Why is yawning contagious?

Did you yawn when you read that? Yawn is an involuntary reflex to having less oxygen in our body than we require. If you are bored or tired your breathing will slow down which will cause you to take in less oxygen and so your body will trigger a yawn to help breathe in more. It has also been suggested that yawn is a way of cooling your brain, to avoid the brain overheating. In short, more people yawn in summer than in winter. It is a way of increasing your heart rate blood flow and the use of muscles in the face which all help cool down the brain.

Your brain is more likely to overheat when you are exhausted or sleep deprived so this is why you yawn at these times. But if this is the cause of yawning, why is it that when you see someone yawning, why do you yawn in response? Contagious yawning is not as scary as it sounds and we have all experienced it before. When someone else yawns, we yawn. When someone talks about yawning, we yawn. The sound of a yawn makes us yawn. 

The yawn contagion is a cross-species phenomenon. It was tested on chimpanzees and they yawn if they see other primates yawning . Most recently, domestic dogs are believed to have yawn contagion from their owners. There are many theories as to why this occurs, some say it is to do with empathy, others say it is us imitating others because of neurological stimulation. Contagious yawning begins when a child is about four or five years old, this is also the age child begins to develop empathetic behavior and when they begin to recognise emotions in others.You are more likely to yawn in response to someone socially or genetically close to you, dogs are more likely to yawn in response to their owner’s yawn. The other theory is that contagious yawning is caused by mirror neurons. These neurons fire both when an animal acts and when an animal sees another animal act.

People with empathy disorders such as autism yawn less when they see others yawning, and it seems that psychopaths are immune to contagious yawns. Since another trait of psychopathy is fearlessness, it was found in a contagious yawn experiment that people who were less likely to startle were less likely to catch a yawn. All animals with a spine are believed to yawn, penguins do it as a mating ritual, snakes do it to realign their jaws after eating, and guinea pigs do it to display anger. Babies can yawn in the womb, and it begins in the second trimester.

Question 1: [2,5 POINTS] Indicate whether the following statements are true or false and write down which part of the text justifies your answer.

a. People don´t yawn if they don´t want to.

b. In summer we need to yawn to cool our brain.

c. All theose who have studied why yawning is contagious agree on the answer.

d. We imitate other people´s yawning all through our lives.

e. People with antisocial attitudes don´t experience contagious yawn.

Question 2: [1,5 POINTS] Find words or phrases in the text that correspond to the words and definitions given. 

a. need (par.1)

b. intensify (par.1)

c. compassion (par.3)

d. resistant (par.4)

e. show (par.4) 

Question 3: [2 POINTS] Choose the most suitable answer (a, b or c) according to the text and write down the sentence.

1. We yawn when...

             a. there's an excess of oxygen in our body.

             b. we need to send more blood to our brain.

             c. we are scared.

2. We imitate yawning because...

            a. we feel with other people's emotions.

             b. it is an animal response.

             c. we are bored.

3. People with personality disorders

             a. do not feel so much empathy for others.

             b. can't yawn.

             c. always try to stop yawning.

4. Penguins yawn

             a. when they are tired

             b. when ther are trying to find a mate.

             c. when they feel warm.

 Question 4: [4 POINTS] Write a short essay on the following topic:

What are the sleeping habits among students nowadays?

KEY

Question 1

a. False. “Yawn is an involuntary reflex.”

b. True. " It has also been suggested that yawn is a way of cooling your brain, to avoid the brain overheating. In short, more people yawn in summer than in winter.”

c. False. “ The yawn contagion is a cross-species phenomenon. There are many theories as to why this occurs.”

d. False. “Contagious yawning begins when a child is about four or five years old,”

e. True. “...and it seems that psychopaths are immune to contagious yawns.”

Question 2 

a. require / to require

b. increasing / to increase

c. empathy

d. immune

e. display / to display 

Question 3

1. b) we need to send more blood to our brain.

2. a) we feel with other people's emotions.

3. a) do not feel so much empathy for others.

4. b) when ther are trying to find a mate.