7480 - Yawn.

[scottobear]

Yawning is extremely contagious -- 55% of people who witness someone yawn will yawn within five minutes. If a visually impaired person hears a tape of someone yawning, he or she is likely to yawn as well. Face it, the likelihood of you making it to the end of this answer without looking like one of these gaping maws is unlikely.

Although the contagious nature of yawning is well established, we know less about why this is so. Researchers are currently giving the topic some serious attention. One theory suggests it's a holdover from a period in evolutionary history when yawning served to coordinate the social behavior of a group of animals. A recent study postulates that contagious yawning could be part of the "neural network involved in empathy."

While the mystery of contagious yawning has yet to be solved, perhaps researchers are closing in on an answer. On the other hand, given the subject matter, we wouldn't blame them for falling asleep at the wheel. In the meantime, give the "yawn challenge" a try -- it's tougher than it looks.

via

Comments

[juliabee.livejournal.com]

Haha..I yawned by the 2nd paragraph, without seeing the photos. I felt it coming on by the end of para #1.

I read sometime back about the "empathy" thing. The article said it's thought that people with very little empathy don't yawn when they see others do it. Ever since reading that, I look around to see who isn't yawning when they should be. ;)

Crap..I just yawned 3 more times.

[juliabee.livejournal.com]

Add on another one, too. Gettin' out of your journal entry - quick!

[scottobear.livejournal.com]

You need oxygen!!

[juliabee.livejournal.com]

The fact that I haven't been to sleep yet probably has something to with my heart being starved for oxygen at the moment.

My sleep clock is messed up. It has messed up on a *dime* -- ever since I was a young person.

[scottobear.livejournal.com]

My sleep used to be really bad, the whole apnea thing... the cpap helped, and I don't really use it anymore.

These last two weeks have been pretty fatiguing.. I may try a snooze with it on again this weekend.

[juliabee.livejournal.com]

You just reminded me that I never made an entry about that sleep stuff I was going through. I don't have apnea, but had some other annoying stuff going on & they fixed it.

I heard you get better sleep with cpaps, so go for it!

[scottobear.livejournal.com]

Oh, I was wondering about that! I'm glad you got it taken care of!

[scottobear.livejournal.com]

The gaping maw entry made me yawn, too... plus, the icon is Newtie having a Yawn.

You are a very empathetic person, to be sure.

I'm just glad burps and farts aren't like yawns!

[juliabee.livejournal.com]

I just came in here to reply again..and I yawned again. That's craziness!

Yuh...I'm pretty glad, too. That stuff is bad enough as it is. :D

[scottobear.livejournal.com]

I think I'd be ok, as long as hiccups weren't that way... those things drive me nuts, and it takes a long time for me to be rid of 'em.

*yawwwn* Ack!

[juliabee.livejournal.com]

I've always been pretty lucky with hiccups. I get them for about 2 minutes tops - and then they're gone. Rare at that. Don't be pulling any hiccup entries on us!

I'm not tired at all. Not ready to go to sleep just yet. But this entry is kicking my butt with yawns. I didn't cover my mouth once either. :D

[scottobear.livejournal.com]

I bet the little critters are adorable when they do yawnies!

I've had a case of the hiccups last 30 minutes or more.. to the point where my gut was sore from doing it. That's rare, but happened enough that I know I could happily neve rhave hiccups again!

[juliabee.livejournal.com]

30 minutes?? Woo.

I just make sure my mouth is completely closed when I hiccup. Otherwise it makes them that much stronger. Have you ever noticed that?

[scottobear.livejournal.com]

My hiccups are *strong*. you're right, mouth shut creates a seal!

[danigolden.livejournal.com]

CRAP I YAWNED TOO.

[scottobear.livejournal.com]

Does your your little gray beastie do appolonia-yawns, too?

[danigolden.livejournal.com]

Oh yeah, hers are supercute. She usually does a full on stretch along with the yawn. I love watching 'em because it's pretty rare I get to see inside her tiny mouth.

[scottobear.livejournal.com]

does she do the little shake and shudder, too? that must be adorable!

[danigolden.livejournal.com]

Yeah, she does. A good Apollonia yawn with a stretch and shudder is probably #2 on the cutest things ever list.

The #1 cutest thing she does, hands down, is clean her whiskers. They're so long, and she grabs them with her tiny t-rex arms and like, grooms 'em.

Oh, also, I can't remember yawning after watching her yawn. I can remember watching Gizmo yawn and copying him, but not Apollonia. Maybe it's a chinchilla vs. cat thing.

[scottobear.livejournal.com]

oh my gosh... I can totally picture her getting all prissy with her little mitts.

MUST PHOTOGRAPH THIS, TO END ALL WAR.

[sida-al-hurra.livejournal.com]

"TO END ALL WAR"

hahahah! True!

[scottobear.livejournal.com]

with little gray cuteness, haw can anyone fight?

[sida-al-hurra.livejournal.com]

They can't! And she is SOOOOOOO, SO CUTE!

[sida-al-hurra.livejournal.com]

WE NEED VIDEO FOOTAGE!

[wickenden.livejournal.com]

It took the tag to get me to look at the icon, which made me realize that it's Newton yawning.

d.

[scottobear.livejournal.com]

old school newt! lucky webcam shots. :)

[silentyrs.livejournal.com]

Ah, I tricked myself into not yawning on that challenge. I just pretended like they were screaming.

Then after I closed it I yawned...
Foiled!

[scottobear.livejournal.com]

gotcha!

[rosin-dubh.livejournal.com]

Yawning is apparently an audio thing with me, rather than a visual. I can watch the whole challenge, but unless I hear it, it does nothing to me. Either that, or I've just been too tired today to yawn.

Which makes no sense at all, does it?

Who knows.

*sigh*

[scottobear.livejournal.com]

I didn't lose to that either, but the newt-yawn icon hits me every time!