Why is Yawning Contagious?
Article Sources
- 1. Rundle, Brian K., et al. 'Contagious Yawning and Psychopathy.' Personality and Individual Differences, Pergamon, 5 June 2015, www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0191886915003645
- 2. Carey, Teresa. 'Why Are Yawns Contagious? We Asked a Scientist.' PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, 17 July 2018, www.pbs.org/newshour/science/why-are-yawns-contagious-we-asked-a-scientist#:~:text=What is known is that,imitate the actions of others
- 3. AC;, Massen JJ;Dusch K;Eldakar OT;Gallup. 'A Thermal Window for Yawning in Humans: Yawning as a Brain Cooling Mechanism.' Physiology & Behavior, U.S. National Library of Medicine, pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24721675/
- 4. Norscia, Ivan, et al. 'Auditory Contagious Yawning Is Highest Between Friends and Family Members: Support to the Emotional Bias Hypothesis.' Frontiers in Psychology, Frontiers Media S.A., 3 Apr. 2020, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7147458/
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- 6. Featured Neuroscience Psychology, May 22, 2018, et al. 'Why Do We Yawn and Why Is Yawning So Contagious?' Neuroscience News, 22 May 2018, neurosciencenews.com/yawning-contagious-9112/
- 7. St. Louis Public Radio | By Eli Chen. 'Contagious Yawning, Laughing and Scratching Gives Clues to How the Human Brain Works.' St. Louis Public Radio, 27 Mar. 2017, news.stlpublicradio.org/health-science-environment/2017-03-25/contagious-yawning-laughing-and-scratching-gives-clues-to-how-the-human-brain-works
- 8. 'Yawning: Causes and Reasons for Contagious Yawning.' Medical News Today, MediLexicon International, www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/318414#Can-one-yawn-too-much
How To Prevent Excessive Yawning
Unless it's a symptom of an underlying disorder, there are ways to stifle yawns that seem to be occurring too often. Sometimes, the body may be yawning to try to bring in more oxygen. Taking some deep breaths through the nose to help increase the oxygen level in the blood can sometimes stop yawns.8‘Yawning: Causes and Reasons for Contagious Yawning.’ Medical News Today, MediLexicon International, www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/318414#Can-one-yawn-too-much
If yawning is due to boredom or fatigue, getting up and moving may help end the case of the yawns.
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