Catch A Yawn :: Biology Essays Research Papers

Catch A Yawn A trick in every girl's handbook: If you want to know if someone is checking you out, yawn and check to see who, if anyone, yawns back. While we may be using the contagious phenomenon of yawning to our advantage, the age-old question still lingers on - why, in fact, is yawning contagious? Plausible explanations range from historic origins to muscular requirements. However, one answer that encompasses all other questions about the cause and traits of yawning has yet to be found. First, let's tackle the question of why we yawn. An evolutional/psychological theory has claimed that yawning was once used as a non-verbal form of communication to synchronize group behavior among animals (9). For example, the leader of a pack of wolves would yawn to set a certain mood or signal a change of activity. Humans also being group-oriented animals may have assimilated to this form of agreement. In the same way that one pumped up team member can influence the level of aggression and team-spirit of an entire team, one yawning client can also affect the mood of sales-pitch meeting. Another good example of synchronization among humans is if a group is sitting around a campfire and the leader yawns, it most likely will act as a signal to the others that it may be time to call it a night. Yawning is commonly perceived to be a sign of boredom or tiredness. Dr. Robert Provine, known as the yawn-expert from the University of Maryland, performed a study on 17-19 year old students to test this perception. In comparison to a group of students who watched music videos for 30 minutes, a group who watched an uninteresting color test bar pattern for 30 minutes yawned more (10). Dr. Provine also suggested that yawning is like stretching (5). Much like stretching, blood pressure and heart rate can be increased just by yawning. Perhaps animals yawn instinctively when bored or tired to get their blood pumping so that they may be physically stimulated to move or seek a new activity. But then why is it that we yawn after waking up? If we yawn after waking as a physical prompt to become active that's one thing. But yawning as a sign of tiredness can be ruled out if we yawn after waking from a restful sleep. Maybe a study could be done in which a comparison could be made between the ho urs of sleep and the occurrence of yawning when waking.