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The Purpose of Yawning

Everyone yawns. You may be yawning right now in response to thinking about yawning. The purpose behind our yawns, and why they are so contagious, is a mystery still in dispute today.

  1. Keeping Your Cool

    • The brain is a complex organ with a lot going on, and consequently it generates a good share of heat. Yawning is thought to cool the brain by bringing air into the nasal cavities and helping blood flow.

    Evidence

    • Psychologists Andrew and Gordon Gallup conducted studies in which groups of people were observed yawning in response to videos of yawns. In one, subjects told to breathe through their noses yawned far less than subjects told to breathe through their mouths. The same occurred for subjects who held a cold pack against their foreheads.

    Staying Alert

    • Cooling the brain helps relieve the symptoms of mental fatigue and sleepiness, helping you to stay alert. This could be a reason it evolved to be contagious, according to Dr. Eric Chudler. If one person in a group yawns, the yawning spreads around, giving everyone a boost in their alertness and making the group ready for action.

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