Yawing seems like it must be adventurous, the contagious part not so much.
Even the mention of a yawn can trigger it.
Perhaps we are almost always in a state of needing a yawn, but the trigger is seldom met, and seeing or hearing about it is enough to make our brain go "oh yeah I forgot about that".
Perhaps yawning is actually underdeveloped and an ideal human would yawn at regular intervals without any prompting.
I assumed it was a kind of warning system: "Another member of the tribe detected impairment/fatigue and took measures to become more alert, perhaps you should raise alertness also."
> If an animal is drowsy or bored, it will be less alert than when fully awake and less prepared to spring into action. "Contagious" yawning could be an instinctual signal between group members to stay alert.
> Anecdotal evidence suggests that yawning helps increase a person's alertness.
> Paratroopers have been noted to yawn during the moments before
they exit their aircraft.
Reminds me of a recent finding that attention lapses in a sleep-deprived brain correlate with flushing of cerebrospinal fluid (almost a garbage collection pause).
There was an article posted recently about a new discovery around CSF flows during sleep too. It sounds like yawning causes similar flows, which could maybe explain why you yawn more when tired? It could be a compensation mechanism to provide a bit of the same effect you normally get when sleeping.
You know how yawning is also a social function, and seeing someone yawn makes you yawn?
I just got forced into a good neurofluid flow reorganization session just by reading the title.
I did not read the article. But my question is - does it mean yawning (like trying to yawn on purpose which in my case will make me "really" yawn soon) influences those fluids inside my brain?
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[ 3.3 ms ] story [ 45.6 ms ] threadEven the mention of a yawn can trigger it.
Perhaps we are almost always in a state of needing a yawn, but the trigger is seldom met, and seeing or hearing about it is enough to make our brain go "oh yeah I forgot about that".
Perhaps yawning is actually underdeveloped and an ideal human would yawn at regular intervals without any prompting.
Is that the paper in question?
I’m looking forward to “yawn to unlock”.
Also, what’s the deal with that article image?
Brilliant, I'll use that next time I yawn somewhere inappropriately.
> Anecdotal evidence suggests that yawning helps increase a person's alertness.
> Paratroopers have been noted to yawn during the moments before they exit their aircraft.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yawn
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45771636
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45771636
Or - a change in those fluids makes me yawn?