Safe "infection", or Why yawning is contagious

Yawning – it is a reflex physiological process in which 5 body systems are involved: nervous, muscular, skeletal, respiratory and circulatory. A single and final explanation of this process does not currently exist. However, there are some interesting theories: we yawn to cool off an overheated brain; we yawn to drive away fatigue and activate the nervous system; yawning helps relieve nervous tension; yawning helps to make up for the lack of oxygen and "regulate" ear pressure. However, in addition to the true cause of this process, the best minds of mankind still cannot unequivocally answer a not very significant, but very interesting question: "Why is yawning contagious?".

Why yawning is contagious: main hypotheses

All guesses about the causes of yawning agree that this reflex somehow helps to activate the body, invigorate it, saturate it with oxygen or cool it down – that is, to benefit him. Then why is yawning contagious?

The question of whether yawning is contagious is under investigation. However, today there are several hypotheses that explain this phenomenon.

1. Remains of antiquity.

For primitive people, yawning was a signal to go to sleep. By transmitting such a signal to each other, people could coordinate their actions.

2. Reflex.

We "get infected" yawn, because the yawn of a person – it is a stimulus to which we react reflexively – own yawn. Scientists use the term "fixed form of action" to describe this phenomenon. It is noteworthy that this reflex is very difficult to stop.

3. Chameleon effect.

One explanation for why yawning is contagious is unconscious imitation. In other words, we tend to unconsciously assume the postures of the interlocutor, adopt the manner of communicating with loved ones, etc. This hypothesis is based on the so-called mirror neurons, which determine the same reaction of the body to actions performed by another person. It is worth noting that human mirror neurons have not been studied enough, but experts believe that they are an integral part of the process of human learning and self-knowledge: when we see how another person (parents, teacher, coach) performs a certain action, we involuntarily manage to perform its better. A functional magnetic resonance imaging scan showed that an area of ​​mirror neuron clusters is activated,

Psychological theory.

Mirror neurons also underlie the psychological theory of contagious yawning. Only, unlike the physiological theory, psychologists call a mirror yawn a manifestation of empathy – the ability to empathize, understand and share the emotions of others. It has been established that other social animals also have this ability: dogs also yawn in response to the characteristic sound of a yawn. What's more, dogs are more likely to "get infected" yawns from their hosts and familiar people than from strangers.

The phenomenon of contagious yawning begins to manifest itself in a child, starting from 4-5 years. In autistic children who find it difficult to communicate with the outside world, the contagiousness of yawning is much less pronounced. There is also a hypothesis that the cause of autism in children is precisely a malfunction in the work of mirror neurons.

People who have a well-developed area of ​​the brain responsible for empathy and empathy are more prone to mirror yawning.

Estet-portal.com hopes that scientists will still be able to combine their theories together – and we will finally know why yawning is contagious.