Haven't you always wondered why you yawn? What it was? Why it always seemed to happen right before you went to sleep, and sometimes when you awoke? Why is was seemingly involuntary? Why other primates used it as to communicate? I have.
Well, Rob Shmerling, of Harvard Health Publications seems to have provided us with some answers. In an article recently written he points out that it is contagious, it is associated with the stretching of the muscles, and that a fetus yawns in as early as 11 weeks. This information seems to point towards biological nessesity, slash, natural social connection.
That means that yawning has to do with some sort of natural primate behavior. Other primates yawn. On a side bar, it is theorized that the action is primative non-verbal communication to be left alone for sleep. This theory is not completely wrong, but it leaves out the fact that we also do it when we awake, and it seems that it is contagious.
What ever scientific explanation provided, present day society is not a fan. To go a bit further, the only time you see a person yawning is on TMZtv. Yawning is one of those rarely talked about things. Those primitave human elements that connect us to other animals living on this earth. The subject seems taboo. Think about it. People usually cover their mouths when doing it. Like to subconsciously signal that their actions shouldn't be seen.
Until I had read Rob Shmerling's article, I had not known that a fetus yawns. It only takes 11 weeks. That's only two and a half months. Shmerling later goes into yawning's connections with brain disorders, and mental desease. I had known a little about this. He basically said that
"Believe it or not, yawning may be a sign of disease. Although rarely the first sign, excessive yawning has been observed among people with multiple sclerosis, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, also called Lou Gehrig’s disease), following radiation injury (as during radiation therapy), and among people treated for Parkinson's disease. Rarely, it may even signal the onset of migraine headache. On the other hand, yawning seems to occur less frequently among people with schizophrenia."
Maybe then that means that yawning is connected with nervous system activity. Maybe it signals a low output of brain activity. That would expain the fact that person's with say Parkinson's desease would increasingly yawn, while a person with schizophrenia would yawn less. Accually that would also provide answers for yawning being contagious. When bored, and daydreaming the brain is accually halucinating. It is a mechanism to occupy itself. Almost like a screen saver.
What if yawning was simply a product of the brain on auto pilot, and the fact that it seemed contagious was only due to the fact that the subjects in the studies are kept in the same room silently. Assuming that the subjects are of similar physical and mental condition, wouldn't they get really bored in relatively the same time? Making it seem like the first to yawn would some how cause the second yawn. When really they both just experienced the same situation, incresing the chances of yawning in the same time.
Whatever yawning is, it remains an interesting look back at our roots as the human race. It is something that our future generations will undoubtedly share with us, along with its public disdain. And it will continually connect us with other present day animals; providing us with more questions than possible answers. Harvard's Rob Shmerling in closing, had this to say.
The Bottom Line
"Don’t take it personally if someone yawns in your face. While it is possible they are bored, tired or trying to send you a message, there’s plenty about yawning we do not yet understand. Maybe they just want to be left alone, need to stretch out the small airways of their lungs, or are preparing to focus even more closely on what you are saying. Then again, maybe you should take a hint and put away those slides of your summer vacation."
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