Comments on: Why We Yawn: To Cool the Brain!

By: marko

marko — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 01:21:13 +0000

so does that mean bald people yawn less?

By: Neatoramawontsendmeapassword

Neatoramawontsendmeapassword — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 23:06:12 +0000

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

By: EEM

EEM — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 20:56:51 +0000

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.

By: sloane

sloane — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 20:40:56 +0000

Does you brain being overheated cause you to be sleepy?

By: floyd landis

floyd landis — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 20:11:58 +0000

I think his brain must have overheated.

By: Rocky Rook

Rocky Rook — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 16:38:20 +0000

My brain gets overheated a lot then.

By: Gauldar

Gauldar — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 13:10:51 +0000

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

By: Max Power

Max Power — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 12:57:47 +0000

Same!

By: Paulina

Paulina — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 12:48:58 +0000

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

By: thebonemachine

thebonemachine — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 00:35:59 +0000

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?!

By: Him

Him — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 00:08:45 +0000

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.

By: Justin

Justin — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 00:01:15 +0000

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…

By: eni

eni — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 22:40:50 +0000

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.

By: Josh

Josh — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 22:33:01 +0000

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.

By: Rob Sanderson

Rob Sanderson — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 22:28:58 +0000

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

By: Orpheus

Orpheus — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 22:27:15 +0000

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.

By: stephanie

stephanie — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 22:18:00 +0000

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

By: liphttam1

liphttam1 — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 21:29:28 +0000

Reading this makes my brain over heat *yawn*

By: Gauldar

Gauldar — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 20:03:00 +0000

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?

By: Briannana

Briannana — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 20:02:36 +0000

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.

By: Kevin

Kevin — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 20:01:43 +0000

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

By: beeeky

beeeky — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 19:49:24 +0000

So why are yawns contagious?