Why Do People Yawn When They’re Bored or Tired?

Yawning is like a big stretch for your brain. When you’re bored or tired, your body wants to wake up or cool down, and yawning helps with that. It’s also why people around you might start yawning too!

Why Yawning Is Contagious [Sometimes](/search?q=sometimes) it feels like someone is giving you the yawn from across the room. This happens because seeing others yawn activates special [brain cells](/search?q=brain%20cells) called mirror [neurons](/search?q=neurons), which help us understand and copy what others are doing.

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Examples

A kid in class starts yawning during a long math lesson and soon everyone else does too.
Your friend tells you a funny story and then yawns, after a few seconds, you feel the urge to yawn as well.
You sit down for lunch and begin eating, but before your first bite, you yawn.

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Categories: Psychology · yawning,contagious behavior,sleep cycles,neuroscience,social psychology