Before I start, allow me to whine about something:
[whine]Dammit, I wrote this post a few minutes ago, but then this computer crashed, and the post burned away. Now I have to do this all over again.[/whine]
OK, on with the question:
Today, I yawned at work. As could be expected, one of my co-workers followed suit. In jest, I apologized for having caused her to yawn. We then went on to a short discussion about the “contagious” nature of yawning. I had always thought that whatever caused this was purely psychological. Not entirely unlike the way that laughter can be contagious.
Then, something she said piqued my curiosity. She claimed that there was a “scientific explanation” for the so-called “contagious” nature of yawning. Unfortunately, her information reportedly came from something she had read many moons ago, and she couldn’t remember any of it, apart from the existence of this “scientific explanation.”
So, my next step was to do an online search. The results are inconclusive. There seem to be many theories, but I have yet to run across this “scientific explanation.” If anything, I’m running into the words “well, we simply don’t know” quite a bit.
In light of this, I’m taking my research to the next level: I’m asking the Dopers. Have I overlooked anything in my research thus far? Has anyone here run into this “scientific explanation” for the contagious nature of yawning?
You all share a similar environment and mood which is conducive to yawning.
It’s not so much “contagious” as it is a reflection of the fact that you are all reaching the same mood, in the same environment together.
If we go outside together, and I get cold from the air and shiver, and then you do the same, you wouldn’t think that you caught the shiver from me. We both walked outside, into the same enviroment.
NONE of this is scientific, but my reasonable approach to explaining why people start yawnning together. It never stumped me, it always seemed obvious. When you share an “environment” with others, whatever is creating the mellow yawning mood for you is creating it for them.
PLUS, I’ve been caught in yawning frenzies where no on else started yawning. We just don’t remember them as much as the times groups started yawning.
Zaphod Beeblebrox, you have asked an unanswerable question in GQ. It is now my duty to inform you that either you have thereby just become King of the World, with all the duties, obligations, morts, torts, and appurtenances thereof, or else that you must immediately be executed by firing squad out behind the mods’ shack, I can’t remember which.
A yawn is simply a mechanism the body has developed to equalize the pressure of the inner ear with the outside enviornment. Since the ear drum effectively seals one pathway, air flow has to occur throught the eustachian tubes - hence yawning.
Newton’s first law tells us that every action is followed by an equal and opposite reaction. The air pressure change in your inner ear brought about by yawning causes a change in the air pressure of the room you are in. Your coworker must then yawn to equalize the pressure in her inner ear with that of her ambient surroundings.
That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
[sub]ha, they laughed at “biorhythm” theory, too…what?
I tend to be of the same opinion as Philster on this one. That’s why I asked about the “scientific explanation” in the first place. I had my own little theories about it, and my whole world was disturbed by the idea that some people in lab-coats somewehere had come to the Definitive Answer To The Great Question Of The Contagious Nature of Yawning.
I’m glad to see that they apparently haven’t.
Duck Duck Goose, whatever my reward/punishment might be, I anxiously await it.
is a possible indicator (or symptom of) psychosis. So Captain Amazing is probably not psychotic! I, on the other hand, may be.
Many moons ago I read a theory (in the Wall Street Journal, I believe) that the contagious nature of yawns is a mechanism to get the group synchronized and ready to move on to the next activity. The same aricle mentioned the connection to psychosis. The title (or subtitle?) was “If you can read this without yawning, you may be psychotic.”
Yawns will equalize inner/outer ear pressure, but I think that is a coincidence. Working the same muscle groups in other ways, such as swallowing, can accomplish the same thing.
I can walk into a room full of people, let out a yawn, and watch it spread across the room. It doesn’t matter what environment I just left nor the environment of the room full of people. This phenomenon has been studied and documented, it’s just not understood.
That’s an apples/oranges comparison. My wife and I can be in the same environment and she while she is shivering cold I can comfortable. If I yawn she will likely yawn, too, regardless of the environmental factors.
The environmental theory also does not explain why most people will feel the need to yawn when merely reading, talking, or thinking about the act of yawning. Part of the reaction must be psychological. I remember a kids bedtime book from years ago (Dr. Suess?) which took advantage of this phenomenon. I could never get through the dang thing without yawning or actively supressing the urge. It didn’t matter when I read it or where I was, it always worked.
As a matter of fact, I supressed the urge to yawn several times just typing this response.
On a related note, can you do this with a fake yawn? I’ve tried to induce a yawn in the mrs but it hasn’t seemed to work. Yet there’ve been times when she would yawn and I’d catch it. I make an effort to suppress yawns when I see other people do it and usually succeed but I wonder why I should have to make the effort.
Anyone want to do an experiment with inducing yawns in others?
I vaguely remember reading something that related the act of yawning to some kind of animal-social thing. Like a friendly bearing of teeth situation. I know I don’t have the book here, and I don’t remember the name of it offhand, which is a shame. I probably won’t be able to get my hands on it until Christmas. The ideas in it made sense, though.
<hijack>Anybody else notice that posters named Beeblebrox and Zaphod Beeblebrox are posting in the same thread. Kinda cosmic. They almost have the same post count even. I don’t know 'bout you all, but I’m thinking twins separated at birth.
Stranger still, a poster named Mr. Duality has contributed. I need a beer.<hijack>
mnemosyne, your answer is sort of what I have always believed in and tout to others who ask. Sounds much more reliable than “getting more oxygen” or “climate factors.” In the majority of animal species, yawns are a form of passive aggression. I feel grumpy at some higher-up or equal, I end up yawning. If they feel threatened, they’ll yawn back. I’ve noticed most adults don’t yawn when a child (somebody you never feel threatened over) yawns, but if another person they respect (and could hurt them/dominate them/etc.) yawns, they’ll do also in response. And often in cars with family and neighbours, I will yawn on purpose…most will yawn back. Those that feel somewhat intimidated by me at any rate. While I don’t usually yawn in response to other people, because I rarely feel threatened.
So why do I think that we yawn more at night or when tired? You’re much more easily ticked off then than when you’re awake and all, since you’re wanting to sleep and factors are preventing you from doing such. You get grumpy fast, yawn more. Whee.
This is the truth, this is my belief…at least for now.
I am sure that I was told somewhere that the reason why we yawn in the first place IS to do with getting a rush of oxygen to the brain as quickly as possible. When we are tired our body slows down, the heart pump blood more slowly and therefore the brain doesn’t get as much oxygen. However, even though we are tired, we often still have to function, so the brain is urgently trying to get oxygen so it can function at the same level.
Presumably, the reason we yawn when we are bored is because it produces the same physical effects as being tired.
As to why we yawn when other people yawn, I do have a theory if my above information is correct. Similar to the ‘fight or flight’ reaction of adrenaline (in that if you see someone else preparing to do somthing, or look tense for some reson, the body will automatically prepare you, in case you have to react to the same thing that they are preparing for), when you see someone else yawn, your body automatically wonders what the other person is preparing for that requires the brain to be more active, and decides to put itself on red alert, hence pulling in more oxygen.
Probably all a load of rubbish, but there you go.
Furthermore, why does yawning make your eyes water?
SenorBeef - the simple explanation is often the best.
Since yawning issues haven’t been resolved scientifically, this is the time to draw some conclusions based on experience.
I don’t think about the whole issue as a mystery, because to me it all makes sense. Plus, DocJackson gets to debunk based on isolated incidents - which at a minimum are suspect to me. - so I get to put forth some reasonable conclusions.
I tossed out my ideas, and I feel a number of dopers will tend to agree. The enviroment we function in tends to impact our energy level, our mood, our breathing rate, our concentration, level of boredom, etc. In the world I work in and live in, yawing gets contagious among groups mostly because we are sharing similar experiences at the time, all which impact our physical being.
Sigh. I thought the phrase “This phenomenon has been studied and documented, it’s just not understood.” would convery the message that there are studies and reports out there, go look at them. I guess not, so I’ll do your homework for you:
They all say the same thing, basically - “This phenomenon has been studied and documented, it’s just not understood.” Geez, that sounds familiar. None mention environment as a factor, but I’m sure you’ll supply supporting cites.
