YAWN! What is it all about?

September 27, 2007 10:44 PM

What is going on biochemically when someone yawns?

I am a yoga teacher. I have noticed for the past 2-3 years that at the beginning of classes, there is this period where everyone begins to yawn. I have also noticed this happening personally on my last mushroom trip. These yawns come in waves, one right after the other for about 10-20 minutes straight. I have heard that there is a seratonin release going on. I am curious to hear feedback ranging from folk tales to scientific research on this.

posted by goalyeehah to Health & Fitness (5 answers total)

Yawns are a brainstem reflex. In comatose people they can be triggered by a lack of oxygen to the brain; in healthy people they are a sign of sleepiness. I am not aware of any connection to serotonin.
posted by ikkyu2 at 11:27 PM on September 27, 2007

Science Daily report on research claiming yawns cool the brain and maintain attention.
posted by wintersweet at 12:32 AM on September 28, 2007

Previously, on the Blue.
posted by blenderfish at 12:36 AM on September 28, 2007

The science of yawning. And then there's this, from a February issue of the research journal Neuroimage.
posted by Effigy2000 at 3:03 AM on September 28, 2007

There was a recent, rather amusing NPR story regarding yawning.
posted by quentiniii at 6:04 AM on September 28, 2007