Mattress Vancouver

Here’s a little test for you. Simmons Mattress Gallery would like you to tell a friend everything you know about yawning for one minute. If you’re lacking a friend, try and think of three times you were caught yawning in public.

We’ll wait……….

Woman Yawning

Now how many times did you yawn talking to your friend or thinking about your experiences? We bet it was at least once. Did your friend yawn as well? Probably. But why?

The answer lies in our ability to empathize with others. When we talk about yawning or see another person yawning our brain triggers our body to act out the action. This helps us connect and identify with others, an evolutionary survival skill that we perform subconsciously. Individuals who have trouble empathizing with others, like those suffering from autism or schizophrenia, are much less likely to be affected by the contagious yawn.

There is also a common myth that yawning is the bodies attempt to take in more oxygen. This has been proven completely false; mainly on the basis that entirely different body processes control yawning and breathing.

Some scientists believe the yawning phenomenon has to do with regulating our brains body temperature. When we are fatigued our brain’s temperature spikes. When we yawn, our heart rate speeds up, increasing blood flow, which cools our brain.

But is this theory the definitive answer? No. The simple truth is we still haven’t figured out the exact reason why we yawn. All we really know is it feels good, it usually occurs when we’re tired and if we see someone else doing it, chances are we’re going to perform the same act ourselves.