Yawns are weird. You’re tired? Why don’t you open your mouth really big about it? What’s that? You’re not tired, but you saw someone else open their mouth big? Well, guess what.

all 76 comments

sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] 103 points 11 months ago (1 child)

You're not tired, but you saw a post about yawning? Well, guess what.

  • source
  • hideshow 1 child comment
  • [–] 65 points 11 months ago (3 children)

    Wtf

    Just reading this made me yawn.

  • source
  • hideshow 3 child comments
  • [–] 92 points 11 months ago (5 children)

    When a baby is crying on an airplane during takeoff or landing, I visibly and audibly yawn in front of them on purpose, so they catch the yawn and pop their ears.

  • source
  • hideshow 5 child comments
  • [–] 44 points 11 months ago (15 children)

    Apparently there isn't much consensus on what the actual reason(s) are for yawning. Apparently fish yawn though, so that's cool.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yawn

  • source
  • hideshow 15 child comments
  • [–] 12 points 11 months ago (11 children)

    Isn't it a social signal, apebrain talking?

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 11 child comments
  • [–] 10 points 11 months ago (2 children)

    Solitary animals yawn too. Don't if they can catch yawns, or how to test it.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
  • [–] 2 points 11 months ago (1 child)

    Supplying oxygen to brain before task, reused in ape for social?

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 1 child comment
  • [–] 4 points 11 months ago*

    My entirely uneducated guess would be that its some, very basal, ancient, basically gasping compulsion, that... just never quite fully got patched out by the subsequent tens of millions of years of evolution.

    Sort of the behavioral version of vestigal limb, way down at some fundamental nervous system level.

  • source
  • parent
  • [–] 5 points 11 months ago

    It seems like it helps the brain switch modes (from low activity to high and from high activity to low). So yawning could help prepare the brain to pay attention to something important, as well as wind down for the evening. Hence both morning and evening yawns.

    The contagious aspect could be as simple as "Oh, you're changing modes? I should get ready to do the same."

  • source
  • parent
  • [–] 4 points 11 months ago (6 children)

    Are there any other involuntary social signals?

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 6 child comments
  • [–] 12 points 11 months ago (3 children)
  • [–] 1 point 11 months ago

    Body language in general.

    Dogs wag their tails in order to spread their happy pheromones by waving furiously. They unconsciously want everyone to know they are having a good time. When they are scared, they tuck their tail between their legs in order not to spread their stress pheromones by moving the air around their glands.

  • source
  • parent
  • [–] 1 point 11 months ago*

    ... anyone who is naturally expressive and has genuine, authentic responses that go against whatever current sociocultural norms are?

    Hey, popular person told a dumb, offensive joke, that validates my internal insecurities by projecting derision outward onto some kind of minority group!

    (Face twists up into disgust, shock, and maybe pity)

    WTF is wrong with you, popular person is funny! We hate you now!

  • source
  • parent
  • [–] 38 points 11 months ago (2 children)

    What's that? You're not tired and you haven't seen anyone open their mouth big, but you read about a hypothetical person opening their mouth big? Bad news...

  • source
  • hideshow 2 child comments
  • [–] 33 points 11 months ago (2 children)

    You read the word Yawn several times in a meme, guess what

  • source
  • hideshow 2 child comments
  • [–] 17 points 11 months ago (1 child)

    I've yawned three times already reading through all these comments.

  • source
  • hideshow 1 child comment
  • [–] 12 points 11 months ago

    You saw an animal open their mouth big? Have fun.

  • source
  • [–] 11 points 11 months ago (2 children)

    You hit the gym and are having a good session, guess what

  • source
  • hideshow 2 child comments
  • [–] 9 points 11 months ago

    This. I have started to wonder if yawns are actually a way to wake up. We know little about them. Some brain scans showed that we refresh the blood around our brain, like changing the water in a fish bowl.

  • source
  • parent
  • [–] 2 points 11 months ago

    I used to yawn incessantly during warmups before rugby matches. My coach would yell at me to get my head into the game. I kept telling him it's just what happens when I'm warming up it doesn't mean anything!

  • source
  • parent
  • [–] 10 points 11 months ago

    This post literally made me yawn. Not because it's bad either.

  • source
  • [–] 9 points 11 months ago

    Snake yawns are the most cute of yawns and I will fight every one who says otherwise.

  • source
  • [–] 9 points 11 months ago (1 child)

    My idea is that yawing helps sync our internal clocks. So, we sleep at the same time, and wake up at the same time. That way, no one is left behind when the group starts moving to the next waterhole, or feeding ground.

  • source
  • hideshow 1 child comment
  • [–] 8 points 11 months ago

    What? You're hungry? Well, I'll just make you yawn

  • source
  • [–] 8 points 11 months ago

    A yawn is a signal to regain some alertness, so when you yawn in order to become more awake, it signals your fellow life forms they might want to be alert too. 🥱

  • source
  • [–] 6 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

    Didn't have to see anyone, I've done it twice just reading this post.

    Edit: 3 times cause I was checking back.

  • source
  • [–] 6 points 11 months ago

    Got to make everyone tired so they don't get you while you sleep.

  • source
  • [+] 15 points 11 months ago (4 children)
  • [+] 17 points 11 months ago (2 children)
  • [–] 2 points 11 months ago (1 child)

    I got you fam:

    Yawn contagion and empathy in Homo sapiens https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22163307/

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 1 child comment
  • load more comments (-1 replies)
  • [–] 8 points 11 months ago (1 child)

    Can confirm, I do struggle with empathy (more in the autism way than the socio/psychopath way though) and don't really catch yawns from anyone. I will still pretend to yawn when someone else does though, because I know that not doing that will make them subconsciously wary of me

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 1 child comment
  • [–] 7 points 11 months ago

    Not everyone will get wary if you don't yawn. Same way as not everyone thinks the same way about yawns, or just over analyze what others do.

    But good for you to try mixin and minglin with the neurotypical crowd :)

    Just keep it relaxed

  • source
  • parent
  • load more comments (-1 replies)
    [–] 5 points 11 months ago (5 children)

    You are all now breathing manually.

  • source
  • hideshow 5 child comments
  • [–] 0 points 11 months ago (4 children)

    Also you're all now aware that your tongue is never fully relaxed in your mouth.

    If it was, you'd swallow it.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 4 child comments
  • [–] 3 points 11 months ago (1 child)

    No, you wouldn't. It's physically impossible to swallow your tongue, given that it's anchored to your mouth. Without cutting the lingual frenulum, it can't happen.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 1 child comment
  • [–] 2 points 11 months ago

    The tounge muscle is always tensed one way or another. Whilst it wouldn't slip all the way down your gullet to be digested in your stomach it when fully relaxed, which only happens when unconscious (not asleep) there is a risk that it can slip back and block your throat passage. This phenomenon is known as "swallowing your tongue" on the multiple basic first aid courses I have attended as a thing you check for when rendering first aid to someone that's unconscious: check for blocked air passages and remove visible blockages including the tongue if it has slipped back.

  • source
  • parent
  • [–] 9 points 11 months ago (5 children)
  • [–] 10 points 11 months ago (4 children)

    Isn’t the leading theory that yawning is more about cooling down the brain temp rather than a lack of oxygen or buildup of CO2?

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 4 child comments
  • [–] 2 points 11 months ago (2 children)

    Which does nothing to explain why it's "contagious".

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
  • [–] 3 points 11 months ago

    I thought the idea was that back when we were in settlements, keeping watch out into the dark, the yawn would happen to a sentry if nothing was going on and would subconsciously signal to other humans, even the watch dogs that " nothing is going on, all is well" then spreading throughout the camp as sort of a psychic link, literally conveying information at the speed of light to anyone who can see you.

    At least that's what some article I read had to say about it

  • source
  • parent
  • [–] 3 points 11 months ago (1 child)

    I can yawn with my mouth closed.

  • source
  • hideshow 1 child comment
  • [–] 3 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (1 child)

    Yawning is more about getting more oxygen in your system. Which sometimes can be due to you being sleepy and not breathing as well as normal, but not always to do with tiredness.

    I think when you see someone else yawn, you do the same to make sure you're just as on point as they are. Since more oxygen in your system means you'll operate more efficiently.

    I think that's correct, anyway? If someone knows better, please correct me

  • source
  • hideshow 1 child comment
  • [–] 2 points 11 months ago*

    Sounds like a plausible theory. I wonder how extensively it's been studied. I'd like to know if it's unique to humans. Figuring out which species do it would give a clue to when it evolved

  • source
  • parent
  • [–] 2 points 11 months ago

    Read a meme about opening your mouth real big? You guessed it: open your mouth real big about it.

  • source
  • [–] 2 points 11 months ago

    Dogs yawn as well, and it doesn’t only mean that they are tired, more like “I try my hardest to stay concentrated, but is really hard right now”

  • source
  • [–] 2 points 11 months ago*

    Why the heck is yawning contagious? I would expect such a feature to evolve if it served a purpose like, say, warning of something coming. See someone give a warning call, pass it on to the rest of the tribe. But why should a sleepy signal do that? Was there a sleep illness people had to worry about catching? Maybe it evolved to signal to everyone that it's nighttime. How many species is yawning contagious for? I'm picturing lions for some reason. I have a feeling the behaviour is common among mammals

  • source
  • [–] 4 points 11 months ago

    I saw someone recently yawn at a zoom meeting, and I thought "rule."

  • source
  • [–] 0 points 11 months ago

    Whatever you do, don't you dare cover your mouth so we didn't have to see your gaping maw

    And the gas pump isn't a parking spot.

    And turn off your headlights if you're parked.

    And just stop being a clueless shithead all the time always.

    Just saying

  • source