• Question: Why is yawning contagious?

    Asked by wendywetpants to Amy, Drew, Julia, Kimberley, Sara on 15 Jun 2011. This question was also asked by thomasluke, roflatop.
    • Photo: Kimberley Bryon

      Kimberley Bryon answered on 15 Jun 2011:

      Not entirely sure but chimpanzees do it to. I think it is something to do with empathy.

    • Photo: Julia Griffen

      Julia Griffen answered on 15 Jun 2011:

      Apparently.. its to do with oxygen and lack of it… or this could be a wives tale but i;ve heard…and please put me right if u know otherwise..

      We yawn to take in a large amount of air and oxygen to reinvigerate/ wake up our body.
      If you see someone yawning your body instinctively thinks ‘of dear there’s not alot of oxygen about, i need some too’ and we yawn… its contagious… I think anywhoo…

    • Photo: Amy MacQueen

      Amy MacQueen answered on 15 Jun 2011:

      Yawning is an involuntary action that everyone does. We start yawning even before we are born – and most animals on the planet do it – even snakes and fish.

      Some fairly recent research has suggested that the purpose of yawning is to cool the brain so it operates more efficiently and keeps you awake…apparently you yawn when you see other people yawn because in the past that would have kept the whole group of people alive because they were more awake! But I’m not sure how they can prove this??

      As Kimberley said chimps also contagiously yawn – the other animals yawn…but not when they see someone else do it.

      And additional fact! – apparently only half of adult humans are prone to contagious yawning…so not everyone yawns when they see other people yawn!

      did you yawn through this reading about yawning? (or because I was dull!!) 🙂

    • Photo: Drew Rae

      Drew Rae answered on 15 Jun 2011:

      Funny thing is, reading all these answers about yawning makes me think about yawning, but doesn’t make we want to yawn. I see someone else yawn though, and …

    • Photo: Sara Imari Walker

      Sara Imari Walker answered on 15 Jun 2011:

      Hey wendy! This is a good question … particularly because science doesn’t quite have an answer yet!! Amy has presented one hypothesis: that it is a mechanism for cooling your brain and therefore its a group activity. Another hypothesis is the one Kimberley has mentioned: it has to do with empathy. Some studies have suggested that yawning when others yawn is a sign of empathy as well as form of social bonding. This hypothesis is strengthened by the fact that many autistic individuals don’t catch yawns. One of the hallmarks of autism is that individuals lack the ability to relate to other people and therefore don’t possess a strong empathic drive. I think chimpanzees have a lot of empathy, they certainly are very smart and very social, so it could explain why they can catch yawns. Also, this could explain why not everyone is susceptible to catching yawns. I sure wish I wasn’t sometimes!!! Just got caught recently (on camera no less!) yawning big time at a lecture. Ooops!

Comments

  • Photo: Sara

    Sara commented on :

    I totally agree with Drew! Except I am very visual so reading all this stuff about yawning doesn’t make me yawn, but then I try to picture it and it does!!! The brain works in mysterious ways …

  • Photo: jumute

    jumute commented on :

    I thought that the whole ‘yawning is contagious’ thing was related to mirror neurons in the brain?
    To link it in to some of what you scientists said and to try to connect it to the small amount I’m trying to understand, it has been suggested that autism is related to problems with mirror neurons which would help explain why autistic individuals, to quote Sara, don’t catch yawns, and monkeys have also been osberved as to having mirror neurons which would explain why they also imitate yawns.

    I’m not quite sure, it’s just something that someone once tried to explain to me which I could have misunderstood.

  • Photo: Amy

    Amy commented on :

    Thanks for the really interesting chat this morning jumute! I think its great how you are trying to piece together all of this information – that really is the process of science!! 🙂 There have been links made between autism and mirror neurons and that would seem to explain the yawning thing. But then autism is a lot more complex than this so there is probably a lot more going on. Its a “multifactorial” condition as it were – but maybe some day soon we will be able to understand it better…and learn about yawns along the way. Good work …keep thinking! 🙂