Amazing signals that we can send by YAWN
Everyone knows t wo t hings about yawning – t hat it s purpose is t o increase oxygen int ake, and t hat it ’s very cont agious. T he f irst is wrong – t here’s no evidence t hat yawning act ually increases our int ake of oxygen – but t he second is t rue. Why yawning is so cont agious remains somet hing of a myst ery, alt hough it ’s known t hat people yawn when t hey see someone else yawn, when t hey hear t hem yawn, when t hey read about yawning, and even when t hey just t hink about it . Why we act ually yawn is also a myst ery. Various explanat ions have been put f or- ward, t he most recent being t he suggest ion t hat yawning ‘cleans t he brain’ by f lushing out t he cerebrospinal f luid. It ’s been discovered t hat yawning is cont rolled by very deep part s of t he brain because t here are some brain- damaged people who cannot move t heir mout h int ent ionally, but who open t heir mout h aut omat ically when t hey yawn. Most of us t hink of yawning as a boredom signal. In f act t here are f our t ypes of yawn, and t hey f all under t he f our Ts’ -Tedium, Transit ion, Tension and T hreat :
1. TEDIUM YAWNS T hese are t riggered by monot onous t asks, inact ivit y, t iredness and boredom. If you wat ch someone who’s engaged in a repet it ive t ask, or who’s wait ing in a long line t o be served, you’ll not ice t hat t hey of t en yawn. Tedium yawns are t he most common t ype of all.
2. TRANSITION YAWNS T hese occur when people move f rom one kind of act ivit y t o anot her – f or example, climbing out of bed and get t ing ready in t he morning, or preparing t o go t o bed in t he evening. Yawns also occur at social junct ures – f or example, immediat ely af t er someone has said goodbye t o a close f riend. Yawning can be used as an act ivit y t ell- in ot her words, when you see someone alone, reading a book, and t hey st art t o yawn, you know t here’s a good chance t hat t hey’re about t o do somet hing dif f erent .
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