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Yawning chills your brain out. While previous studies suggest that yawning helps boost oxygen supply, the latest study reveal that yawning keeps the brain at optimal temperature and homeostasis by cooling the organ down.
In the study, researchers Jorg Massen and Kim Dusch of the University of Vienna measured contagious yawning frequencies of pedestrians outdoors in Vienna, Austria, during both the winter and summer months. Next, they compared these results to an identical study conducted earlier in Arizona, USA. For the studies, pedestrians had to self-report their own yawning behavior after viewing a series of images of people yawning.
The findings revealed that people in Vienna yawned more in the summer than in the winter. However, people in Arizona yawned more in winter than in summer.
Further analysis reveals that it was not the seasons, but the amount of daylight hours experienced that influenced yawning rates. What's more, contagious yawning was controlled to an optimal thermal zone or range of ambient temperatures around 20 °C.
The study revealed that the rate of contagious yawning reduced when temperatures were relatively high at around 37°C in the summer of Arizona or low and around freezing in the winter of Vienna.
Researchers said the latest findings suggest that the underlying mechanism for yawning, both spontaneous and contagious forms, is involved in regulating brain temperature. They explain that cooling the brain helps improve arousal and mental efficiency. Contagious yawning may therefore function to improve overall group vigilance.
The findings are published in the journal Physiology & Behavior.