Why Is Yawning Contagious? (Note: Kids with autism are half as likely to catch yawns.)

[HuckleB]

Yawning when others yawn is a sign of empathy and a form of social bonding.
http://news.discovery.com/human/yawning-social-behavior.html

"Watch someone yawn, and try not to yawn yourself. It can be impossible to resist. Even reading about yawning can make you do it.

Now, a new study offers insight into why contagious yawning is such a powerful force.

Yawning when others yawn, the study suggests, is a sign of empathy and a form of social bonding. Kids don't develop this deeply rooted behavior until around age four, the study found. Kids with autism are half as likely to catch yawns. In the most severe cases, they never do.

Yawning might eventually help doctors diagnose developmental disorders. The work could also lead to a better understanding of the subtle ways that people communicate and connect.

..."


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If you're tired, please don't go to the restaurant/theatre/ballpark/museum/concert hall where I'm going. Thanks!

:hi:

[Kookaburra]

1. Oh, I can't even hear a person yawn, or I'll start too

Don't even have to see it. Even if I'm completely well-rested and full of energy, if someone start, I'm right there with them.

[Xipe Totec]

2. I can't even SEE the word yawn without wanting to. nt

[RaleighNCDUer]

3. Yawning is a display of tiredness and comfort -

nobody who is feeling threatened, yawns. So, shared yawning is a subconscious display of relaxation in the company of others. It is a very primitive way of saying "I trust you enough that I could sleep in your presence - I see no immediate threat here."

Probably predates language.

[damntexdem]

4. Stop making me yawn!

Next thing, you'll be putting me asleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

[HuckleB]

9. Ahem.

Johannes Brahms - Lullaby
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t894eGoymio

[xchrom]

5. just reading this made me yawn. nt

[HuckleB]

6. I'm with you.

[Dogmudgeon]

7. Mirror neurons, mayhap?

The work of V.S. Ramachandran is a good place to start reading. Susan Blackmore, I understand, is also planning to publish in this area. And Simon Baron-Cohen, the cousin of Sasha "Borat" Baron-Cohen, is a well-known expert in this field.

My brother has a severely autistic son, age 8. He can laugh contagiously, but not yawn. This was a clinical sign that was actually used to diagnose him; "eventually" is already here, but many physicians still have to "get up to speed" on the subject.

--d!

[tridim]

8. The Mythbusters covered this question.

http://www.yourdiscovery.com/video/mythbusters-top-10-is-yawning-contagious/

I can also verify that my dog yawns when I do, but I also think my dog has some human DNA. :)

[Odin2005]

10. So THAT is why I never seem to catch yawns!