Yawning seems to have no purpose, from tiredness, disgust or seeing someone do it, we also gasp for air.
But the question is why do we yawn?
The short answer is that no one knows why, but there have certainly been some interesting ideas.
Excess carbon dioxide emissions
One idea is that by yawning we expel carbon dioxide from the body and take in more oxygen.
This has been disproved by scientific research, but it is thought that when people are tired or sleepy, they breathe more slowly, which results in a build-up of carbon dioxide in the blood.
When this happens, the brain reacts by forcing you to take deep breaths full of oxygen.
This idea was tested in 1987 by Dr. Robert Provin, a professor at the University of Maryland, and discovered that high concentrations of carbon dioxide in the body did not cause yawning.
Helpful in keeping the mind cool
In 2007, 2 researchers at the University at Albany proposed the idea that yawning is meant to keep the brain cool.
To this end, they tested mechanisms to help keep the brain cool.
According to him, when we breathe through the nose, the blood vessels in the nostrils are cooled and send cold blood to the brain.
Similarly, when you cool the forehead, the veins connected to the brain provide cool blood.
The researchers wrapped warm or room-temperature towels over some volunteers’ heads, causing them to yawn more.
He said that evidence suggests that increasing the amount of air inside the body during yawning cools the brain and improves its function.
Socially important
It may be hard to believe, but reading about yawning, and even thinking about it, makes you yawn.
Whenever humans see someone yawning (be it human or animal), they are compelled to yawn too, that’s why yawning is also considered contagious.
For this reason, there is also an idea that when a person yawns, the brain temperature of the people watching it increases and mental functions decrease, so yawning cools the brain and the functions also improve.
So according to the experts, yawning is also socially important, but they could not fully explain it.
Expressing emotions
There is also a theory that people express their emotions through yawning.
According to Professor Walter Smithson of the University of Cincinnati, a supporter of this idea, many times people hesitate to express their anger, disgust, disagreement or other emotions, and in these situations yawning expresses these emotions.
According to him, since yawning can express antisocial emotions, people cover their mouths with their hands.
