Yawning: causes and treatment. Constant yawning - a physiological phenomenon or disease

Not a single scientist can unequivocally answer the question: why do people yawn? There is no exact evidence in science. Most full review existing hypotheses: choose the best one.

Cause of yawning. Version 1: oxygen

Although a lot of research has been devoted to studying the causes of yawning, scientists still cannot agree on what its main purpose is. For a long time it was believed that yawning occurs as a result reduced content oxygen in the blood: with the help of a deep breath, the body takes a sip of oxygen. However, scientists eventually refuted this theory: it turned out that if you give a yawning person more oxygen or ventilate a stuffy room, he will not stop yawning.

Cause of yawning. Version 2: brain cooling

Another theory is that people yawn to cool their brains. Experiments conducted by American scientists showed that subjects who had a cold compress applied to their forehead yawned less often when watching videos of people yawning than subjects with warm compress or without it (about the contagiousness of yawning - a little lower). Those participants in the experiment who were asked to breathe only through their noses also yawned less often: with such breathing, cooler blood enters the brain than with mouth breathing.

Cause of yawning. Version 3: warm-up

Another purpose of yawning is the need to stretch and relax tired or tight muscles. First of all, these are the muscles of the pharynx and tongue, but also the muscles of the whole body: this is why, at the same time as yawning, a person often stretches. This warm-up for the muscles, combined with cooling the brain, helps invigorate the body and bring it into a state of readiness for action. Therefore, yawning often occurs when people are nervous before some important event: students yawn before exams, skydivers before a jump, and artists before a performance. It's the same reason people yawn when they're sleepy or bored: yawning helps perk up a sleepy brain and numb muscles.

Who else?

Not only people yawn, but also other mammals, birds and even fish. For example, baboons yawn to show threat, exposing their fangs. In addition, male baboons always yawn at the sound of thunder (scientists have not yet figured out why). Male betta fish also yawn to demonstrate threat - they yawn when they see another fish or when looking in a mirror and are often accompanied by an aggressive attack. Other fish may also yawn, usually when the water is overheated or there is a lack of oxygen. Emperor penguins and Adélie penguins yawn during courtship ritual. And snakes yawn to straighten their jaws and straighten their trachea after swallowing large prey.

Cause of yawning. Version 4: Ear Help

Yawning is also useful when flying on an airplane. This helps relieve the feeling of stuffiness in the ears that occurs during takeoff or landing due to the difference in pressure on both sides of the ears. eardrum. Since the pharynx is connected to the middle ear cavity through special channels, yawning helps equalize the pressure in the ears.

Cause of yawning. Version 5: Mirror Neurons

Yawning is a highly contagious phenomenon. People begin to yawn not only when they see other people yawning, but also when they watch videos or photos of people yawning. Moreover, often it is enough for a person to read or think about yawning to start yawning himself. However, not everyone is capable of mirror yawning: studies of children with autism have shown that, unlike healthy children, they do not become infected with yawning when watching videos of other people yawning. Also, children under five years of age, who are not yet able to empathize with others, are not prone to mirror yawning. What explains the connection between susceptibility to yawning and the ability to empathize?

The contagious nature of yawning is based on so-called mirror neurons. These neurons, located in the cerebral cortex of humans, other primates and some birds, have a kind of empathy: they fire when a person observes the actions of someone else. Mirror neurons determine the ability to imitate (for example, when learning new languages) and to empathy: thanks to them we do not just notice emotional condition another person, but we actually experience it ourselves. Mirror yawning is one example of such imitative behavior. According to scientists, imitative yawning arose in the evolution of primates to coordinate actions social groups. When one of the group members yawned at the sight of danger, his state was transmitted to everyone else, and the group came into a state of readiness for action.

Four-legged friends

Yawning can be transmitted not only from person to person, but also from person to dog. Thus, scientists from Sweden and Great Britain have shown that dogs yawn when they see people yawning, and the tendency to such mirror behavior depends on the age of the dog: animals under seven months are resistant to infection by yawning. At the same time, dogs are not susceptible to deception - if a person does not really yawn, but simply opens his mouth, pretending to yawn, the dog will not yawn in response. Scientists have also shown that dogs, when they see a person yawning, become more relaxed and sleepy - that is, they copy not only human behavior, but also physiological state underlying it.

Cause of yawning. Version 6: sign of intimacy

In 2011, Italian scientists showed that the contagiousness of yawning serves as a measure of people's emotional closeness. In experiments, mirror yawning most often occurred among close relatives and friends of the yawner. Distant acquaintances were less likely to become infected with yawning, and very rarely did mirror behavior occur in people unfamiliar with the yawning person. However, gender and nationality had no effect on the tendency to become infected by yawning.

Cause of yawning. Version 7: disease symptom

Prolonged frequent yawning can be a sign of various diseases - for example, disturbances in body thermoregulation, sleep problems, high blood pressure, arterial thrombosis or damage to the brain stem where the respiratory center. In addition, excessive yawning may occur when increased anxiety or depression - while in the blood there is increased level cortisol, the stress hormone. Therefore, if you are overcome by constant yawning, you should consult a doctor to check your heart, blood vessels and blood pressure. To begin with, you can try to get a good night's sleep and stop being nervous.

Speaking medical language Yawning is a complex reflex phenomenon, and everyone, even animals, knows it very well. This process occurs by opening oral cavity and taking in a lot of air. The pharynx and glottis also open and the Eustachian tube expands.

There are several causes of yawning. But people don't always yawn. For example, if a person is focused and concentrated at work, or he is in clean air and in good shape, then such a person will not yawn. There are so-called triggers this complex and reflexive process:

- Drowsiness.

- Feeling bored.

- Hunger.

- Fatigue.

- Stress.

- Mental fatigue.

— Low concentration of oxygen in the room.

- Long absence of physical activity.

- Having someone yawning nearby.

Let's find out why a person yawns, what are the reasons for this, what to do if a person yawns, and why a person yawns in general.

Why does a person yawn?

Why does a person yawn and what does it depend on? Scientists have not yet found exact answers to these questions. But currently there are more than 20 functions of yawning; we will talk about 8 functions. As science says, yawning is a reaction of the human brain to a lack of oxygen ( oxygen starvation). Oxygen starvation can be caused various diseases, slow blood circulation and an unventilated room.

1. Significant is ventilation of the lungs, that is, air is removed from the lungs during strong inhalations and exhalations. Usually a person with severe physical work, or when running, he won’t yawn, because he breathes deeply and often.

2. Brain cooling. Doctors believe that main reason Yawning controls brain temperature. If the brain cools down, then a person's cognitive function. Thus, yawning after long mental work can be explained.

3. Blood oxygen saturation. Often a person begins to yawn in stuffy and unventilated rooms where there is little air.

4. Frequent yawning is observed if a person suffers from heart failure.

5. Yawning can be triggered by taking medical supplies, or vice versa, reduce the frequency of yawning. Among other things, it has been determined that yawning is “contagious.” One person can yawn several times and thus provoke an unconscious reaction - yawning - in everyone around him.

6. American researchers have hypothesized that yawning is caused by overheating of the brain, or that a person yawns in order to restore the working ability of the brain.

7. Medicine says that the process of yawning is quite banal. There is simply a significant amount of carbon dioxide in the body, and with deep sighs a lot of oxygen enters, which is why yawning occurs.

8. It is believed that a yawning person wants to sleep, but this is not true at all. A child yawns while still in the womb. If a person Bad mood, then he will yawn more often than in a good mood.

Why does a person need to yawn? Yawning has set purposes, like all other processes that occur in the human body. But if such complex and reflex processes as: coughing, vomiting, sneezing are obvious, then with yawning it’s not so simple. Much controversy arises about the main objectives of this process.

Reasons for yawning

The process of yawning is clearly visible in history and literature lessons at school. Why? Because in these lessons, there are no special activities other than listening. This process also appears with severe lack of sleep, or when at night, instead of good sleep, you have to sit over books and prepare for exams.

People who perform monotonous, monotonous and boring work are more susceptible to yawning. Psychologists have calculated that a person can yawn about thirty times in one hour. Thus, the person is invigorated and prevents falling asleep. Some countries conducted an experiment in factories called the “Yawning Pause.” First, the worker must imitate a yawn reflex, and then everything happens for real. People, looking at one another, all began to yawn. After such a pause, they began to work again. And experts, in turn, said that work had become much more efficient.

In addition to the reasons listed above, there are also neuroses, fatigue and boredom. For example, a person who is sitting in line and waiting for a reception or an important meeting involuntarily takes a deep breath, thus provoking a yawn. So the panic slowly passes and the body recovers. People involved in sports and sports games, can also yawn, in this way they restore their breathing and cheer up. It is generally common for a person to yawn, because it is useful and necessary, and you don’t need to think that you have any deviations.

We have already gotten used to the fact that we yawn every day. Among close people, this fact does not cause any bad reaction. But in the company of people, you have to restrain your emotions, since yawning can look like an insult. To combat this process, you need to understand why we yawn and why. But the answer is quite simple, the brain gives a signal to yawn when it accumulates a large number of carbon dioxide in the blood. This is caused by slow breathing, concentration and so on.

What to do if a person yawns?

There are several ways to combat yawning:

— The first one is quite complex, but very effective. You need to learn to breathe deeply. This will require a lot of training.

- The second is a rather funny way. You need to lick your lips when you feel a yawn coming on. It is this gymnastics that will eliminate the desire to yawn.

“We can also advise you to just get enough sleep every night.” Modern man does too much in his life, often neglecting sleep. But lack of sleep is what leads to yawning. Such simple methods will always help you control yawning.

Interesting Facts:

- The duration of a yawn is 5 seconds.

— When yawning, men cover their mouths less often than women.

- In addition to humans, monkeys are prone to yawning, and in them it also passes from one individual to another.

- You can eliminate yawning in a simple way. You need to get up from the chair/sofa, roll your shoulders, take a deep breath, and you can start working again.

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Yawning is completely normal physiological phenomenon the body of any person. It usually appears when you are tired, before going to bed or after waking up early, and a very common reason for yawning is a lack of interest in what is happening. But these factors do not exhaust all the reasons for its appearance.

What is yawning?

Before you figure out what external and internal reasons cause frequent yawning, you should understand the mechanism and features of this process. It is an uncontrolled reflex, which is a protracted breathing act.

Yawning involves slow deep breath, which ends with a quick and sonorous exhalation. In the process of yawning, a person draws a large volume of air into the lungs, which allows the body to saturate. significant amount oxygen, improve nutrition of tissues and internal organs.

The process of yawning improves everyone's performance internal systems- cardiovascular, respiratory, muscular, circulatory, as well as brain activity. This leads to compensation for the lack of oxygen and increased functioning of the body. It is these factors that cause yawning in the morning.

Every person on the planet experiences yawning, the causes of which are varied. But among them all, the largest two groups can be distinguished:

• Physiological;
• Non-physiological.

Physiological causes of frequent yawning

Yawning is useful phenomenon, since it allows you to activate metabolic processes, improve ear pressure, supply organs and tissues with oxygen, but constant yawning may indicate different conditions of the body. That is why it is important to pay close attention to this symptom.

Let's look at the main physiological reasons for frequent yawning. Among them it is worth highlighting the following:

1. Lack of oxygen;
2. The need to cool the brain;
3. Decreased body activity;
4. Psycho-emotional stress of the body;
5. Lack of rest, chronic fatigue;
6. "Chain reaction".

One of the main reasons for yawning is a lack of oxygen, which is usually observed in a person who is long time V stuffy room. The process is started by the brain, which, in the absence of oxygen, seeks to replenish it through deep breathing - yawning.

As American researchers have found, yawning very often occurs when the brain overheats, which is caused by an increase in the ambient temperature and leads to a decrease in its activity. Yawning is physiological mechanism facilitating its ventilation.

Third physiological reason Yawning is a decrease in body activity. The process of wakefulness of any person is accompanied by phases of inhibition and activity, therefore, to restore the functioning of the brain, normalize heart rate And metabolic processes the yawning mechanism is activated.

Another group of causes of yawning are emotional stress and fatigue. Frequent yawning may occur due to lack of sleep or active work at night, which is intended by nature as a period for rest.

Frequent yawning can also be caused by “ chain reaction" If in large group If one person yawns, then this reaction passes on to others. However, the reasons for this phenomenon have not been found.

Diseases that cause constant yawning

Despite the fact that yawning is a physiologically harmless phenomenon, frequent yawning may indicate various pathologies and diseases. That is why, when it appears, it is important to consult a doctor.

In most cases, such a symptom may indicate the following diseases and pathologies:

1. Hormonal disorders in the body;
2. Multiple sclerosis;
3. Depressed state;
4. Circulatory disorders;
5. Problems with thermoregulation of the brain, especially with prolonged oxygen starvation;

Yawning can often indicate the onset of epileptic seizure together with symptoms such as dizziness, changes in blood pressure, fever, cloudiness in the eyes.

But if there is pain when yawning, localized in lower jaw or ear, it may indicate inflammatory process, infections, and jaw dislocation. For any discomfort painful sensations You should definitely consult a doctor.

Yawning is a normal physiological phenomenon that occurs in a person when there is a lack of air, nervous overstrain, fatigue, but also many other diseases and pathologies of the body. Therefore, this symptom must be taken carefully.

Every person, regardless of age, yawns. At this time, he opens his mouth wide, fills his lungs with air for a long time, sometimes makes a sound and exhales quickly. We usually say that we are bored or... However, constant yawning can be caused by many reasons - from simple to serious, indicating the presence of a disease.

Frequent yawning: reasons

Yawning is a physiological process that is caused by a number of reasons. These include:

• lack of sleep;
• fatigue;
• traveling across time zones;
• changing the daily routine.

However, frequent yawning should alert you, as it may be an indicator of serious illness. It can be:

• cardiovascular diseases;
• multiple sclerosis;
• epilepsy;
• hypothyroidism;
• electrolyte imbalance;
• insufficient liver function.

Constant nervousness can also lead to frequent yawning. The reason may be if a person is in a state of anxiety, depression, or stress.

Why is yawning contagious?

Everyone has probably noticed that as soon as one person yawns, everyone present begins to repeat after him, which is why they consider yawning a contagious process. Many experts have tried to answer the question of why this happens, but no one can say for sure. This is just speculation.

Interesting: Sometimes it is enough to see a yawning person in a photograph, and a yawn appears involuntarily.

Scientists have proven that when you see a yawn, the areas in the brain that are responsible for empathy for a person are activated. That is, only responsive people imitate yawners. The proof is that children under 5 years of age never repeat a yawn, since they have not yet learned to empathize with others, as well as people suffering from autism.

Constant strong yawning: reasons

There are many reasons for constant yawning:

1. Lack of oxygen to the brain. A signal of lack of oxygen is sent to it, since at this time hyperventilation of the lungs is necessary. Therefore, a person yawns, taking in more air with his mouth, and saturates the lungs with oxygen;
2. « Overheating of the brain" It occurs when on the street heat air, and when yawning, ventilation of the lungs again takes place;
3. Transition from the braking phase to the active phase. In order to wake up better, start the metabolic mechanism, the rhythm of the heart and the whole body as a whole, a yawn is made.

Most often, constant yawning occurs when you are tired or working at night.

The child yawns often - what are the reasons?

Usually, most parents do not pay much attention to their baby's yawning. Most often, the conclusion is that the child did not get enough sleep. But if yawning is repeated too often, then you should not ignore it.

In children, there are mainly 2 causes of frequent yawning:

1. The first is related to disruption nervous system;
2. The second is due to lack of oxygen.

It is necessary to urgently contact a neurologist and follow his recommendations. If no pathology is detected, it means that you need to ventilate the room where the baby is more, increase the time of walks and maintain constant temperature so that the child does not overheat and does not experience a lack of oxygen.

Why does a child yawn in his sleep?

Basically, yawning during sleep occurs due to lack of oxygen. This can be determined by the following signs:

• mouth slightly open;
• noises are heard during breathing;
• There is an occasional dry cough.

It is worth visiting an ENT specialist or neurologist to find out the reasons. But before visiting a doctor, you can try to ventilate your child’s room before going to bed. If everything is fine with your health, the yawning will stop.

Why does an adult yawn in his sleep?

It also happens that a person involuntarily yawns in his sleep. This may also be due to several reasons:

1. Health problems (migraine, changes in hormonal background, as well as with the syndrome chronic fatigue).
2. Lack of vitamins and microelements in the body.
3. If a person is taking antihistamines.

During sleep, it is undesirable to bend your back, since the diaphragm cannot sufficiently perform its functions; it is advisable to lie with a straight back.

Why does a person yawn during prayer?

Some people begin to yawn when visiting church and reading prayers. Some believe that this is how a person relaxes, others find the reason in the insufficient amount of air due to burning candles, because they burn oxygen.

To eliminate the causes, it is advisable to adhere to a number of rules.

1. When reading a prayer at home, you need to ventilate the room, and then the yawning will stop. Moreover, if the prayer is long, the brain works hard, you need to concentrate so as not to forget the words.
2. Very often a person who prays has to for a long time be in one position: standing on your knees or feet. Breathing and work slow down nerve endings, so there is a lack of oxygen.
3. If prayer in a temple takes place in public, yawning also occurs with excitement.

How to control yawning?

In order to reduce yawning, you can resort to next steps:

• take active breaths through your nose and exhale through your mouth;
• If you feel like you are about to yawn, it is advisable to drink a little cool water;
• when they notice frequent urge to yawn, you need to open the window, ventilate the room well, it is advisable to lower the temperature a little;
• Cucumbers and watermelon can help, as they contain more liquid;
• It is recommended to place a dampened and cooled towel on your head.

Video: Why do people yawn?

IN next video a representative of the Slivki Show channel will try to find the reasons that provoke yawning in people:

Frequent and severe yawning during the day and at night should alert you, as this usually occurs due to illness. Therefore, it is advisable to contact a specialist. Don't ignore your body's signals!

Every time before or after sleep, as well as after tiring work, we open our mouths wide and let more air into our lungs. This is so familiar to us that few people ask simple question: Why does a person yawn? A closer look reveals a rather complex problem.

Researchers put forward several possible reasons that explain this phenomenon:

1. An increase in the concentration of carbon dioxide in the blood, resulting in the body needs a large dose of oxygen for a short time. However, sometimes the amount of gas even decreases as a result;
2. Increasing concentration and strengthening the state of wakefulness. Thus, it was noticed that paratroopers need to hunker down before jumping out of the plane;
3. This is one of the ways the body controls brain temperature. As researchers from the University at Albany demonstrated in 2007, this is vital important organ cools;
4. Impact of special chemical substances(neurotransmitters) that determine mood, appetite, emotions, etc. These include dopamine, serotonin, glutamic acid and nitric oxide. As soon as their concentration increases, desire yawn. Conversely, the presence of opioid neurotransmitters (endorphins) significantly reduces the desire to open the mouth;
5. Some illnesses, such as diabetes, stroke or adrenal dysfunction, have a certain effect.

Why do tears flow when you yawn?

Some experience involuntary tearing during yawning. The simplest knowledge of physiology is sufficient to explain this fact:

• A healthy eye secretes a relatively large amount of tear fluid every day (about 1 ml);
• As a rule, wetting of the organs of vision occurs with some frequency. But various factors can provoke it out of turn;
• Some of them are associated with diseases. So, rhinitis (or chronic runny nose) leads to lacrimation;

In other cases, the release of tears may be inadvertently caused independently. So, when the mouth opening is wide, contraction of the neck and facial muscles occurs. And the latter are in direct contact with eye muscles. That's why tears flow when you yawn well. However, this does not apply to everyone. Sometimes the eye glands are so stable that it doesn’t matter.

Reflex behavior in animals

Representatives of the fauna yawn important role for survival:

• As Charles Darwin wrote in his book On the Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals, this is one of the techniques for expressing aggression when attacked by predators. Thus, peacocks, opening their mouths, expose their teeth. They do the same Guinea pigs. Often this results in the release of a corresponding odor and growling;
• The Adelie penguin courtes the opposite sex in such an extravagant way. Males open their beaks wide and look up to the sky;
• Snakes thereby rebuild the vital systems of their body from nutrition to breathing. When performing this action, the trachea sharply increases in size;
• Why dogs do this is still not known. These pets have achieved considerable success in copying the movements of their owner, so perhaps they learned to yawn after domestication;
• Fish do this to take in more air when they are starved of oxygen.

Why do people yawn after each other?

This is another great question of modern anthropology:

• This phenomenon has been noticed even in wildlife. Thus, herd animals (for example, wolves) convey a general mood to each other at the time of awakening and going to bed. This is the oldest primitive herd instinct inherent in mammals;
• Psychologist Garrett Norris showed in a series of psychological observations in 2013 positive connection between empathy and the contagiousness of yawning. Children with autism spectrum disorders, unlike their healthy peers, do not react in any way to strangers;
• Italian psychologists came to similar conclusions, showing that the reflex is most likely transmitted from close relatives. Then, as the influence decreases, friends, acquaintances and outsiders follow;
• The immediate physiological cause of the contagiousness of this condition lies in the mirror neurons of the frontal cerebral cortex. These cells play a leading role in the mechanisms of imitation and copying. Thus, they are significantly activated during language acquisition.

Cultural meaning of yawning

In some societies it takes on particularly important meaning:

• Sometimes an open mouth was associated with the departure of the soul from the body and the penetration of evil spirits there. Perhaps this is where the tradition of covering it up when an involuntary yawn originates;
• A negative attitude towards opening the mouth was instilled in ancient medicine. Thus, Polydore Virgil (historian and philosopher of the 15th-16th centuries) wrote that in this case it is necessary to make the sign of the cross. This will, as it were, help avoid infection with the deadly plague that raged in the Middle Ages;
• Over the past few centuries, the stereotype has taken root that relaxing in this way means showing indifference or disrespect. George Washington wrote that during this involuntary act one should cover one's face with a handkerchief or turn one's face to the side;
• In some US states, a particularly loud yawn is regarded as contempt of court (undermining the supremacy and dignity of representatives of the judiciary). Thus, one of the jurors in Los Angeles paid heavily for such an offense in 2005.

How to stop a yawning attack?

We have already seen that this instinct is subject to strong social repression as inappropriate. If he catches us at work or something else public place, you need to know how to save face and not give free rein to primal urges:

• Close your lips and breathe purely through the nasal openings. As was proven above, sometimes this reflex is a normal response to oxygen deprivation which can be avoided in a more socially acceptable way;
• Another factor that is of no small importance here is body temperature, or rather, brain temperature. We involuntarily open our jaws in order to cool our “central processor”. But you can achieve the same effect by simply drinking a glass of cool water (or any other liquid), opening the window wide, or applying gauze soaked in cold tap water to your forehead;
• As emergency measure and in the absence of something cold at hand, basic folk techniques: press the tip of your tongue to upper palate, bite your lip, or take a series of deep breaths.

Even today, the luminaries of world science are not able to clearly explain exactly why a person yawns. Some scientists believe that this is an ancient herd instinct that promotes empathy in a community of animals. Others believe that the reason is only a lack of oxygen. But no one denies the fact that neurotransmitters (substances that transmit impulses between neurons) are involved in this physiological act.

Will you be able to avoid yawning after watching this video?

This video demonstrates the “contagious” effect of yawning, watch this video to the end: