why is yawning a contagious thing? i mean why isnt burping or coughing or anything else your body makes your?

Question

mouth do that doesnt tend to be contagious and only yawning is on the contrary?

why???

Answer 1

There are studies going on about that right now. Some people say it is the sheer fact of seeing someone yawn that increases the urge to yawn. They found increased activation in the periamygdalar part of the brain when this happened.

http://www.world-science.net/exclusives/050309_yawnfrm.htm

Interesting enough, babies under one year old and schizophrenics do not find yawning contagious, so it obviously has to do with brain development and fuction, and may not be purely psychological.

For that matter, it is still relatively unknown as to why people yawn in the first place. Are brains trying to get more oxygen or remove more carbon dioxide?

My opinion is that yawning is kind of a refresher for the brain, and when one does it, another's brain is reminded about the need to do it, and they do it too.

Answer 2

Ok...i kno lyke a buhzillion ppl hav said this already, but American scientists believe that yawning is caused by a lack of oxygen in a given area, or in the brain. If there r a bunch a ppl in one big "oxygen deprived" area, of course sum1 is going 2 yawn bcux their brain is oxygen deprived. So, evry1 is gonna start yawning, causing the illusion that yawning is "contagious".
However, other countries, especially European, believe that yawning is caused by more than just oxygen deprivation. they think that the brain goes thru sumthing called, Mirror Reactions. This is when a person simply mirrors, or copies, sumthing that they see sum1 else doing, as a reaction.
I dont kno which 1 u thin k is right, but these theories are argued by scientists. Hope i answered ur question in an understandable way, bcuz i saw how long sum other ppls answers were.

Answer 3

Reading the questions and answers actually made me want to yawn. Seriously.
The other day I yawned and my dog copied me, I thought it was cool.
But the reason we yawn is to keep us awake. If we feel tired, it's you body trying to deliver more oxygen to your brain. But it is weird why it's contagious.

Answer 4

Hi, well I think its because - the reason you yawn is to get extra oxygen into your body, so maybe when you see someone yawn your instinct or whatever thinks there may be a shortage of oxygen. So that makes you copy yawns!!
maybe this is just my mad idea though

Answer 5

Bill Nye the Science guy actually answered this question on an msn article! Hope this helps! (:

"Hi Bill,

Why do we yawn? And why does it seem contagious?

--Sleepy Ruminator

Dear Sleepy Ruminator,

It's an age-old question, one that can keep you awake at night, and there is no exact answer. Near as we can tell, yawning is a way to signal others around us that we feel like getting some shuteye. But I've fallen asleep without yawning, and, of course, I've fallen asleep after my own virtual yawning festival, yawn after yawn. These observations lead me to believe that yawning sends a signal. As a kid, I heard that yawns are a means to get more oxygen or stretch certain facial muscles before sleeping. I'm skeptical of those explanations, because sleep and yawns are not always directly connected. If you're sleepy, you don't always yawn. If you need oxygen, you just breathe deeply.

Of course, yawning seems to be a very old form of behavior. It seems to be programmed deep in our brains. I've seen dogs yawn, and it makes me want to yawn right along with 'em. When your best canine friend is opening his jaws wide and shaking his shoulders, you can bet that he's not anxious to go outside and play or go for a long old walk. Modern wild dogs in Africa live in packs. They seldom stray off on their own. A yawn is a dog's way of telling her buddies in the dog pack (or you as her keeper) that she's ready for some doggie z's.

Perhaps yawning was preserved in our brains from all the way back in ancient times. It may have been desirable for everyone in a tribe of humans (or other animals) to go to sleep at about the same time. That way, perhaps everyone in the tribe would be on the same sleep schedule, ready to take on the challenge of the next morning. Perhaps yawning developed in a tribe of nomads, people who wandered from camp to camp every few days. Getting up, packing, and setting off on a journey would require everyone to be working together at the same time. You wouldn't want any stragglers lagging behind the main group. They might get attacked or they might get just plain lost.

You also wouldn't want a small group to go off on their own ahead of everyone else. They might get attacked, too, being a small number easy for an enemy to overcome. Or they might go off in some direction (the wrong way) the main tribe would rather avoid. If you're going to get lost, better to do it together. Tribes that didn't have this form of communication may have had discord, some arguing, and loss of efficiency. Their competitors, who did communicate this way, may have gotten a slight advantage.

I can imagine that the leader of an ancient tribe might have felt that it was time for everyone to hit the hay. If there was no hay to be found, perhaps he meant it was time to sprawl out on some rocks warmed by the fire, or a mat of pine boughs. So he yawned. Everyone else in the tribe yawned back, letting the leader know that they got the message: Time to put down the net weaving and sleep. Thousands of years after the last ice age, a yawn still sends the signal. Dogs yawn; we yawn. Dog packs sleep at the same time. So do humans in middle management meetings and lecture halls around the world. In those situations, perhaps our bodies are indicating that our time would be better spent resting rather than reviewing charts or chalkboard marks. "

Answer 6

my personal theory:
yawning is a result of lack of oxygen, either from fatigue, bad posture, or whatever... so when you yawn your body is taking a kind of superbreathe. now, when people are close together, talking to eachother (even on the phone) or looking at eachother we often unconsciously match our breathing rate to eachother.

ever been hanging out with your best friend and were laughing at something, then you both stopped laughing and had a big happy sigh at the same time? or been snuggling with your sweety and you noticed you're both inhaling and exhaling together? yeah... that's what i mean.

so when one person needs a superbreathe the other person body will also take a superbreathe because the other person is unconsciously following a similar breathe pattern.

sounds good right?

Answer 7

Apparently not everyone finds it contagious. Only people that have a sympathetic nature will yawn along with you.

Answer 8

Apparently yawning is contagious because it made sense for our primitive ancestors to all rest together so they didn't get seperated. When you se someone else tired you want to rest as well.

Answer 9

I don't think its contagious in the sense of catching a cold. Its like - if I say, 'don't think about orange penquins' - the first thing you think about is 'orange penquins'. If you see someone yawn you have the same reflex - its psychological

Answer 10

Because burping and coughing are not pleasant things to start others doing..... but yawning can lead to others getting sleepy too... can be fun at thing like party's... ;)