Yawning can be one of the most common activities we do every day. But have you ever wondered why yawning happens? Yawning has long been believed to be a way to expel carbon dioxide and replenish oxygen. But now, according to new research, yawning may serve as a cue that increases observers’ alertness.
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Yawning may increase alertness
About contagious yawning repeatedly among individuals, Andrew Gallup explained that this behavior may have evolved to increase alertness within a group. The idea is that if the yawn indicates that the person is feeling sleepy, watching them yawn can alert other members of the group. This compensates for the low alertness of the yawning person and in turn increases the overall alertness of the group.
Andrew Gallup conducted a study last year to explain the above idea. He showed people several pictures that included threatening stimuli, such as photos of snakes, and non-threatening stimuli, such as pictures of frogs. People were shown stretching videos first, followed by images. Gallup then tested people’s ability to select images.
observed that after watching videos of people yawning, they could more efficiently detect threatening stimuli or images of snakes. But the ability of humans to detect frog painting has not changed. As a result of this experiment, it was concluded that the act of yawning made people more attentive to threatening elements.
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