

1. An indication of tiredness, stress, over-work, or boredom.
2. An action indicating psychological decompression after a state of high alert.
3. A means of expressing powerful emotions like anger, rejection, apathy, or tedium.

A yawn can express strong anti-social messages, and so in some cultures people try to mute or mask them by placing a concealing hand over the yawning mouth.

A long-standing hypothesis is that yawning is caused by an excess of carbon dioxide and lack of oxygen in the blood. The brain stem detects this and triggers the yawn reflex. The mouth stretches wide and the lungs inhale deeply, bringing oxygen into the lungs and hence to the bloodstream. It is almost certain however, that this hypothesis is not correct. One study documented that this effect does not exist. A more recent hypothesis is that yawning is used for regulation of body temperature. Another hypothesis is that yawns are caused by the same chemicals (neurotransmitters) in the brain that affect emotions, mood, appetite and other phenomena. These chemicals include serotonin, dopamine, glutamic acid and nitric oxide. As more of these compounds are activated in the brain, the frequency of yawning increases. Conversely, a greater presence in the brain of opiate neurotransmitters such as endorphins, reduces the frequency of yawning. Patients taking the serotonin reuptake inhibitor Paxil (Paroxetine HCl) have been observed yawning abnormally often. Another theory is that yawning is similar to stretching. Yawning, like stretching, increases blood pressure and heart rate while also flexing many muscles and joints. It is also theorized that yawning helps redistribute an oil-like substance which coats the lungs and aids breathing. Some have observed that if you try to stifle or prevent a yawn by clenching your jaws shut, the yawn is unsatisfying. As such, the stretching of jaw and face muscles seems to be necessary for a good yawn.

The yawn reflex is often described as contagious: if one person yawns, this will cause another person to "sympathetically" yawn. The reasons for this are unclear; however, recent research suggests that yawning might be a herd instinct. Other theories suggest that the yawn serves to synchronize mood behavior among gregarious animals, similar to the howling of the wolf pack during a full moon. It signals tiredness to other members of the group in order to synchronize sleeping patterns and periods of activity. It can serve as a warning in displaying large, canine teeth. This phenomenon has been observed among various primates. The threat gesture is a way of maintaining order in the primates' social structure. The contagion of yawning is interspecific (i.e., try yawning in front of your dog). Yawning in public is generally regarded as impolite in the West, but came into fashion in polite French society for a brief period in the late 18th century. Oddly, sometimes sympathetic yawning may be caused by simply looking at a picture of a person or animal yawning, or even seeing the word "yawn".

Adelie Penguins employ yawning as part of their courtship ritual. Penguin couples face off and the males engage in what is described as an "ecstatic display," their beaks open wide and their faces pointed skyward. This trait has also been seen among Emperor Penguins. Researchers have been attempting to discover why these two different species share this trait, despite not sharing a habitat.

Superstitions

Certain superstitions surround the act of yawning. The most common of these is the belief that it is necessary to cover one's mouth when one is yawning in order to prevent one's soul from escaping the body. The Ancient Greeks believed that yawning was not a sign of boredom, but that a person's soul was trying to escape from its body, so that it may rest with the gods in the skies. This belief was also shared by the Mayan peoples.

Some say that yawning is caused by the Devil, who sends evil spirits to enter a person's body when his or her mouth is open. Thus, covering one's mouth prevents the evil spirits from entering. It is also why some people close a baby's mouth when it yawns.

A number of supposed alien abductees have claimed that after their extraterrestrial experience they stopped yawning, suggesting that without the ablility to yawn they do not feel right, or even healthy.

Other superstitions include:

- A yawn is a sign that danger is near.
- Counting a person's teeth robs them of one year of life for every tooth counted. This is why some people cover their mouths when they laugh, smile, or yawn.
- If two persons are seen to yawn one after the other, it is said that the one who yawned last bears no malice towards the one who yawned first.

These superstitions may not only have arisen to prevent people from committing the faux pas of yawning loudly in another's presence--one of Mason Cooley's aphorisms is "A yawn is more disconcerting than a contradiction"--but may also have arisen from concerns over public health. Polydore Vergil (c. 1470-1555), in his De Rerum Inventoribus, writes that it was customary to make the sign of the cross over one's mouth, since "alike deadly plague was sometime in yawning, wherefore men used to fence themselves with the sign of the cross...which custom we retain at this day."

Some people hold the superstition that when you yawn, someone just walked over your future grave site or the future grave site of your children.

Answer 9

Is it contagious, or is it hypnotic? What do you think?