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Why do people yawn?

People yawn to cool down their brain and feel more awake.

Yawning is when we open our mouth wide and take a deep breath. Scientists think yawning mostly helps to cool down our brain. When our brain gets a little warm or tired, the deep breath and stretch we do while yawning sends cool blood to the brain.

Yawning usually happens when we feel sleepy, when we are bored, or when we wake up in the morning. At these times, our body seems to send us a message like "rest a bit" or "move around a bit".

The most interesting part is that yawning is catchy. When one person yawns, the person next to them might yawn too. Scientists think this might be linked to how close people feel to each other.

Quick facts

Yawning is opening your mouth wide and taking a deep breath.
Yawning helps cool down the brain.
People yawn more when they feel sleepy.
Yawning is catchy — when one person yawns, another might yawn too.
Animals like dogs and cats yawn too.

Check what you remember

3 questions — all of them come from the quick facts above. There is no score and no wrong turn.

1. What does yawning help our body with the most?

2. Which of these shows that yawning is catchy?

3. When does yawning usually happen more?

Where this comes from

1 en.wikipedia.org 75/100
Yawn - Wikipedia
This page has more detailed scientific facts about yawning.
2 britannica.com 60/100
Britannica
It has trusted encyclopedia facts about things we're curious about.

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Why Does the Brain Cool Down?

Our brain is one of the hottest-working parts of our body. The deep breath we take while yawning helps fresh, cool blood reach the brain.

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Catchy Yawning

Seeing or hearing someone yawn can make another person yawn too. This interesting thing happens in animals as well.

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Animals Yawn Too

It's not just people — dogs, cats, and even fish yawn too. Yawning is a very old behaviour in the animal world.

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The Link with Sleep

We yawn more when we feel sleepy or when we wake up in the morning. This is a sign that our body is trying to adjust how awake we feel.

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