Have
you ever pondered why you yawn after you see another person yawn?

Experts
aren’t sure why yawns are so contagious, which is similar to the riddle
surrounding why we yawn. What is known is that spontaneous yawning is an
ancient, evolutionarily conserved trait shared by many vertebrate creatures,
regardless of why it occurs.

Everyone
yawns from time to time. You should not strive to suppress a yawn because your
body requires it. Yawning is one of our body’s most uncontrolled activities.

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Why
do we yawn when we are tired?

When
you’re fatigued, you yawn because your brain is slowing down. It causes a drop
in brain temperature.

Why
do we yawn when we are bored?

When
you’re bored, you yawn because your brain isn’t active and begins to slow down,
resulting in a reduction in temperature.

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Why
do we yawn when we see others yawning?

According
to a Baylor University study, yawning when you watch someone else yawn is a
positive thing since it shows empathy and camaraderie. Contagious yawning may
be a social communication strategy unique to higher-order animals, according to
specialists.

In
the framework of the brain-cooling theory of yawning (it states that because of
the counter-current heat exchange with deep breath of ambient air, yawns help
to cool the brain), it’s possible that yawning developed to become contagious
as a way for people in a group to improve their cognitive function and
attentiveness. While this may seem foolish in today’s society, it may have been
a crucial collective activity for our cave-dwelling ancestors who needed to
keep attentive as a group to survive.

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While
it’s unclear what yawning actually means, some researchers feel that its
contagious nature can be used to exhibit empathy and match people’s emotional
states. In fact, according to a recent study, we’re more likely to experience
contagious yawning with our closest friends than with strangers.

So,
the next time you yawn, consider if you’re weary, bored, or neither, and
whether you’re yawning on your own or because something is bothering you.
Perhaps you have a different theory?