Ways to Stop Yawning

Yawning can be the result of sleep deprivation, fatigue or a nerve reaction. Knowing the cause is critical in knowing which ways will help you stop yawning. Unexplained or excessive yawning can be due to a serious health condition, so you need to seek medical consultation if your yawning is becoming habitual throughout the day. Three ways to stop yawning include addressing sleep problems, undergoing medical treatment of nerve reactions and dealing with fatigue causes.

Address Sleep Problems

• Sleep disorders can cause daytime yawning. Sleep apnea, for example, causes you to wake up periodically throughout the night, so you never get a good night's rest. Your lack of deep sleep causes you not to be rejuvenated to face the challenges each day. Your body compensates by yawning, which will increase oxygen to the brain and attempt to make you more alert and prepared to handle daily activities. Set up a sleep clinic appointment at the recommendation of your doctor to determine what sleep problem you have. Sleep clinics monitor your sleep to help diagnose if you have sleep apnea or another sleep condition.

  If you suffer from sleep apnea, your doctor will prescribe an oxygen mask for use during the night. This will propel air into your lungs as you sleep, ensuring you get a deep sleep, reducing your daytime drowsiness and yawning.

Correction of Nerve Reactions

• Vasovagal reactions can cause yawning. These nerve reactions can be due to heart attack or aortic dissection. Your heart needs blood consistently. The blood provides oxygen to this important organ. Yawning is your body's attempt to get blood through when a blood clot is blocking flow to the heart. Reducing potential heart blood clot blockages will reduce potential yawning for this reason. Reduce fat in your diet. Stop smoking, minimize potential stressors in your life, and seek medical attention and treatment for any diabetes, heart conditions or high blood pressure problems.

  Aortic dissection is a nerve reaction that can cause you to yawn, too. This condition can occur when you are hit in the chest by your steering column in an automobile accident, when pregnant, during a heart surgery or some other medical procedure to this part of the body, or if you have a connective tissue disorder. Seeking medical correction of these conditions will help you to stop the yawning, which is prompted by your body trying to get oxygen back to the heart, as in the heart attack scenario.

Dealing with Fatigue

• Fatigue occurs when a lack of energy is present. This is not the same thing as sleepiness. Deal with fatigue by determining if it is caused by physical exertion, emotional stress, boredom or inadequate diet. Get adequate sleep, eat nutritionally, create a low-stress environment and reduce boredom. If your yawning is due to sudden physical exertion, your yawning will correct itself as soon as your heart is able to obtain enough oxygen and rest.