Why is it that when one person yawns, another person yawns too. Why is yawning contagious? Main reasons. Why do people yawn

The science

See someone yawning and trying not to yawn yourself? It's practically impossible. Even Just reading about yawning will make you want to yawn..

Why does yawning have such a contagious effect? A new study tries to explain this fact. Researchers have shown that this behavior does not occur in children under four years of age. Children with autism are half as likely to yawn in response, and more often than not they do not yawn at all. The results of the study indicate that Contagious yawning is a sign of empathy and a form of social connection .

"It seems that emotional contagion is the basic instinct that unites us," says Molly Helt, a graduate student in clinical psychology at the University of Connecticut. "Yawning may be part of this. For example, the fact that Children with autism are not affected by the contagious effects of yawning, may mean that they do not have that unconscious emotional connection with others."

The baby begins to yawn in the womb as early as 11 weeks after conception, speaks Robert Provine, a neuroscientist at the University of Maryland. And so all my life. For what reason, scientists have not yet determined. In fact, all animals yawn, including snakes and lizards.

But contagious yawning is observed only in chimpanzees, humans and a little in dogs. Scientists have suggested that this is a kind of exchange of experience that contributes to the development of social connections.

So, Molly Helt conducted experiments on children. She read the same story, but in different ways, to 120 healthy children from one to six years old, dividing them into age groups of 20 children each.

During the 10-minute reading, Helt deliberately yawned every 90 seconds. Video cameras recorded how the children behaved.

The researchers repeated the same experiment with 28 children with autism, aged from six to fifteen years.

According to the results of a study published in the journal Child Development, none of the healthy children at the age of one year yawned in response Helt. Only one child aged two years and two three-year-olds repeated the yawn.

Scientists observed a striking jump in four-year-olds - yawning spread to 9 out of 20 children. The children of the older groups reacted in a similar way.

In the second part of their study, the scientists found that The contagiousness of yawning decreased in children with the most severe forms of autism.

Robert Provin suggests that the study's findings, in addition to helping to diagnose and understand autism, bring overdue attention to fundamental and unconscious behavior, an area of psychology long ignored by scientists.

According to him, yawning is a process rooted deep in the essence of our being, in the ability to empathize, the primary form of social communication.

We yawn when we wake up in the morning and fall asleep in the evening. We yawn during boring meetings and during long pauses. We yawn as soon as someone nearby yawns.
It would seem that such a habitual reflex or ritual. But it’s surprising: researchers are still confused about the reasons for its appearance.

What is yawning?

Yawning is a breathing process that occurs involuntarily with a long, deep inhalation and a relatively quick exhalation. The mouth, as a rule, is wide open and this breathing action is accompanied by a peculiar sound, and for some, tears also appear reflexively.

The process of yawning is in most cases a normal physiological phenomenon that appears when there is a lack of oxygen, stressful situations, overwork, but it can be a sign of certain diseases in the body.

Causes

The most common version is that yawning is a protective mechanism that allows the brain to relieve fatigue by invigorating itself with a fresh dose of oxygen, and at the same time getting rid of excess carbon dioxide. Statistics and research support this hypothesis: people are most likely to yawn at times when their gray matter is tired and clearly in need of rest - for example, in the evening after a hard day at work, during a boring meeting, or during an overly complex lecture.

A yawn is essentially the same as inhaling, allowing the lungs and blood to become saturated with oxygen. However, as it turned out, people yawn even if they are given pure oxygen for breathing - that is, the reflex opening of the mouth is in no way associated with hypoxia (lack of oxygen). With what then?

Yawning is needed to cool the brain, one of the newest and increasingly popular theories tells us. A computer or laptop, for example, cannot function without a built-in fan: under heavy load, the processor overheats and, if it is not cooled in time, may fail. Our gray matter works on a similar principle: with prolonged or intense work, its temperature rises, which impairs connections between neurons and ultimately has a destructive effect on thinking. Therefore, the brain needs cooling - this can be facilitated by an open window or a walk in the park, a glass of cool water, or (since neither the walk nor the glass is shining) a sweet yawn.

In principle, the cooling theory is confirmed by experiments. For example, volunteers who had an ice compress applied to their forehead while watching boring movies yawned 2 times less often than a group of volunteers without a cooling compress. So, if you feel like you're gaping, be sure to note: Your brain is overheated and would benefit from a walk in the fresh air.

Why yawning is contagious

To make sure that yawning cannot have simple explanations, it is enough to remember the well-known fact: this reflex is contagious. As soon as someone yawns, an epidemic of yawning covers the majority of those around them.

This cannot be explained either by oxygen starvation or overheating of the brain, because everyone’s physiological processes occur individually, which means they cannot be simultaneous. This means that the reflex has some other meaning. And he was actually discovered after stumbling upon another fact.

Yawning in people begins not only with visual contact with someone yawning nearby: often, to start the process, you just need to think about yawning, read about it, or hear the specific sound of yawning. It follows from this that a reflex is not always a physiological process, but also a mental one.

After conducting research, scientists came to the conclusion that yawning is contagious due to mirror neurons. They are located in the layer of gray matter of the brain not only of people, but also of some animals and birds and are endowed with the property of empathy - they begin to get excited when we see the actions of others. These neurons are responsible for the ability to imitate (for example, when learning foreign languages) and empathize. They force us to consciously experience the emotions of other people, which is actually called empathy.

Roughly speaking: You yawn means you have empathy and are able to function in social groups. It is assumed that our ancient ancestors in this way determined “their own” - those with whom they could play in a team. By the way, as experiments show, children under 4 years of age and those who suffer from autism are not subject to mirror yawning: they have not yet learned to act according to social laws. However, interesting facts about yawning are not limited to this.

Yawning can be “infected” both from person to person and from person to dog. Research by Swedish scientists proves that dogs can yawn when yawning people come into their field of vision, and the older the dog, the more prone it is to reflexive imitation, and yawning is not transmitted to puppies less than 7 months of age.

If we talk about spontaneous, non-imitative yawning, then different animals have their own reasons for it. The same dogs often “reflect” when they are nervous - for example, when they find themselves in an unusual environment. While waiting for lunch at the zoo, the lions begin to yawn intensely. Hyenas - when preparing to attack a victim. Many monkeys, by opening their mouths wide, show their superiority in a pack of relatives. Birds, turtles, crocodiles, snakes yawn from time to time...

But herbivores yawn much less often than cold-blooded and carnivorous animals. For example, it is extremely rare to see a horse, cow, camel or hare yawning. This, by the way, leads scientists to the idea that yawning may be somehow connected with the level of intellectual development: those creatures whose IQ is higher yawn more often than “silly ones.”

What could frequent yawning be a sign of?

Frequent yawning in itself cannot be a sign of any disease. Its appearance can be triggered by lack of sleep, fatigue, stress, nervousness, overeating, and boredom. In this case, this is a normal reaction of the body to such factors. Once they are removed, yawning will return to normal. By the way, a person yawns at least 10 times during the day.

The presence of other symptoms with frequent yawning may be a sign of illness. For example, with constant drowsiness and frequent yawning, a possible diagnosis is vegetative-vascular dystonia or cardiac arrhythmia.

Dizziness with blurred vision, increased body temperature along with frequent yawning may be a harbinger of an epileptic seizure.

How to overcome yawning?

There are situations when yawning is inappropriate. There are several ways to deal with it:

When the next yawn approaches, you need to take a deep breath through your mouth and exhale through your nose.
Many people find that taking a sip of water or wetting their lips with it helps.
Adequate sleep prevents frequent yawning.
Exercising will keep the body alert, saturating it with oxygen. You can do squats, push-ups or other physical exercises to tone your body.
Proper nutrition and drinking the required amount of water throughout the day prevents frequent yawning.
Don't slouch. Smooth posture contributes to the full filling of the lungs with oxygen. When your back is bent, the diaphragm is not completely saturated with air, which can cause increased yawning.
Walking in the fresh air, ventilating the room, and quitting smoking will help get rid of causeless yawning.

Video: Why do people yawn?

It is important to understand that yawning is a natural positive breathing action that activates the body and is not in itself a sign of illness. So the attitude towards the phrase “Don’t yawn!” It's worth reconsidering a bit. Yawn and be healthy.

Even the thought of yawning can make us do it. And that's what everyone does, so don't try to stifle a yawn. Because if you want to yawn, it means your body absolutely needs it.

You probably know that yawning is one of the most contagious activities in the world. But why? Let's find out below.

Why does a person yawn (and no, it's not about oxygen)

Let's start with this, because this may already clarify something. There are many theories on the topic, one of the most popular among which is that yawning helps the body receive more oxygen (and, accordingly, we yawn when there is not enough of it). But this theory, if you didn’t know, has been debunked.

At the same time, the most scientifically substantiated theory to date suggests that we yawn to regulate our brain temperature.

A 2014 study published in the journal Physiology & Behavior examined the yawning habits of 120 people. As a result, it turned out that people where . Why? Obviously, the authors explain, because when the brain temperature deviates significantly from normal, yawning helps cool our most important organ.

Indeed, if we take this into account, then all the situations in which we usually yawn are associated precisely with brain temperature. So, for example, we yawn when you're tired- as a result of vigorous activity, the brain slows down and its temperature increases. Or when we're bored- the brain no longer feels, and therefore, again, it slows down. And also - when we see someone nearby yawn. In this case, this may be explained by the fact that we are in the same (most likely warm and relaxing) environment as the yawning person.

Why is it so easy to get infected with yawning?

However, as for, this, as we know, does not necessarily happen between people in the same room. So, we can start yawning if the other person on Skype yawned. Or when we watch a video of people yawning. And this list, of course, can be continued.

According to a study conducted at Baylor University, when you yawn in response to a yawn, you are showing empathy and affection. An experiment involving 135 volunteers, the results of which were published in the journal Personality and Individual Differences, found that the taller a person is, the less likely he or she is to yawn after seeing someone else yawn.

However, scientists specifically note that the results should not be generalized. In other words, just because someone doesn't respond to a yawn doesn't necessarily mean they have sociopathic traits.

Why is yawning contagious? Have you noticed this? After all, as soon as someone yawns, everyone around them begins to do the same. Even if there is absolutely no reason for this. So why is yawning contagious? Scientists have tried to figure it out...

Why is yawning contagious? Observations

What do doctors say? Their very first belief in the question of why yawning is contagious is the following thought: people who do not know how to empathize are prone to it, that is, rigid individuals who are unable to imagine themselves in the place of someone else.

“Why is yawning contagious?” - many people ask. Yes, it is, of course, closely related to the “foreplay of sleep.” But, still, why do people who, it would seem, don’t even want to sleep, yawn?

One of the theories is quite unusual. Once upon a time, people lived in whole packs, like chimpanzees. And they were only supposed to go to bed at the same time. Yawning served as a signal to them that it was time to sleep. The yawn of each neighbor was a signal for the person to yawn himself. After which - go to sleep. By the way, herd animals have also done this for a long time.

Contagious yawning, by the way, is observed between animals and people. As soon as the owner yawns, the dog repeats it. The fact is that dogs tend to empathize with their human owner. They understand all his gestures and views.

Domino effect

Why do people yawn and why is yawning contagious? It would seem that you do not feel very tired. However, as soon as someone yawns, you also open your mouth in a long yawn. This phenomenon is called “contagious yawn.” Its origin, in principle, has not yet been clarified by scientists. However, several hypotheses still exist.

One of them claims that a contagious yawn is provoked by certain stimuli. This is called an established pattern of action. The sample works simultaneously as a reflex and a domino effect. That is, a yawn from an outsider literally forces another person who happens to witness this event to do the same. Most importantly, this reflex cannot be resisted. Just like the beginning of a yawn. In a word, the situation is very interesting.

Chameleon effect

Let's look at the second physiological reason why yawning is so contagious. It is known as the chameleon effect, or unconscious mimicry. Someone else's behavior serves as the basis for its unintentional imitation. People tend to borrow poses and gestures from each other. For example, your interlocutor crosses his legs on the contrary. And you will do the same without even noticing it.

This happens, apparently, due to a special set of mirror neurons, sharpened to copy other people’s actions, which are extremely important for self-awareness and learning. A person can learn certain physical practices (knitting, applying lipstick, etc.) by watching someone else do it. It has been proven that when we hear or contemplate someone else's yawn, we activate our mirror neurons.

The psychological reason is also based on the action of mirror neurons. It's called the "empathy yawn." That is, this is the ability to share and understand other people's emotions, which is extremely important for people.

Not long ago, neuroscientists found that mirror neurons give a person the opportunity to experience empathy at the deepest level. The study investigated whether dogs could respond to the sounds of human yawns. As it turned out, animals often pay attention to the familiar yawning of their owners.

Results

And finally. Yawning is contagious and very beneficial. This phenomenon is quite mysterious. Why is it needed at all? Some believe that this is a great way to increase the amount of oxygen in the blood. Accordingly, for cheerfulness. Others claim that yawning lowers the temperature of the brain, cooling it. But it’s still difficult to say why it’s contagious.

By the way, this applies not only to yawning. Contagious phenomena are also panic, inspiration, laughter and many of our other states. Remember that man is a “herd animal.” That is why his “herd instincts” are very well developed.

Thus, certain conclusions can be drawn. Yawning is truly contagious, and it is almost impossible to resist the urge to yawn in the presence of a sleepy person. All the reasons are in our psychology, in the characteristics of our brain and thinking. In general, the human body, as usual, never ceases to amaze us!

05.07.2007

The average yawn lasts 6 seconds

Yawning is more likely to keep us awake than it is a sign of sleepiness, say US researchers. But why, when we see a person yawning, do we also want to yawn? Yawning is an involuntary action that everyone does. We start yawning even before we are born, and most creatures on the planet yawn too - even snakes and fish.

New research shows that yawning is not a sign of sleepiness, but is needed to cool the brain so it can work more efficiently and to keep us awake. Their theory provides an answer to this puzzling question - why do so many of us yawn when we see someone else yawning, or even when we just read or think about it?

And a few years ago, British researchers conducted experiments. For example, you placed control persons in the reception area. And then one of the research group added incognito and yawned demonstratively long and wide. Have researchers noticed who cooperates and who doesn't? They then administered a psychological test to the same subjects, testing someone's ability to read into someone else's mood. And it turns out that people who are infected by the yawning of another person who is also a high Empathievert have strong empathy.

You may also be interested in the following answers

Question of the week: Why is yawning contagious?

As soon as a man yawns with his teeth, what he does in turn. But what is the purpose of synchronous mouth tearing? The behavioral biology clinician asks himself two questions: “Is this really true?” And why?" In addition to all areas of science, he also enjoys music and British thrillers. The study of religion and faith is recommended by atheists as well as Jesuits.

According to this theory, when we yawn at the sight of someone else doing so, we are participating in an ancient, “hard-wired” ritual that evolved to help groups stay alert and recognize danger.

"Herd instinct"

This has nothing to do with copying another person's behavior, say scientists from the University of Albany in New York, who are conducting this research.

We got angry when we were tired, bored - or yawned. These triggers are well documented. But what the purpose of the wide mouth gap is is not yet clear. Of course, only one thing: the reaction to oxygen deficiency - unlike what is often said - no. But be careful: our decision may be premature.

Recently, researchers at the State University of New York at Albany reported that yawning promotes heat exchange in the brain. Andrew and Gordon Gallup noticed that subjects who breathed through their nose were prevented from yawning - unlike subjects with nose braces. And even a cold object pressed to the forehead prevents yawning.

"We believe that the contagiousness of yawning depends on emotional mechanisms that serve to maintain group vigilance," said Dr. Gordon Gallup, lead researcher at the university.

This view is also supported by observations made by Robert Provine of the University of Maryland, which found that paratroopers yawn before jumping.

"There is a widespread assumption that yawning is disrespectful to others and a sign of boredom," Gallups said. “But it appears to reflect a mechanism that maintains awareness.” And when asked about the causes of contagion, scientists also give the answer: “If someone yawns in a group because their thinking is slowing down, a contagion effect may occur to keep the group alert.”

According to Banninger, the contagious effect of gaping can have a synchronous effect on changing the calm and activity in a group - according to the motto: One is tired - everyone is tired. A different approach is being taken by researchers from the University of Leeds. “We believe that contagious yawning is an indicator of empathy,” Catriona Morrison and her team told the British Association Science Festival in York. “This indicates that the behavior and mental health of other people matters a lot.”

But there are other theories. It is assumed that the contagiousness of yawning may be caused by a subconscious herd instinct - an imperceptible way of communicating with others, just as flocks of birds take off at the same time.

Another theory explains that yawning may have helped ancient people express their alertness and coordinate sleep times. Those. if someone decided that it was time to sleep, he would let others know by yawning, and they would respond in kind, showing that they agreed.

British scientists placed subjects in a full waiting room. There they were subjected to a massive attack by onlookers. What the subjects didn't know: the tired man who opened his mouth ten times for ten minutes belonged to the research group. And his colleagues calculated how often study participants were infected.

Subjects then participated in a test of their ability to interpret the emotional expressions of others. Those who were previously more angry performed particularly well on this dimension of empathic ability. British researchers confirmed the results of their tests, which were previously obtained by Steven Platek and his team from Drexel University in Philadelphia. Platek showed his stories of people yawning and found that those who had great immunity to mouth rupture showed little sympathy.

According to researchers from the University of Kyoto, Japan, contagious yawning is also observed among chimpanzees. They are supposed to be the only creatures other than humans to have this trait. Other members of the animal kingdom, including birds, snakes and hippos, yawn for other reasons. Dogs, for example, yawn to stay calm in certain situations, says Turid Rugaas, author of On Talking Terms with Dogs.

By the way, chimpanzees can also become infected by the yawning of their fellows. An obvious sign, some researchers now suspect that our close relatives also have a certain amount of empathy. By the way, the infection process supposedly depends on the so-called mirror neurons that are equipped in the brains of humans and monkeys. These nerve cells are active when you perform an action yourself and when you just observe it. They perform the behavior internally, so to speak. And this is the first step towards unconscious imitation.

So if someone yawns loudly at your slide party in the future, just interpret it to mean that he or she is at least trying to follow your comments with purpose. If the pharynx spreads quickly among guests, be grateful for such compassionate friends. And then prepare yourself internally for the entire round so that you can start soon.

If you read the article to the end and did not yawn even once, then you should not think that you are an exception. In fact, only about half of adults are prone to contagious yawning!

But the fact that Reinhold Messner conquered Mount Everest without blundering makes this opinion very dubious. But why is it so contagious? In one of their experiments, some subjects received pure oxygen to breathe. They yawned as often as those who breathed normal air.

People who suffer from yawning are empathetic and compassionate individuals, say researchers from the University of New York at Albany. American psychologists showed subjects a video of people yawning. They recorded how often the guinea pigs yawned. In addition, the researchers conducted additional psychological tests with the subjects.

Why is yawning contagious? Observations

The result of the study was very surprising: those people who were not infected by the yawning in the video may also have been exposed to other people in other test situations. They could barely sense the mood of others. Test subjects who yawned frequently were able to improve themselves in others' moods. Researchers suspect that yapping is a way to unconsciously show sympathy for another, to be an ally with him.

People with mental illness or personality disorders cannot be moved into yawning at all. With these illnesses, people have extreme difficulty recognizing others' emotions. Yawning is supposed to be a kind of communication, a “dumb” language.

The same applies to evolutionary biologists. In her opinion, yawning in the selfless primeval time of man served to synchronize group activity. Yawning, according to this hypothesis, led to more intense activity, such as hunting. This was probably an invitation to the other members of the group to go hunting together.

Are you accusing you of a test testimony? People with psychopathic personalities are less prone to horror than others. But be careful: Not everyone who doesn't join is automatically a psychopath, the researchers say. Everyone knows how contagious yawning can be: when someone in a group starts to yawn, they quickly jump on other bystanders. On her own, and even let herself become infected with strange yawning. "You may yawn even when you don't need to," says Brian Rundle of Baylor University in Waco, Texas.

Domino effect

Contagious gestures are considered a sign of empathy: those who especially like to feel like they are seeing make themselves yawn. To test his hypothesis, Rundle first asked 135 students to answer a standardized questionnaire. Instead, there are a number of distinct typical psychopathic traits.

Electrodes show impulse to pharynx

In this way, the scientists were able to see how strong the impulse to yawn was for the study participants through the faces shown. And indeed, the experiment confirmed the assumption: those who previously showed weak empathy in the psycho-test could also be infected less often by Janens.

Neurological link between gestures and psychopathy

However, the study clarifies the connections, the researcher says: "What we've learned tells us that there is a neurological link between psychopathy and contagious breakup," Rundle says. “This is a good starting point to ask more questions.”

When we see a person gaping, we often feel an overwhelming desire to do the same. This curious phenomenon of contamination has long fascinated researchers. It is already known that yawning is also contagious among our closest relatives in the animal kingdom - the monkey. But then he joined the dog in the Meath Ghanera community. However, in this context, it was suspected that it might have something to do with the domestication of four-legged friends. However, now researchers have noticed that even a wolf can become infected by yawning.

Chameleon effect

The contagiousness of gaping has a social dimension; studies have already shown: the phenomenon reflects the creature’s ability to empathize with its colleague - to feel sympathy. When we see a person yawning, we feel the sensation and react with the same behavior. The more familiar someone is, the stronger the desire to mirror their behavior. This is also true for the contagiousness of gaping among chimpanzees and dogs.

The fact that chimpanzees, who are so similar to us, exhibit this behavior does not seem so surprising. But in the case of a dog, this is quite possible. So it was previously speculated that it might have something to do with the domestication of man's best friend. In this context, it is already known that social behavior differs between the dog and its wild predecessor, the wolf. But as the observations of researchers around Teresa Romero of the University of Tokyo show, it's not like social yawning.

Apparently no domestication effect in the dog

To study them, researchers filmed wolf packs of twelve animals at a Japanese zoo over a five-month period. They recorded in pictures which animal yawned and whether it was nocturnal. After their assessments, scientists came to the conclusion: even with wolves, yawning is contagious, and even with them, the closer the animals are, the stronger the effect. Observations have shown that women are usually infected especially intensively.

"The result suggests that contagious yawning is a heritage we share with other creatures, and that this behavior reflects the emotional connection between people," says Romero. However, one aspect of the history of contagious yawning remains unclear for the wolf: chimpanzees and dogs can also be infected across the species barrier by human yawning. So perhaps there are more experiments with gaping people and wolves as observers.

The yawning continues, but not all

Moreover, he is more familiar with another person. The closer we are to a person, the more contagious his gaping is for us. This was discovered by a research team from the University of Pisa and the Institute of Cognitive Science and Technology in Rome. According to this, familiarity with gaping is primarily responsible for the contagiousness of gaping.

To study them, scientists observed 109 men and women in Europe, North America, Asia and Africa in everyday situations. At the same time, they recorded both the relationships between people and how often they yawned. Using a cell phone, they recorded who yawned, when and where, and who was infected by that yawn.