Do you yawn? You know you want to! | E-Neighborhood Advisor

We've all been there. Across the room, someone's nose wrinkles up. Their eyes squeeze tight, and their mouth stretches wide open, compressing their cheeks – often with an audible "Aaaahhh!"

It's that blasted yawn! The one that many of us don't want to repeat. Some will go so far as pursing their lips and stretching their face muscles downward in an effort not to yawn – usually to no avail. The yawn eventually erupts from their face.

Did you know that suppressing a yawn can actually make you more likely to yawn? There have been studies on yawning, and when we see a yawn in photos or in person, almost three-quarters of us will also yawn. Some people only need to read about yawning (without a picture), and they will yawn.

Yawning is more about personality than sleepiness. According to a Time Health article, yawning is a sign of empathy, that you’re relating to someone else's emotions. It's suggested that contagious yawning is an act of bonding. Plus, some studies indicate that the younger a person is, the more likely they are to yawn after seeing another person do it.

Contagious yawning is mysterious. A recent study connects 'catching' yawns to how excitable our motor cortex is. That's the part of the cerebral cortex in our brain where nerve impulses start and engage voluntary muscular activity. During the test, participants were asked to resist yawning when they saw it and, overall, that group had stronger urges to yawn over those who could yawn as much as they wanted.

How much does seeing others yawn make you stifle or outright yawn?

Your Flooring Consultant,

Matt Capell

Email: sales@capellinteriors.com

Phone (208) 288-0151

Fax (208) 917-6160