How to get rid of yawning: useful tips

Yawning is an unconditioned reflex act, in which the muscles of the face and respiratory muscles are involved. Scientists believe that this process is necessary for a person to maintain normal functioning of the brain, although the reasons for yawning are not fully understood. Yawning in public, during a conversation, at lectures, conferences and other meetings is considered a bad form and a sign of disrespect. One should learn to get rid of the desire to yawn, for this one needs to know the mechanisms and causes of this act.

Causes of yawning

The exact reasons are still unknown. There are many theories, among them three remain leading:

1. Lack of oxygen. The brain consumes more oxygen than any other organ of the human body. If a person is in a stuffy room or wearing tight clothes, as well as in diseases of the cardiovascular and respiratory systems, the neurons of the central nervous system experience oxygen starvation.Yawning helps to cope with this problem and provides an oxygen-rich blood supply to the brain. This theory explains the yawning from tiredness and boredom. When a person wants to sleep, the blood flow slows down.
2. Increased blood temperature. In the human body there are several organs whose temperature is maintained at a constant level: the brain, heart, liver, and kidneys. The central nervous system is most susceptible to overheating. In the brain there are centers responsible for controlling temperature, if it rises, the body takes measures to cool it. First you need to cool the brain, for this is done a yawn, and cooler blood rushes to the neurons.
3. Warm up the muscles. Mimic and chewing muscles of the face, muscles of the larynx, pharynx and tongue, as well as the main and auxiliary muscles involved in the act of breathing, are involved in the act of yawning. Yawning normalizes the blood supply of these muscles and eliminates their fatigue.

Why yawning is contagious

The listed reasons do not explain the infectiousness of yawning. Why do we imitate? Scientists have two theories:

1. Mirror neurons. There is a theory that in the nervous system there is a group of cells responsible for imitation. They are called "mirror". Because of these neurons, a person wants to yawn each time he sees a yawning or reads about yawning. This mechanism is more developed in some people, weaker in others. Mirror neurons are not only responsible for yawning, a person may want to paint when they see an artist or start knocking on a solid surface with their hands, watching the drummer. Mirror neurons act in relation to other species of animals, because you can yawn after a dog or a cat.
2. Imitative sympathy. Scientists have found that we are yawning at the same time with familiar people more often than with strangers. Children more often yawn after their parents, and pets imitate their owners. Why? It is difficult to answer this question unequivocally. Perhaps the mechanism of such a yawn is similar to the mechanism that causes us to imitate the voice or position of the interlocutor. Thus, the body subconsciously tries to please someone, imitating his actions.

Yawning mechanism

The brain starts the process. Neurons send impulses to the muscles involved in the act of breathing.A person takes a deep long breath with his mouth wide open and then a short exhalation. Due to the involvement in the process of yawning of the vocal cords, in some people the inhalation and exhalation are accompanied by a characteristic loud sound. It can be easily suppressed.

What happens in the body at this moment? In the lungs enters a large portion of oxygen, which quickly enters the blood. However, due to an increase in pressure in the lungs, the heart rate slows down. Because of this, after a second venous stagnation, a large portion of blood enters the pulmonary circulation, respectively, most of it is enriched with oxygen. These processes help eliminate hypoxia.

In addition, a spasm of the facial vessels occurs during yawning, they are squeezed by facial and masticatory muscles. Since the brain and the head feed from the branches of the common carotid artery, and its facial branches are blocked, a large portion of blood rushes to the brain when yawning.

Muscles involved in the act of yawning experience short-term hypoxia, after which more blood rushes in, which brings oxygen and carries away harmful metabolic products. This eliminates muscle fatigue.

During yawning, the channels of the sinuses open, as well as the Eustachian tube connecting the ear and throat. This helps to equalize the pressure in the inner ear and eliminate the feeling of stuffiness.

How to get rid of yawning

First of all, you must try to eliminate the causes of yawning:

1. Exit the stuffy room to the air or open the window. So the body will receive the necessary portion of oxygen without resorting to the act of yawning.
2. Relax the tie or unbutton the top button of the shirt. It is possible that the elements of clothes interfere with the free flow of blood to the brain and the neurons suffer from hypoxia because of this.
3. Take a deep breath when you feel tired and less focused.
4. If yawning does not recede, do a little warm-up - this will help to invigorate and increase the intensity of blood flow.
5. Take care of something, perhaps a yawn came from boredom.
6. Some sources advise you to put an ice pack on your forehead to lower the temperature inside the skull. It can save from yawning and at the same time cause the frontal, headache and trigeminal neuralgia. It is better to moisten a scarf or a piece of cloth with cool water and place it on the forehead.

Do not look at those who are yawning. Turn away or switch attention when another person is yawning. This will help not to follow his example.

If the desire to yawn remains, you can overcome the process itself. As soon as you feel that you want to yawn, close your teeth tightly and inhale deeply with your nose. This process is less noticeable than the full-fledged act of yawning. If this cannot be done, simply cover your mouth with your hand.

Remember that yawning is good for the body. Despite the rules of good behavior and impeccable education, allow yourself to periodically yawn. If you suffer from frequent uncontrolled yawning and nothing helps, consult a doctor, perhaps this is the first symptom of cardiopulmonary pathology.

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