
Why is yawning contagious?
Do you really know?
00:00
Contagious Yawning
Harvard health publishing says that people yawn between five and 20 times per day on average. Yawning is a more complex reflex than most people would think. Most often it happens during the transition periods when we have just woken up or are about to go to sleep. So why do i yawn when my partner does, even if i'm not tired? There's no definitive answer, but the phenomenon of contagious yawning has been widely studied leading to several hypotheses. Many experts believe that contagious yawning as a communication tool used by social animals. And it's possible that it evolved to synchronize group behavior.
Play episode from 00:00
Transcript


