• Question: Why do we yawn?

    Asked by charleyolivia to Helen, Jenni, Mark, Martin, Stu on 13 Jun 2011. This question was also asked by eziornic.
    • Photo: Mark Burnley

      Mark Burnley answered on 11 Jun 2011:

      I’m not sure anybody knows. One interesting thing is that even seeing the word *YAWN* makes you want to *YAWN*….. Did you *YAWN*?!

    • Photo: Jenni Tilley

      Jenni Tilley answered on 11 Jun 2011:

      /sportsj11-zone/2011/06/why-is-yawning-contagiuos

      I don’t really know, but a good yawn and a stretch feels very satisfying, especially after a boring lecture/lesson!

    • Photo: Helen O'Connor

      Helen O'Connor answered on 11 Jun 2011:

      /sportsj11-zone/2011/06/why-is-yawning-contagiuos
      I’m not sure, but as Mark said, simply reading and thinking about yawning has set me off. When I yawn my eyes water and my ears pop too for some reason.

    • Photo: Stuart Mourton

      Stuart Mourton answered on 13 Jun 2011:

      A quick bit of research on the web has thrown up that it could be a way of ‘Stretching’ the lungs, mouth and other organs used for breathing. Scientist suggest that much like stretching your legs and arms so you can run at your fastest, yawning gets you ready for exercise by making sure you can breathe in and out as fast and efficiently as possible. Animals that may be hunted in the wild need to make sure they are ready to try and escape any potential hunter at any time. Yawning and stretching (which often happen together) after a period of not moving much may be an instinct left over from when humans lived in danger of being attacked by wild animals…….Of course it could just be because that last geography lesson was REALLY boring!!!

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