Joseph Ducreux yawning; self-portrait ca 1783

A yawn (from the Middle English yanen, an alteration of yonen or yenen, which in turn comes from the Old English geonian^[1]), is a reflex of deep inhalation and exhalation of breath. Pandiculation is the term for the act of stretching and yawning simultaneously.^[2] Yawn or yawning may refer to: A yawn is a reflex of deep inhalation and exhalation associated with being tired, with a need to sleep, or from lack of stimulation. ... Image File history File links Ducreuxyawn. ... Image File history File links Ducreuxyawn. ... Self-portrait, ca. ... Middle English is the name given by historical linguistics to the diverse forms of the English language spoken between the Norman invasion of 1066 and the mid-to-late 15th century, when the Chancery Standard, a form of London-based English, began to become widespread, a process aided by the... Old English redirects here. ... For other uses, see Reflexive (disambiguation). ...

Yawning is associated with tiredness, stress, overwork, lack of stimulation, or boredom. Yawning can also be a powerful non-verbal message with several possible meanings, depending on the circumstances. In humans, yawning has the infectious quality, i.e. seeing a person yawning, or just thinking of yawning, can trigger yawning which is a typical example for positive feedback.^[3] The exact causes of yawning are still undetermined. The claim that yawning is caused by lack of oxygen has not been substantiated scientifically.^[4] Some claim that yawning is not caused by lack of oxygen, for the reason that yawning allegedly reduces oxygen intake compared to normal respiration.^[4] Another speculated reason for yawning is nervousness and is also claimed to help increase the state of alertness of a person - paratroopers have been noted to yawn in the moments before they exit the aircraft.[1] Fatigue is a feeling of excessive tiredness or lethargy, with a desire to rest, perhaps to sleep. ... Stress (roughly the opposite of relaxation) is a medical term for a wide range of strong external stimuli, both physiological and psychological, which can cause a physiological response called the general adaptation syndrome, first described in 1936 by Hans Selye in the journal Nature. ... Boring and Bored redirect here. ... Positive feedback is a mechanism by which an output is enhanced. ...

Hypothesized causes of yawning

1. The deep inhalation during a yawn is means of preventing alveolar collapse within the lung.
2. The deep inhalation while yawning stretches type II alveolar pneumocytes, which release the surfactant dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) into the layer of fluid on the alveolar surface.
3. A means of cooling the brain.^[5]
4. An action used as an unconscious communication of psychological decompression after a state of high alert.
5. An excess of carbon dioxide and lack of oxygen in the blood. [2]
6. A way of displaying (or indicative of) apathy.
7. Tiredness.
8. A means of equalizing middle ear pressure, which can be triggered by another's yawning.

In 2007, researchers from the University of Albany proposed that yawning may be a means to keep the brain cool. Mammalian brains operate best within a narrow temperature range. In two experiments, they demonstrated that both subjects with cold packs attached to their foreheads and subjects asked to breathe strictly nasally exhibited reduced contagious yawning when watching videos of people yawning.^[5][6] A similar recent hypothesis is that yawning is used for regulation of body temperature. Detailed drawing of the alveoli from Grays Anatomy, 1918 - Schematic longitudinal section of a primary lobule of the lung (anatomical unit); r. ... For the village in Tibet, see Lung, Tibet. ... The alveoli are lined with two types of cell, the Type I and Type II pneumocytes. ... Surfactants, also known as tensides, are wetting agents that lower the surface tension of a liquid, allowing easier spreading, and lower the interfacial tension between two liquids. ... Dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) is a phospholipid and the major constituent of pulmonary surfactant. ... Detailed drawing of the alveoli from Grays Anatomy, 1918 - Schematic longitudinal section of a primary lobule of the lung (anatomical unit); r. ... Carbon dioxide (chemical formula: ) is a chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom. ... This article is about the chemical element and its most stable form, or dioxygen. ... For other uses, see Blood (disambiguation). ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... The University at Albany, State University of New York, located in Albany, New York, USA, is one of four university centers of the State University of New York. ... Thermoregulation is the ability of an organism to keep its body temperature within certain boundaries, even when temperature surrounding is very different. ...

Another hypothesis is that yawns are caused by the same chemicals (neurotransmitters) in the brain that affect emotions, mood, appetite, and other phenomena. These chemicals include serotonin, dopamine, glutamic acid, and nitric oxide. As more (or less) of these compounds are activated in the brain, the frequency of yawning increases. Conversely, a greater presence in the brain of opiate neurotransmitters such as endorphins reduces the frequency of yawning. Patients taking the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors Paxil (paroxetine HCl) or Celexa (citalopram) have been observed yawning more often. Excessive yawning is more common during the first three months of taking the SSRI's. Anecdotal reports by users of psilocybin mushrooms often describe a marked stimulation of yawning while intoxicated, often associated with excess lacrimation and nasal mucosal stimulation, especially while "peaking" (i.e., undergoing the most intense portion of the psilocybin experience). While opioids have been demonstrated to reduce this yawning and lacrimation provoked by psilocybin, it is not clear that the same pathways that induce yawning as a symptom of opioid abstinence in habituated users are the mode of action in yawning in mushroom users. While even opioid-dependent users of psilocybin on stable opioid therapy often report yawning and excess lacrimation while undergoing this entheogenic mushroom experience, there are no reports in the literature of habituated users experiencing other typical opioid withdrawal symptoms such as cramping, physical pain, anxiety, gooseflesh, etc. on mushrooms For other uses, see Brain (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Emotion (disambiguation). ... Look up mood in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The appetite is the desire to eat food, felt as hunger. ... For the professional wrestling stable, see Ravens Nest#Serotonin. ... For other uses, see Dopamine (disambiguation). ... Glutamic acid (Glu, E), is the protonated form of glutamate (the anion). ... R-phrases , , , , S-phrases , , , Except where noted otherwise, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 Â°C, 100 kPa) Infobox disclaimer and references Nitric oxide or Nitrogen monoxide is a chemical compound with chemical formula NO. This gas is an important signaling molecule in the body of... For other uses, see Brain (disambiguation). ... For other uses see Opiate (disambiguation), or for the class of drugs see Opioid. ... Chemical structure of D-aspartic acid, a common amino acid neurotransmitter. ... For other uses, see Endorphin (disambiguation). ... For the professional wrestling stable, see Ravens Nest#Serotonin. ... Paroxetine (Paxil, Seroxat, Pexeva) is a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressant. ... Citalopram is an antidepressant drug used to treat depression associated with mood disorders. ... Psychedelic mushrooms redirects here. ... Tears trickling down the cheeks Lacrimation is the bodys process of producing tears, which are a liquid to clean and lubricate the eyes. ... Psilocybin (also known as psilocybine) is a psychedelic alkaloid of the tryptamine family, found in psilocybin mushrooms. ... An opioid is a chemical substance that has a morphine-like action in the body. ... This entry covers entheogens as psychoactive substances used in a religious or shamanic context. ...

Recent research carried out by Catriona Morrison, a lecturer in psychology at the University of Leeds, involving monitoring the behaviour of students kept waiting in a reception area, indicates a connection (supported by neuro-imaging research) between empathic ability and yawning. "We believe that contagious yawning indicates empathy. It indicates an appreciation of other people's behavioural and physiological state," said Morrison.^[7] The University of Leeds is a major teaching and research university, one of the largest in the United Kingdom with over 32,000 full-time students. ...

Yet another theory is that yawning occurs to stabilize pressure on either side of the ear drums. The deep intake of air can sometimes cause a popping sound that only the yawner can hear; this is the pressure on the middle ear such as inside an airplane and when travelling up and down hills, which cause the eardrums to be bent instead of flat. Some people yawn when storms approach, which is a sure sign that changes in pressure affect them.

Some movements in psychotherapy, such as Re-evaluation Counseling or co-counselling treatments, believe that yawning, along with laughter and crying, are means of "discharging" painful emotion, and therefore can be encouraged in order to promote physical and emotional changes. Psychotherapy is an interpersonal, relational intervention used by trained psychotherapists to aid clients in problems of living. ... Re-evaluation Counseling, or RC is the worlds major organization for Co-counseling. ... Co-counselling (spelled co-counseling in US English) is a grass-roots, low-cost method of personal change based on reciprocal peer counselling. ... Two girls laughing Laughter is an audible expression or appearance of merriment or amusement or an inward feeling of joy and pleasure (laughing on the inside). ... Crying may refer to: Tears Sadness Crying The Neck a harvest festival. ...

Yawning behaviour may be altered as a result of medical issues such as diabetes^[8] and adrenal conditions.^[9]

Contagiousness

The yawn reflex is often described as contagious: if one person yawns, this will cause another person to "sympathetically" yawn.^[4][10] Observing another person's yawning face (especially his/her eyes), or even reading about or thinking about yawning, can cause a person to yawn. You have probably already yawned if you are reading this page. ^{[4] [11] [12]} The proximate cause for contagious yawning may lie with mirror neurons, i.e., neurons in the frontal cortex of certain vertebrates, which upon being exposed to a stimulus from conspecific (same species) and occasionally interspecific organisms, activates the same regions in the brain.^[13] Mirror neurons have been proposed as a driving force for imitation which lies at the root of much human learning, e.g., language acquisition. Yawning may be an offshoot of the same imitative impulse. A 2007 study found that children with autism spectrum disorder do not increase their yawning frequency after seeing videos of other people yawning, in contrast to typically developing children. This supports the claim that contagious yawning is based on the capacity for empathy.^[14] In the law, a proximate cause is an event sufficiently related to a legally recognizable injury to be held the cause of that injury. ... Locations of mirror neurons A mirror neuron is a neuron which fires both when an animal performs an action and when the animal observes the same action performed by another (especially conspecific) animal. ... The frontal lobe is an area in the brains of vertebrates. ... Conspecificity is a concept in biology. ... Imitation is an advanced animal behaviour whereby an individual observes anothers behaviour and replicates it itself. ... For the academic journal, see Language Acquisition: A Journal of Developmental Linguistics. ...

To look at the issue in terms of evolutionary advantage, if there is one at all, yawning might be a herd instinct.^[15] Other theories suggest that the yawn serves to synchronize mood gregarious animals, similar to the howling of the wolf pack. It signals tiredness to other members of the group in order to synchronize sleeping patterns and periods of. This phenomenon has been observed among various primates. The threat gesture is a way of maintaining order in the primates' social structure. Specific studies were conducted on chimpanzees^[16] and stumptail macaques^[17] A group of these animals was shown a video of other conspecifics yawning; both species yawned as well. This helps to partly confirm a yawn's "contagiousness." The herding instinct in humans may have some connection with group behaviours in other animals The so-called herding instinct is a social tendency in humans to identify with and model many behaviors and beliefs after a larger group of individuals with whom they identify. ... Social relation can refer to a multitude of social interactions, regulated by social norms, between two or more people, with each having a social position and performing a social role. ... Wolf Wolf Man Mount Wolf Wolf Prizes Wolf Spider Wolf 424 Wolf 359 Wolf Point Wolf-herring Frank Wolf Friedrich Wolf Friedrich August Wolf Hugo Wolf Johannes Wolf Julius Wolf Max Franz Joseph Cornelius Wolf Maximilian Wolf Rudolf Wolf Thomas Wolf As Name Wolf Breidenbach Wolf Hirshorn Other The call... For the ecclesiastical use of this term, see primate (religion) Families 13, See classification A primate is any member of the biological order Primates, the group that contains all lemurs, monkeys, and apes, including humans. ...

Gordon Gallup, who hypothesizes that yawning may be a means of keeping the brain cool, also hypothesizes that "contagious" yawning may be a survival instinct inherited from our evolutionary past. "During human evolutionary history when we were subject to predation and attacks by other groups, if everybody yawns in response to seeing someone yawn, the whole group becomes much more vigilant, and much better at being able to detect danger."^[5]

A yawning cat

My cat yawning. ... My cat yawning. ... Binomial name Felis catus Linnaeus, 1758 Synonyms Felis lybica invalid junior synonym The cat (or domestic cat, house cat) is a small carnivorous mammal. ...

Non-human yawning

In non-human animals, yawning can serve as a warning signal. For example, Charles Darwin, in his book The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals, mentioned that baboons use yawn to threaten their enemies, possibly by displaying large, canine teeth. Similarly, Siamese Fighting Fish yawn only when they see a conspecific (same species) or their own mirror-image, and their yawn often accompanies aggressive attack.^[18] Guinea Pigs also yawn in a display of dominance or anger, displaying their impressive incisor teeth, this is often accompanied by teeth chattering, purring and scent marking. Adelie Penguins employ yawning as part of their courtship ritual. Penguin couples face off and the males engage in what is described as an "ecstatic display," their beaks open wide and their faces pointed skyward. This trait has also been seen among Emperor Penguins. Researchers have been attempting to discover why these two different species share this trait, despite not sharing a habitat.^{[citation needed]}. For other people of the same surname, and places and things named after Charles Darwin, see Darwin. ... The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals is a book by the British naturalist Charles Darwin published in 1872, on how animals and humans express and signal to others their emotions. ... For other uses, see Baboon (disambiguation). ... The Canine teeth are the long, pointed teeth used for grabbing hold of and tearing apart foods, also called cuspids, dogteeth or fangs. Species that feature them, such as humans and dogs, usually have four, two in the top jaw, two in the lower, on either side of the Incisors. ... Binomial name Regan, 1910 The Siamese fighting fish (Betta splendens) is one of the most popular species of freshwater aquarium fish, native to the Mekong basin in Southeast Asia and called pla-kad in its native Thailand. ... Conspecificity is a concept in biology. ... Species Cavia porcellus Cavia aperea Cavia tschudii Cavia guianae Cavia anolaimae Cavia nana Cavia fulgida Cavia magna Guinea pigs (also called cavies) are rodents belonging to the family Caviidae and the genus Cavia. ... Binomial name (Hombron & Jacquinot, 1841) Adélie Penguins at Cape Adare The Adélie Penguin, Pygoscelis adeliae is common along the entire Antarctic coast and nearby islands. ... Suitor redirects here. ... The beak, bill or rostrum is an external anatomical structure of birds which, in addition to eating, is used for grooming, manipulating objects, killing prey, probing for food, courtship, and feeding their young. ... Binomial name Aptenodytes forsteri Gray, 1844 The Emperor Penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri) is the largest of all penguins. ... For other uses, see Species (disambiguation). ... Habitat (which is Latin for it inhabits) is the place where a particular species live and grow. ...

Superstitions

Certain superstitions surround the act of yawning. The most common of these is the belief that it is necessary to cover one's mouth when one is yawning in order to prevent one's soul from escaping the body. The Ancient Greeks believed that yawning was not a sign of boredom, but that a person's soul was trying to escape from its body, so that it may rest with the gods in the skies. This belief was also shared by the Maya.^{[citation needed]} For other uses, see Superstition (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Soul (disambiguation). ... Ancient Greece is the term used to describe the Greek_speaking world in ancient times. ... Boring and Bored redirect here. ... For other uses, see Soul (disambiguation). ... See also: List of deities Look up deity in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... This article is about the pre-Columbian Maya civilization. ...

Other superstitions include:

• A yawn is a sign that danger is near.
• Counting a person's teeth while he/she is yawning robs them of one year of life for every tooth counted.
• If two persons are seen to yawn one after the other, it is said that the one who yawned last bears no malice towards who yawned first.
• The one who yawns first shows no malice towards those he or she yawns around.
• If you don't cover your mouth while yawning, then the devil will come and steal your soul (Estonia).
• In Ancient Mayan civilization, yawning was thought to indicate subconscious sexual desires.
• In some Latin American, East Asian and Central African countries yawning is said to be caused by someone else talking about you.
• A yawn may be a sign that one is afflicted by the evil eye (Greece).
• Frequent yawning by a woman indicates she is likely to be committing adultery, which results in a lack of sleep.

These superstitions may not only have arisen to prevent people from committing the faux pas of yawning loudly in another's presence — one of Mason Cooley's aphorismhealth. Polydore Vergil (c. 1470–1555), in his De Rerum that it was customary to make the sign of the cross over one's mouth, since "alike deadly plague was sometime in yawning, wherefore men used to fence themselves with the sign of the cross...which custom we retain at this day."^[19] Latin America consists of the countries of South America and some of North America (including Central America and some the islands of the Caribbean) whose inhabitants mostly speak Romance languages, although Native American languages are also spoken. ... This article is about the geographical region. ... For other uses, see The Evil Eye (disambiguation). ... Faux Pas redirects here. ... Mason Cooley (1927 – ) is an American aphorist mostly known for his witty quotations. ... Polydore Vergil or Virgil (c. ... For other uses, see Sign of the cross (disambiguation). ... Bubonic plague is the best-known manifestation of the bacterial disease plague, caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis. ...

References

• Scholarpedia Yawn 'http://www.scholarpedia.org/article/Yawn'

Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 205th day of the year (206th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... The Princeton University Press is a publishing house, a division of Princeton University, that is highly respected in academic publishing. ... A digital object identifier (or DOI) is a standard for persistently identifying a piece of intellectual property on a digital network and associating it with related data, the metadata, in a structured extensible way. ... Gordon G. Gallup, Jr. ... PDF is an abbreviation with several meanings: Portable Document Format Post-doctoral fellowship Probability density function There also is an electronic design automation company named PDF Solutions. ... A digital object identifier (or DOI) is a standard for persistently identifying a piece of intellectual property on a digital network and associating it with related data, the metadata, in a structured extensible way. ... A digital object identifier (or DOI) is a standard for persistently identifying a piece of intellectual property on a digital network and associating it with related data, the metadata, in a structured extensible way. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini/Common Era, in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 170th day of the year (171st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 320th day of the year (321st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... A digital object identifier (or DOI) is a standard for persistently identifying a piece of intellectual property on a digital network and associating it with related data, the metadata, in a structured extensible way. ... A digital object identifier (or DOI) is a standard for persistently identifying a piece of intellectual property on a digital network and associating it with related data, the metadata, in a structured extensible way. ... A digital object identifier (or DOI) is a standard for persistently identifying a piece of intellectual property on a digital network and associating it with related data, the metadata, in a structured extensible way. ... A digital object identifier (or DOI) is a standard for persistently identifying a piece of intellectual property on a digital network and associating it with related data, the metadata, in a structured extensible way. ... A digital object identifier (or DOI) is a standard for persistently identifying a piece of intellectual property on a digital network and associating it with related data, the metadata, in a structured extensible way. ... A digital object identifier (or DOI) is a standard for persistently identifying a piece of intellectual property on a digital network and associating it with related data, the metadata, in a structured extensible way. ... Iona Opie (b. ...

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Yawn

• Video: Good Morning America (July 30, 2007) - The Science of Yawning
• Causes, Concerns and Communications of the Yawn
• "What makes us yawn?"
• Dr. Steven Platek - Yawn Researcher at the University of Liverpool
• Archive of animal yawn pictures
• The hidden sexuality of the human yawn
• From a February issue of the research .straightdope.com/classics/a2_309.html Why are yawns contagious?
• All you want to know about yawning (French and English)
• Yawning as Brain Cooling Mechanism, Evolutionary Psychology, 2007, 5(1).
• Dr Karl Kruszelnicki 'Yawning & Oxygen' from Great Moments in Science
• Can You Catch a Yawn? (article)