<
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2025/oct/26/why-do-we-yawn-almost-certainly-not-for-the-reason-you-think>
"All vertebrates yawn, or indulge in a behaviour that’s at least recognisable
as yawn-adjacent. Sociable baboons yawn, but so do semi-solitary orangutans.
Parakeets, penguins and crocodiles yawn – and so, probably, did the first ever
jawed fish. Until relatively recently, the purpose of yawning wasn’t clear, and
it’s still contested by researchers and scientists. But this commonality
provides a clue to what it’s really all about – and it’s probably not what
you’re expecting.
“When I poll audiences and ask: ‘Why do
you think we yawn?’, most people
suggest that it has to do with breathing or respiration and might somehow
increase oxygen in the blood,” says Andrew Gallup, a professor in behavioural
biology at Johns Hopkins University. “And that’s intuitive because most yawns
do have this clear respiratory component, this deep inhalation of air. However,
what most people don’t realise is that that hypothesis has been explicitly
tested and shown to be false.”"
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
