Is yawning really contagious and if so, why?
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Answers:
yes it is check out this interesting link on the subject
i know i yawn almost everytime i am around someone else that does
http://www.world-science.net/exclusives/...
omg, I was wondering this same question just the other day!
you yawn when your bored like when im at work i seem to yawn so much and then when i come home and play my ps3 i seem to be so happy and i dont seem tired at all so its when your bored you yawn
yawning is really the bodys way of telling you that it's time to do something else than what you are doing, so if people aggree with that they will start yawning to.
A yawn (synonyms chasma, pandiculation, oscitation from the Latin verb oscitare, to open the mouth wide[1]) is a reflex of deep inhalation and exhalation associated with being tired, with a need to sleep, or from lack of stimulation. 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. It could possibly be from lack of oxygen. Another speculated reason for yawning is nervousness - paratroopers were once noted yawning right before their first jump.[citation needed] The exact causes of yawning are still undetermined.
I yawned reading this.
yes they are contagous, the mythbusters actually tested that one, but i can't tell you y thear contagous... or answer any of you'r other Q's, i think that wakeup and tired yanning are the same, but i can't say for sure
Is Yawning Contagious?: CONFIRMED, but not by much.
mythbusters said yes, man you got me yawning like 3 times now
i dont know, but you just made me yawn!
Shallow breathing causes oxygen to slowly drift to other parts of the body.Yawning is a number of reflex motions the body use to provoke deep breathing. After jogging,or any other form of excercise,the oxygen in your body is used up by your muscles. Yawning is a fairly natural result to that. As the body gets ready to sleep,shallow breathing occurs. During sleep shallow breathing continues. That's why we yawn so much. Thanks for the question.
I know that yawning is contagious, but I don't know exactly why. In fact, I yawned as soon as I read your question. I believe we react to yawning by yawning because seeing others tired makes us feel tired as well. So yawning could be both a natural adaptive way for humans to stay alert in times of tiredness (by supplying oxygen to the brain as you said) but it could also be a psychological reaction that ultimately prevents us from succumbing to the aura of tiredness surrounding others.
While I wrote that answer, I yawned 3 times myself, which means the word itself can trigger yawning too. If you're still interested, read the book The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell. He talks about it pretty extensively in the first section.
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