Is Yawning Contagious?

Have you ever yawned simply because you heard someone else yawn?

Did you just yawn because you read the word 'Yawning' on this page? If so, did you ever think that yawning was a contagious act? It was found that between 40-60% of people will automatically find yawning contagious and yawn themselves.

In the past, scientists thought that the mirror neuron system caused yawning. Although in a 2005 a Brain Scanning study which was conducted by Finnish Scientists found that the beginning of the desire to yawn is unconscious. These researchers found that a yawn bypasses the mirror neuron system. They found that witnessing someone else yawning seems to activate the periamygdala sections of the brain (part of brain that helps you interpret things) thus creates the unconscious yawn.

In addition there seems to be 3 Types of Contagions that you might experience when you yawn. These three types are outlined by Maxwell Gladwell in his book 'The Tipping Point' which he refers to as 'Concept of Contagiousness' below:

• Aurally Contagious - hearing someone else yawn and then you perform the act of yawning
• Sight Contagious - seeing someone else yawn and then you perform the act of yawning
• Emotionally Contagious - a feeling that you experience (ex. you might be tired after you read this)

Therefore the next time you yawn try to stop and think if your yawn was an act of contagiousness. Also you can check to see if you passed it on to someone else.

Sources:

Information on Bran Scanning study visit world-science.net: Why is Yawning Contagious

Details on Maxwell Gladwell's article on Thinking about yawns