# Sick people don't yawn? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 27, 2007, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-people-dont-yawn/409612 "2007-06-27T05:32:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![TheVanishingGirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5f8ce5/32.png) [@TheVanishingGirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheVanishingGirl)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2007, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-people-dont-yawn/409612/1 "2007-06-27T05:32:41Z")
I remember reading this in a book when I was a kid. I have no idea which book, but a nurse tells a kid that yawning is a sign that someone is getting better. I always accepted this as truth, and it seemed accurate in my own experiences with cold, flu and strep. But Iโ€™ve never read it anywhere else, and have searched for years. Is it true? ๐Ÿ˜•๐Ÿ˜•๐Ÿ˜• ---
**Author:** ![Renee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/renee/32/287_2.png) [@Renee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renee)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2007, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-people-dont-yawn/409612/2 "2007-06-27T07:13:57Z")
I have a sore throat/cold thing right now and find that itโ€™s quite painful to yawn with the sore throat, so I try to stifle yawns. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2007, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-people-dont-yawn/409612/3 "2007-06-27T13:11:32Z")
Wrong. You get tried and yawn or hear it and yawn, just like a healthy person. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2007, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-people-dont-yawn/409612/4 "2007-06-27T13:12:00Z")
Iโ€™ve not heard this meme, nor observed it to be true, in my 25+ years of medical practice. I have noted tons of sick people yawning in that time, though. ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2007, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-people-dont-yawn/409612/5 "2007-06-27T13:25:40Z")
[QUOTE=Qadgop the Mercotan] I have noted tons of sick people yawning in that time, though. [/QUOTE] Keeping your patients waiting a bit? ๐Ÿ˜‰ ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2007, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-people-dont-yawn/409612/6 "2007-06-27T13:33:13Z")
[QUOTE=vetbridge] Keeping your patients waiting a bit? ๐Ÿ˜‰ [/QUOTE] Nah, telling them long, pointless anecdotes. ๐Ÿ˜› ---
**Author:** ![TheVanishingGirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5f8ce5/32.png) [@TheVanishingGirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheVanishingGirl)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2007, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-people-dont-yawn/409612/7 "2007-06-27T15:35:45Z")
Thank you **Qadgop** and others. This had been bothering me for yyeeeaaarrss. Now I just need to find that author and give them a good talkinโ€™ to! ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2007, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-people-dont-yawn/409612/8 "2007-06-27T18:29:02Z")
[QUOTE=vetbridge] Keeping your patients waiting a bit? ๐Ÿ˜‰ [/QUOTE] Some havenโ€™t left the building in years! ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2007, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-people-dont-yawn/409612/9 "2007-06-27T18:34:45Z")
[QUOTE=twickster] Nah, telling them long, pointless anecdotes. [/QUOTE] Yeah but all the remarks he has to endure are off the cuff. ---
**Author:** ![xanthous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/53a042/32.png) [@xanthous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xanthous)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2007, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sick-people-dont-yawn/409612/10 "2007-06-28T23:09:41Z")
Just noticed this thread. When I was a kid and would be puking sick, I always knew I was getting better when I would start yawning. That was my โ€œsignโ€ that I was done puking. I would get a huge rush of relief at the first yawn, and then it was always improved health after that.