• Question: why is a yawn contagious

    Asked by u want rice 21 to Aislinn, Fiona, Nathan, Padraic, Sinead on 30 Jan 2015.
    • Photo: Nathan Quinlan

      Nathan Quinlan answered on 30 Jan 2015:

      I don’t know, but just thinking about yawning is making me yawn.

    • Photo: Padraic Morrissey

      Padraic Morrissey answered on 31 Jan 2015:

      That’s a tough question! I actually tried to find the answer to this myself a couple of months on the internet but guess what….nobody has any idea! Lots of research has been done on the subject but scientists are still no closer to understanding it.

    • Photo: Sinead Quirke

      Sinead Quirke answered on 31 Jan 2015:

      I didn’t know the answer to this and so had to look it up on the internet.

      It seems that the neuroscientists don’t really know why we yawn but they agree that it is contagious. They seem to think that it shows we care (empathy for the other person) but that challenges my thinking because if I see someone yawning in front of me I usually think they are tired and or bored – even if I was the first to yawn!!

    • Photo: Aislinn Coghlan

      Aislinn Coghlan answered on 9 Feb 2015:

      Maybe when we see people taking a deep breath, it makes us conscious of our own breathing, so we take a deep breath in and yawn.

      I don’t think anyone has figured it out yet! It’s quite cool though. Next time you are in traffic, look out the windows and let out a big yawn. The person next to you will yawn too!

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