

Why We Yawn - T-A
http://online.wsj.com/articles/the-real-reason-we-yawn-1408403897

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cpncrunch
After reading the article it seems they don't really know why we yawn.

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prawn
I think that's been true of every "why we yawn" article I've ever read.

Maybe it just relates to the jaw making sure that at various points it's fully
opened, for whatever reason.

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derefr
Related to that idea: I've heard the suggestion that development of dementia
is accelerated by (unreplaced) loss of teeth in old age. As in, when you stop
chewing and just start taking your food by liquid, your brain stops working as
well, possibly because it's now suffering chronic under-oxygenation on top of
everything else.

This, along with the chewing gum/migraines connection, seems to suggest the
motion of the jaw has a lot to do with brain function.

My personal hypothesis: given that the jaw specialized from the fusion and
hardening of gills, perhaps the brain still expects it to perform gill-like
functions in regularly "pumping" oxygen upward.

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nirvanis
I've yawned between 10 and 15 times while reading the article...

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agumonkey
Yawned 3 times while reading that sentence " Dopamine levels are highest early
in the day, giving a plausible explanation for why people yawn after waking
up, he said." , and I just woke up ..

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derefr
If yawning is associated with the first derivative of dopamine levels, then
you'd think taking a higher dose of Adderall than prescribed would make one
immediately yawn. People who have been prescribed Adderall (specifically non-
time-release L-Amphetamine): does this happen?

(Or, equivalently, the same question to anyone without ADHD who has taken
Adderall, or anyone who has taken meth or snorted cocaine. But these are
likely to be less common experiences in this community.)

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heydenberk
I have to say I find it a little funny for this article — with no news value —
to be run this week, when the world is teeming with news. I don't subscribe to
the idea that people can only attention to one thing, so don't I think there's
anything wrong with that. It just seems like they'd prefer to burn off a story
that is literally about yawning on a slow news day.

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jeremysmyth
You don't want a little fluff in your otherwise intense news day? A little
slice of sweetened ginger to cleanse your palate?

"Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the
mouth of God", or more secularly, a varied diet is a healthy diet. I like
keeping abreast of the news as much as anyone, but I also like a bit of R&R.

