File:Yawning_koala_bear_(3589381656)_(cropped).jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons

EntityQ182180· pop 88· linked from 68 articles

yawn

Also known as yawning

A yawn is a reflex in vertebrate animals characterized by a long inspiratory phase with gradual mouth gaping, followed by a brief climax (or acme) with muscle stretching, and a rapid expiratory phase with muscle relaxation, which typically lasts a few seconds. For fish and birds, this is described as gradual mouth gaping, staying open for at least three seconds and subsequently a rapid closure of the mouth. Almost all vertebrate animals, including mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and even fish, experience yawning. The study of yawning is called chasmology.

AI overview

A yawn is a reflex that occurs across nearly all vertebrate animals, involving a sequence of gradual mouth opening, brief muscle stretching, and quick muscle relaxation that typically lasts a few seconds. While yawning is a common physical response found in mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish, scientists study this phenomenon through a field called chasmology.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Key facts

Body process.name: Yawn
Body process.image: Yawning koala bear (3589381656) (cropped).jpg
Body process.caption: A yawning koala, 1936
Body process.organisms: Vertebrates
Body process.biological system: Nervous system
Body process.health: Unaffected or beneficial
Body process.action: Involuntary
Body process.method: Complete extension of jaw, inhalation, eyes close, stretching of the eardrum, exhalation
Body process.duration: Usually 6 seconds

via Wikipedia infobox

Research

2,125 papers

Yawn contagion in bonobos: Another group, another story.American journal of primatology · 2022Norscia I, Caselli M, De Meo G et al.DOI: 10.1002/ajp.23366
Why do we yawn?ReviewNeuroscience and biobehavioral reviews · 2010Guggisberg AG, Mathis J, Schnider A et al.DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2010.03.008
Yawn contagion in domestic pigs (Sus scrofa).Scientific reports · 2021Norscia I, Coco E, Robino C et al.DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-80545-1
First evidence of yawn contagion in a wild monkey species.Scientific reports · 2021Gallo A, Zanoli A, Caselli M et al.DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-96423-3
The sound of yawns makes geladas yawn.Scientific reports · 2024Pedruzzi L, Francesconi M, Palagi E et al.DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-49797-5
Yawn-like behavior in captive common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus).Behavioural processes · 2021Enokizu A, Morisaka T, Murakami K et al.DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2021.104444
Why do we yawn? The importance of evidence for specific yawn-induced effects.ReviewNeuroscience and biobehavioral reviews · 2011Guggisberg AG, Mathis J, Schnider A et al.DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2010.12.004
Yawning.ReviewArquivos de neuro-psiquiatria · 1994Alóe FDOI: 10.1590/s0004-282x1994000200023

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Wikidata facts

Image: Macaca fuscata juvenile yawning.jpg

Show 3 more facts

Unicode character: 🥱
Commons category: Yawning
NCI Thesaurus ID: C87131

Sources (2)

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~19 min read

Article

9 sections

Contents

Etymology
Proposed causes
Social function
Relation to empathy
Non-human
Culture
References
Further reading
External links

Yawning (oscitation) most often occurs in adults immediately before and after sleep, during tedious activities and as a result of its contagious quality. It is commonly associated with tiredness, stress, sleepiness, boredom, or even hunger. In humans, yawning is often triggered by the perception that others are yawning (for example, seeing a person yawning, or talking to someone on the phone who is yawning). This is a typical example of echopraxia and positive feedback. This "contagious" yawning has also been observed in chimpanzees, dogs, cats, birds, and reptiles and can occur between members of different species. Approximately twenty psychological reasons for yawning have been proposed by scholars, but there is little agreement on the primacy of any one.