...Yawning...?
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A yawn is a semi-automatic reflex that originates in the brain stem in response to a lower level of oxygen in the brain. Yawning also occurs when a person loses interest in their surroundings, i.e gets bored. It does not necessarily indicate fatigue, although people do tend to yawn when they're sleepy. A study was done in which heart rate, skin effects, and muscle tension were measured in 30 young adults before, during, and after yawns. They found that yawning did increase their level of arousal for a short time.
Yawning is an action that occurs throughout the animal kingdom (cats in particular seem to yawn a great deal). In the late 1980s several studies were done in rats, and it was found that rats yawned more in the early morning before awakening and also when they were very hungry. Several different brain chemicals seem to be involved in yawning, but the mechanisms are still not understood.
For example, yawning seems to be contagious. Why is that? (Just reading about yawning made me yawn several times!) In your case, I doubt that a lack of oxygen is the main reason you yawn. Since your yawning spells seem to occur mainly around bedtime or during the middle of the night, they probably are related to being sleepy and groggy.
Yes. But not in the disease way. More of a psychological factor.
Yeah, it's really strange. (It's not bad or anything, it's natural.) If you look at someone yawning, you start thinking of yawning and before you know it, you ARE yawning. I don't know, sometimes if I think about it, it does wanna give me an urge to yawn.
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