2 or more people who don't watch/hear each other in a crowd continue yawning one after another? how? why?
Yawning occurs when brain requests more oxygen. It's a unconscious reflex. If there is a room with little oxygen all people sooner or later will start to yawn. Why people yawn when it's very boring? Probably because with little oxygen brain has little activity and during boredom there is little activity in the brain, so the brain might think that the inactivity is caused by inadequate oxygen supply and make people yawn. Why when we are tired? Low brain activity. It starts to enter a sleep state, but doesn't want it, tries to refresh it with an influx of oxygen.
If lack of oxygen is the problem everyone would start panting.. why one's yawn triggers yawns all around?
I think that you have misplaced the causes. It's not the first yawner that makes to yawn. Yes, someone will start to yawn first (different body structure, different/faster reaction), but it's not the reason why people around start to yawn, the cause is that the brain lacks or thinks it lacks oxygen. And because the people around share the same environment, their brains respond to it simmilary. Tell that to your reflexes and brain. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
Next time you can watch persons who don't see or hear one another in a crowd would rely the yawning unknowingly. Note not all the persons in that crowd do the yawning if there is lack of oxygen in the air . I would say, statistically, such yawning spree happens within seconds and back to normalcy. Individual brains could do that seperately at different time for different people in a natural way in any given time span, but not in such wierd concerted way.
But it's not the only one that is for getting oxygen. Besides you can control panting much better than yawning, you can prohibit yourself to pant, it's not a strong reflex. Being myself a sportsman I know it. About your people, maybe they then see other people yawning (even if not directly looking) and unconsciously think that there is a lack of oxygen. p.s. What do you propose?
I imagine you as a sports person yawning in the field when you often need more oxygen. I already said people who don't see and hear each other participate in the yawning rely. I am not porposing anything, certainly not banning yawning. *yawn*
When I'm tired and exhausted after a training, yes, I yawn a lot more frequently even if it's morning, because I've emptied my oxygen reserves in body cells during the exercises, i.e., during training I don't intake as much oxygen as I would normally require and panting is not an option in my trainings. Oxygen brings energy to blood, blood carries it to all other cells. p.s. Then I think they are people that simmilary react to some environmental factor. I think it is something to do with oxygen.
Deep and heavy breathing akin to panting happens during the training. To burn the fat - glucose reserves more oxygen is required. wondering why yawning does not happen then. May be your brain tells you to take a rest/nap after training. Regarding certain people reacting to some environmental factor, may be yes, still the apparent chain reaction remains funny, atleast till we find out what could be the environmental factor.
My idea is that panting and deep breathing is quite an aware action, i.e., you know that you lack oxygen, or at least consciously feel that you need more oxygen, yawning happens when you don't consciously realize that. But I think that there can be no other thing than an environmental factor, not unless you start assuming telepathy or something like that. Which I don't say is impossible, but much more farther fetched. There must be a common cause, triggering factor, something the people react to.
Robert R. Provine I believe is the author of the article I read. And most current scientists refute it, as I had been reading. Sorry, I'm horrible at pulling up articles. But I assure you, Provine is one of the people I had been reading on.
Can you at least tell what his main argument is? Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! I mean, it's pretty useless if you give just the name of some scientist and no info or data on which to think over.
The problem, Avatar, is that the idea of the yawn being connected with hypoxia is purely anecdotal. I'm certainly no yawn expert, but if you look around, I don't think you'll find any references to any scientific studies on the subject that have any definitive answers. DarkEyedBeauty has referenced Provine and so perhaps that's a name to look up, but as I said, if you look around you'll see that the oxygen idea is just that. An idea. And one that is becoming increasingly unpopular.
http://www.health.uab.edu/show.asp?durki=61592 http://physicalsciences.ucsd.edu/news_events/QA/qa_082504.htm there are quite more to dispel the myth.
In fact, research studies have shown that high oxygen levels in the blood do not inhibit yawning. Furthermore, fetuses have been observed yawning in the womb, yet they don't take oxygen in through their lungs. And, it doesn't explain why we yawn when we get up in the morning, even after a good night's rest. Furthermore, yawning seems to be a symptom of multiple sclerosis and other medical conditions, for reasons unclear. http://physicalsciences.ucsd.edu/news_events/QA/qa_082504.htm
