Why We Yawn: To Cool the Brain!

So why are yawns contagious?

Does that mean we tend to yawn more during the summer?

I may seem a bit anal retentive when I make this note, but it irks me (ever so slightly) when I hear "brains are like computers". It is much more accurate to say that computers are like our brains. Whatever. I know they're just using a microcosm to explain a more complicated system, but it just bugs the crap out of me.

Hmm, so it's not actualy because your body is not getting enough oxygen? I wonder if we are limited in the amount we are actualy able to process due to heat, much like a computer's CPU. Would that mean if cybernetics gets to the point of being able to implant features into the brain, we could get heat sinks to allow better cooling to increase our ability to think?

Reading this makes my brain over heat *yawn*

Yes gaulder you are right, it is from not having enough oxygen, not to "cool" the brain that is the most ridiculos thing ive ever heard, my dads a doctor and i am a RN and have never heard of "yawning to cooling the brain" I mean think about it, how exaclty would that work, there is no way that a brisk wind can shoot from your mouth to your brain to "cool" it lol thats just funny to me

I'm calling shenanigans on this one. Beeeky's got it right - why would simply looking at a picture of a yawn make you want to yawn then if it's all about brain temperature? And shouldn't this mean that cold people never yawn? Smacks of the sort of thing that went about years ago, about how women shouldn't learn maths because their brains would overheat. And just as ridiculous.

I am glad this guy got his 15 minutes, but its BS.

I thought this idea was thrown out years ago. I thought it was believed that yawning was a mechanism that is used to keep people alert.

Interesting idea, but if yawning cooled your brain wouldn't it have to involve a part of you that's, well, closer to your brain? Yawning might be able to cool your nasal cavity and sinuses, but they're kinda in the way of the brain.

wow, am I the only one who actually read the damn article?

First of all the people who led the study made it clear that contagious yawning is also present in humans

"He and colleagues Michael Miller and Anne Clark analyzed yawning in parakeets as representative vertebrates because the birds have relatively large brains, live wild in Australia, which is subject to frequent temperature swings, and, most importantly, do not engage in contagious yawning, as humans and some other animals do.

Contagious yawning is thought to be an evolved mechanism for keeping groups alert so they "remain vigilant against danger," Gallup said. "

As for how they say yawning cools the brain:

"It's now believed yawning operates like a radiator for birds and mammals.

If air in the atmosphere is cooler than brain and body temperatures, taking it in quickly cools facial blood that, in turn, cools the brain and may even alter blood flow. Prior studies reveal yawning leads to a heightened state of arousal, so a morning yawn may function somewhat like a cup of coffee in providing a jolt of energy."

Is this right? I don't know, but only concerns you guys made as to why this can't be true were clearly answered in the article...

I think of our bodies as computers more than just our brains. Think about it, nerves send data and signals to the brain, which is just like the motherboard.

beeeky
December 16th, 2008 at 2:49 pm

That's the first thing I thought about! I was like, hey grrreat, we know now... but wait! why are yawns contagious?? :(

Scientists, is that your final answer?!

Speaking of contagious yawning, i just yawned seeing that baby!

Same!

Him, actualy I see the body as the power supply, regulating energy to go to where it needs to be.

My brain gets overheated a lot then.

I think his brain must have overheated.

Does you brain being overheated cause you to be sleepy?

Lots of human behavior is contagious, not just yawning. People mimic the behavior of others around them subconsciously all the time, you just don't really notice it.

I always thought it was because of a lack of oxygen. At least, that's what I was taught.

so does that mean bald people yawn less?