Is yawning really contagious? Frequent yawns may be due to these diseases

I wonder if you yawned when you saw this picture
I believe many people have this experience. When a person yawns around him, he will follow him. He can’t help even seeing a picture

I always hear people say “yawning is contagious”
What the hell is going on? Frequent yawns or disease signals? What’s the effect of holding it?

Next is the answer

Is yawning contagious?

Studies have shown that yawning signals trigger a special type of nerve cell in the cerebral cortex-“mirror neurons”, which are activated when we hear a certain sound or see a certain action, prompting us Like looking in a mirror, imitate the action just now.

Some experts said that yawning infection is not so much a physiological phenomenon as a social phenomenon, which is the same reason that laughter is contagious in life. It was also found that the closer the relationship, the stronger the infectivity, which may be related to “Empathy”. Because close people have closer feelings, most people will have this phenomenon, which is called “infectious yawning”, which usually occurs when they are bored.

Is yawning because of sleepiness?

Yawning is a kind of human physiological instinct. Yawning when tired or sleep deprived is medically believed to be caused by cerebral ischemia and hypoxia.

However, yawning is not only due to sleepiness. If it is not due to excessive fatigue and lack of sleep, you should be alert to possible signs of disease!

1. Cerebrovascular diseases: In patients with hypertension, cerebrovascular arteriosclerosis, and cerebrovascular stenosis, the amount of blood flowing to the brain will slow down and decrease, the brain is prone to be in a state of ischemia and hypoxia, and the symptoms of constant yawning will often appear. Especially in the first few days of acute stroke, this phenomenon is more likely to occur.

2. Cardiovascular disease: The heart is the source of blood circulation throughout the body and is responsible for supplying blood to the whole body and the brain. When suffering from coronary heart disease, heart failure and other diseases, the contractile function of the heart will decrease, which will lead to cerebral ischemia and hypoxia, and frequent yawns.

3. Sleep apnea syndrome: In the absence of adequate sleep, the human brain cannot get a sufficient supply of oxygen and is in an oxygen-deficient state, leading to symptoms of sleepiness and constant yawning.

4. Cervical spondylosis: There are carotid arteries and some nerves that supply blood oxygen to the brain at the cervical spine. If there is a problem with the cervical spine (such as hyperplasia), the blood supply will be affected, and it will also yawn.

In addition, some drugs can also cause sleepiness and constant yawning, such as anti-allergic drugs and painkillers.

What are the health benefits of yawning?

1. Eliminate sleepiness: A deep yawn when a person is tired can promote blood return, help metabolism, obtain more oxygen, increase the oxygen concentration in the blood, and eliminate sleepiness.

2. Relieve stress: Yawning can release the joint pressure between the temples and the jaw, relax the brain nerves and muscles of the whole body, and relieve mental stress and tension.

3. Promote blood circulation: Yawning can effectively spit out the exhaust gas in the chest, so that the cells can get more oxygen. Therefore, people who yawn for a long time will have better blood circulation.

4. Relieve dry eye syndrome: In life, we often yawn with tears, which is caused by yawning to stimulate the lacrimal glands. After working and studying for a long time, people will feel the discomfort of dry and astringent eyes, and the tears from yawning can moisturize the eyes, and the dry eyes can be easily solved by relieving the dry eyes.

What is the effect of holding back and not yawning?

Many people find it indecent to yawn in public, but forcibly not yawning is also detrimental to their health.

If you hold it forcibly, it will cause too much carbon dioxide to accumulate in the body, fatigue the body’s organs, weaken people’s responsiveness, and even hypoxia in brain cells.

Therefore, if you have a yawn, it is best not to hold back. If you feel embarrassed in the public, you can find a way to secretly yawn.