In reading this info, I never new that yawning is a way to keep our brain in homeostasis, or to cool. Last night while out shopping, first I thought, why am I yawning so much, I'm not bored, but I couldn't stop, and I wasn't tired, but emmediatly thought of that, that I found this. Has anyone had this happened more frequently? I'm not a yawner at all.
Here we investigate the physiological significance of yawning in humans, specifically whether yawning may function as a thermoregulatory mechanism. We propose that yawning serves to keep the brain in thermal homeostasis, and that yawning serves to maintain optimal mental efficiency. We believe that yawning serves as a compensatory cooling mechanism when regulatory mechanisms fail to operate favorably. In order to test this hypothesis, we conducted two separate experiments designed to indirectly manipulate brain temperature. Based on evidence supporting the selective brain cooling model (du Boulay, Lawton, and Wallis, 2000; Mariak, White, Lewko, Lyson, and Piekarski, 1999; Zenker and Kubik, 1996; Falk, 1990; Cabanac, 1986; Cabanac and Caputa, 1979), we choose to manipulate breathing conditions and forehead temperature by noninvasive means. Nasal breathing (du Boulay, Lawton, and Wallis, 2000; Mariak et al., 1999) and forehead cooling (Zenker and Kubik, 1996; Cabanac, 1986) have been shown to be involved in the thermoregulation (cooling) of the brain. Contagious yawning was used as a proxy for yawning in both these experiments for two reasons. Contagious yawning is indistinguishable from spontaneous yawning aside from the fact that the triggers differ, and contagious yawning can be manipulated under laboratory conditions (e.g., Platek et al., 2003).
I yawn often when my oxygen levels are going down...often when my asthma is not being controlled...so it usually if done often is not a good thing for me...~ ok...just yawned now reading this...hahhahahahahah...~ Colleen
That is true, but after reading that article, it's also stating how it warms the brain, and since our Annies, was just wondering why all of a sudden this craziness of yawning started. Today, nothing. I know it sounds crazy.
Hi Ron, that was why I posted, since I never yawned before, but like I just wrote Colleen, today, I haven't yawned as much as yesterday. But the brain, let's faced it, after having, coil, and than a shunt. Safe to say,we have brain problems, but being controlled? I'll have to read the article a little more. Thanks Ron.
