• Question: Why do we yawn?

    Asked by Alex to Connor, Jillian, Lidunka, Sarah, Steven on 18 Jun 2015.
    • Photo: Lidunka Vocadlo

      Lidunka Vocadlo answered on 18 Jun 2015:

      @Alex apparently we yawn to cool our brains! And we do this more when we are tired because exhaustion increases brain temperature. Yawning also “reboots” the brain making us more alert. But one funny thing about yawning is that seems contagious! Whenever I’m singing my tiny child to sleep I start yawning!!

    • Photo: Jillian Scudder

      Jillian Scudder answered on 18 Jun 2015:

      It’s still a bit mysterious – one theory was to increase the oxygen flow to our brains, which might help wake us up a bit. We have no idea why it seems to be contagious.

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