Try not to yawn
...it’s infectious
What makes you yawn? Aside from other people’s dreams, or movies from Poland, few things are guaranteed to pull it off. But one thing that has been proved to be effective is the sight of somebody else yawning.
What’s more, the American researchers who demonstrated this found that video images of yawns proved infectious even when the mouth was covered up. In fact, anything to do with yawning – including just thinking about it – can set you off. But nobody has satisfactorily explained why yawns should be infectious while coughing or sneezing – or farting, thank goodness – is not.
Pharmacologists can make you yawn by administering dopamine. (Sufferers of Parkinson’s disease, who are deficient in dopamine, rarely yawn.) And another substance implicated in yawning, perhaps surprisingly, is testosterone – but yawning at potential sexual partners to advertise virility is not necessarily to be recommended.
Scientists have also demonstrated that – contrary to popular wisdom – the cause of yawning is not a lack of oxygen. Dr Robert Provine at the University of Maryland found that people yawn just as much when breathing oxygen-rich air as they do with air full of carbon-dioxide.
Yawning begins in the womb, at around 11 weeks, though contagious yawning only starts around two years old. Spontaneous yawning never occurs if you feel inhibited – and in awkward situations people commonly put on a fake yawn to signal ease (sadly, most fake yawns actually look fake, so this strategy is gravely flawed).
If you’ve read this far without yawning, you may wish to consult a doctor. But I hope you haven’t been bored.
268 words. © FT Magazine
15 July 00
Comment
Affix panel (b) using screws Avoid eye contact, use soundbites, admit nothing