Yawn Cultural Myths

A yawn (?????) is a reflex consisting of the simultaneous inhalation of air and the stretching of the eardrums, followed by an exhalation of breath. Yawning most often occurs in adults immediately before and after sleep, during tedious activities and as a result of its contagious quality. It is commonly associated with tiredness, stress, sleepiness, boredom, or even hunger. In humans, yawning is often triggered by the perception that others are yawning e.g. seeing a person yawning, or talking to someone on the phone who is yawning. This being a most common activity, Siddha Spirituality of Swami Hardas Life System wishes our readers to know technical issues and what different cultures think about yawn.

How Yawn develops (????? ???? ?????? ???? ??)

The majority of disorders associated with yawning are those of the central nervous system, including epilepsy, encephalitis, brain tumors, multiple sclerosis, and progressive supranuclear palsy.  Excessive yawning is also associated with opiate withdrawal and the consumption of a variety of drugs that affect neurotransmitters, such as drugs prescribed for Parkinson’s disease or depression.  Studies have shown that people with brain lesions, tumors and certain kinds of epilepsy often yawn excessively, while schizophrenics yawn very little.

Yawning can also be the first sign of what is called the vasovagal reaction.  Potentially aversive stimuli, such as needle pricks or even generalized anxiety about some future event, can lead to increased activity in the vagus nerve.  In some people, the increased activity can cause their blood pressure and heart rate to fall.  If the reaction is mild, these people may yawn, or feel apprehensive or restless.  In more severe cases a person can exhibit dizziness, nausea, palpitation or even fall into unconsciousness.

What are the causes of Yawn (?????? ???? ?? ???? ???? ???)

Theories (????????)

There are a number of theories that attempt to explain why humans and other animals yawn. It is likely that there are a number of triggers for the behavior; however, there are comparatively few theories that attempt to explain the primary evolutionary reason for the yawn.

Increased carbon dioxide (???? ??? ?????? ??????????)

One study states that yawning occurs when one’s blood contains increased amounts of carbon dioxide and therefore becomes in need of the influx of oxygen or expulsion of carbon dioxide that a yawn can provide. Yawning may, in fact, reduce oxygen intake compared to normal respiration; however, neither providing more oxygen nor reducing carbon dioxide in the air decreased yawning.

Another proposal points out that animals subject to predation or other dangers must be ready to physically exert themselves at any given moment. At least one study suggests that yawning, especially psychological “contagious” yawning, may have developed as a way of keeping a group of animals alert.

Perception of need for action (???????? ?? ???????? ?? ?????)

Nervousness, which often indicates the perception of an impending need for action, has also been suggested as a cause. Anecdotal evidence suggests that yawning helps increase a person’s alertness. Paratroopers have been noted to yawn during the moments before they exit their aircraft and athletes often yawn just before intense exertions.

Control of brain temperature (???????? ?? ?????? ?? ????????)

Another notion states that yawning is the body’s way of controlling brain temperature. In 2007, researchers, including a professor of psychology from the SUNY Albany, proposed yawning may be a means to keep the brain cool.

Regulation of body temperature (???? ?? ?????? ?? ???????)

A similar hypothesis suggests yawning is used for regulation of body temperature. Similarly, Guttmann and Dopart found that when a subject wearing earplugs yawns, the air moving between the subject’s ear and the environment causes a breeze to be heard.

Influx or outflux of oxygen (??????? ?? ???????? ?? ????????)

Guttmann and Dopart determined that a yawn causes one of three possible situations to occur: the brain cools down due to an influx or outflux of oxygen; pressure in the brain is reduced by an outflux of oxygen, or the pressure of the brain is increased by an influx of air caused by increased cranial space.

Yawn behavior may be altered as a result of medical issues such as:

• Diabetes
• Stroke
• Adrenal conditions

How Yawn functions (????? ???? ????? ???? ??)

With respect to a possible evolutionary advantage, yawning might be a herd instinct. Theories suggest that the yawn serves to synchronize mood in gregarious animals, similar to howling in a wolf pack. It signals fatigue among members of a group in order to synchronize sleeping patterns and periods.

Research by Garrett Norris (2013) involving monitoring the behaviour of students kept waiting in a reception area indicates a connection between empathic ability and yawning. “We believe that contagious yawning indicates empathy. It indicates an appreciation of other peoples’ behavioral and physiological state,” says Norris.

Contagious yawn (???????? ??????)

The yawn reflex has long been observed to be contagious. In 1508, Erasmus wrote, “One man’s yawning makes another yawn”, and the French proverbialized the idea to “Un Bon bâilleur en fait bâiller sept” (“One good gaper makes seven others gape”). Often, if one person yawns, this may cause another person to “empathetically” yawn. Observing another person’s yawning face (especially his/her eyes), reading or thinking about yawning, or looking at a yawning picture can cause a person to yawn.

Autism spectrum disorders (???????????? ?????????? ?????)

A 2007 study found that young children with autism spectrum disorders do not increase their yawning frequency after seeing videos of other people yawning, in contrast to typically developing children. In fact, the autistic children actually yawned less during the videos of yawning than during the control videos. This supports the claim that contagious yawning is related to empathic capacity.

Relationship (?????)

The relationship between yawn contagion and empathy is strongly supported by a 2011 behavioral study, conducted by Ivan Norscia and Elisabetta Palagi (University of Pisa, Italy). The study revealed that—among other variables such as nationality, gender, and sensory modality—only social bonding predicted the occurrence, frequency, and latency of yawn contagion. 

Two classes of yawning have been observed among primates. In some cases, the yawn is used as a threat gesture as a way of maintaining order in the primates’ social structure. Specific studies were conducted on chimpanzees and stump tail macaques. A group of these animals was shown a video of other members of their own species yawning; both species yawned as well. This helps to partly confirm a yawn’s “contagiousness”.

The Discovery Channel’s show “Myth Busters” also tested this concept. In their small-scale, informal study they concluded that yawning is contagious, although elsewhere the statistical significance of this finding has been disputed.

Human evolutionary history (???? ????????? ??????)

Gordon Gallup, who hypothesizes that yawning may be a means of keeping the brain cool, also hypothesizes that “contagious” yawning may be a survival instinct inherited from our evolutionary past. “During human evolutionary history, when we were subject to predation and attacks by other groups, if everybody yawns in response to seeing someone yawn the whole group becomes much more vigilant and much better at being able to detect danger.”

Yawning has multiple possible functions and may occur when the body perceives the benefits.

Yawn and empathy (?????? ?? ?????????)

In a study involving gelada baboons, yawning was contagious between individuals, especially those that were socially close. This suggests that emotional proximity rather than spatial proximity is an indicator of yawn contagion.

Evidence for the occurrence of contagious yawning linked to empathy is rare outside of primates. It has been studied in Canidae species, such as the domestic dog and wolf. Domestic dogs have shown the ability to yawn contagiously in response to human yawns. This indicates that contagious yawning may have evolved several times in different lineages.

In certain neurological and psychiatric disorders, such as schizophrenia and autism, the patient has an impaired ability to infer the mental states of others.

Yawn in Animals (????? ??? ?????? ????)

Reference:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yawn
• https://www.diagnose-me.com/symptoms-of/excessive-yawning.php