Why does a person constantly yawn deeply very often. Why do people often yawn: reasons

The appearance of moles, redness of the eyes, frequent yawning- these and other "little things" can cause serious diseases. Therefore, noticing that the body is a little "jumping", do not expect that everything will go away by itself. After all, in such a clear way, your body tells you about the danger. And you, in turn, must inform the doctor about this!

Any ailment in early stage treatment is easier and cheaper. That's why it's so important to know dangerous symptoms in order to take adequate measures to eliminate them in a timely manner.

Frequent yawning during the day

You sleep enough and get enough sleep, but you suddenly pesters frequent yawning? Scientists have found that this physiological process helps to reduce nervousness and mobilize the body.

It is for this reason for yawning often overcomes skydivers before jumps, athletes before the start, musicians before a concert ... Perhaps you have an exam, a public speech, or some other kind of serious test? involuntary yawning increases the readiness of the body to act in critical situations.

According to other theories, yawning is a complex process of regulating the temperature of the brain. Yawning brings in blood and cooler air, which improves brain function. It usually accompanies fatigue, drowsiness, boredom, a depressed, despondent state. If the mood is cheerful, joyful, upbeat, you don’t want to yawn.

To stop frequent yawning, as a rule, it is enough to change your position, straighten up and square your shoulders, take a few deep breaths and sharp exhalations, if possible, walk around or do a few simple exercise.

If you yawn frequently, you should see a doctor. When?

unstoppable constant yawn may be a symptom of some disease states requiring medical care. Frequent yawning, combined with excessive weakness and drowsiness, may indicate hormonal changes, chronic fatigue syndrome, or burnout syndrome.

Yawning attacks are observed with migraine, cerebrovascular accident, vegetative-vascular dystonia, multiple sclerosis, in a pre-syncope state. For clarification causes of excessive yawning you need to consult a doctor.

Periodically disturbed by interruptions in the work of the heart

Such violations do not always indicate the presence of a serious problem. Very often, people who feel arrhythmia do not suffer from severe heart disease.

Reasons for violation heart rate there may be lack of sleep, taking certain medications, a reaction to stress, or physical activity, smoking or drinking alcoholic beverages . However, there are those in which dangerous symptoms appear, sometimes even life-threatening.

When to See a Doctor for Heart Failure

If heart rhythm disturbances occur frequently or are accompanied by chest pain, shortness of breath, dizziness, blackouts, it is necessary to full examination to clarify the cause arrhythmias. Arrhythmia may be a symptom of heart failure, thyroid disease, various poisonings.

The main method for diagnosing cardiac arrhythmias is the electrocardiogram (ECG), exercise ECG, and 24-hour ECG monitoring.

Eyes often redden

Hemorrhages can be provoked by increased physical and visual stress, blood pressure drops, visiting saunas and baths, hypovitaminosis, food poisoning. It is not uncommon for the blood vessels in the eyes to become severely dilated and even burst in contact lens wearers.

When to See a Doctor for Red Eyes

If the blood vessels in the eyes often dilate and burst, this may indicate a disorder.

Each of us on personal experience familiar with yawning. But few people understand what this process is, what function it performs in the body, and whether yawning is as safe as many people think. In this article, we will take a closer look at why people yawn, as well as consider many other issues related to such a common and familiar phenomenon.

What is a yawn

First of all, you need to understand what a yawn really is. Many believe that they can control this process. In fact, this is a reflex respiratory act, which is characterized by a deep long inhalation and a short exhalation, often accompanied by a characteristic sound.

At first glance, it seems that there is nothing special about yawning, and the problem is not worth considering. However, in 2010, an International Medical Congress was held in France, the theme of which was precisely yawning. The luminaries of medical science in many countries shared their opinions about why a person constantly yawns, why this process is necessary for the body, and when this reflex act becomes a symptom of a disease.

To date, there are no exact, verified and confirmed answers to the questions posed, but there are still certain assumptions. We will describe them in detail below.

When do people yawn and why is it necessary

There are several hypotheses about why people yawn and how this process is reflected in the health of the body. Let's look at them in more detail.

The most common reason people yawn in medical circles is the lack of oxygen in the brain tissue. It is reliably known that during a deep breath, a greatly increased amount of oxygen enters the bloodstream, in contrast to normal breathing. In addition, during a yawn, the respiratory passages open wide: the pharynx, the glottis, the volume of the nasopharynx and pharynx increases. As you know, when the body is saturated with oxygen, blood flow and metabolism are accelerated. This, in turn, leads to an improvement in human well-being, tone. Therefore, in various situations, when the oxygen balance is disturbed, stagnation of blood flow occurs, a person experiences yawning. So, after sleep, long monotonous work, a person yawns. Such a respiratory act helps to cheer up, bring the body into tone.
Another version of the cause of yawning is the need for the body to cool the brain. This hypothesis is closely related to the previous one, since its essence lies in the same saturation of the brain with a large volume of oxygen.
Why do people often yawn during a flight? In this way, the body regulates the pressure in the middle ear. This happens due to the fact that the channels that connect the pharynx and the Eustachian tubes straighten out.
Also, yawning is necessary to relieve muscle tightness. Often the act of breathing is accompanied by pandiculation of the body. So the body is invigorated and tuned to productive activity. The fair sex will be interested to know the fact that during yawning, facial muscles are massaged, tightening them and improving skin turgor.
Why do people often yawn? The reason may be in serious illness. Let's take a closer look at this issue and offer a list of health problems that can cause frequent yawning below.
Among other things, such a reflex respiratory act tends to calm and relax the body. That is why people yawn before going to bed or during an exciting event, such as before an exam, competition, or an important meeting.

Why do children yawn

Yawning in children is considered an indicator of normal lung development. A reliable fact has been recorded that children yawn even before they are born. Such a respiratory act can be observed using ultrasound in the fetus for a period of 11-12 weeks of pregnancy. But, if yawning often helps an adult to cheer up, then such a process exclusively calms a child, becomes a harbinger of sleep.

If parents notice that the baby yawns too often, you need to pay attention to this. Perhaps the crumbs do not have enough oxygen and there is a need to increase the duration of walks in the fresh air. Frequent yawning in children can also indicate problems with the nervous system. In this case, an examination by a neurologist is required.

Why do people yawn in church

You have come to church for spiritual peace, when suddenly you begin to yawn. You become uncomfortable in front of others, and you have to leave the temple. Why does a person yawn in church? We hasten to reassure - this situation happens quite often and does not depend on the age, state of health of the parishioner. It is not difficult to explain this phenomenon, knowing the mechanism of yawning. In the church, several reasons appear simultaneously for which such a respiratory process occurs: a stuffy room, muffled light, monotonous prayer. All these factors contribute to the inhibition of various body processes, including blood flow. Therefore, there is a lack of oxygen, which contributes to an involuntary reflex act.

Why do people yawn while talking

Are you talking to a person, and he suddenly starts yawning? Do not rush to accuse the interlocutor of ingratitude and indifference, and yourself - of the lack of oratory and emotionality. The case is exactly the opposite. Yawning overcame the listener just because of the increased work brain activity. The opponent listened attentively to your story, so his oxygen metabolism was disturbed, and in order to replenish his strength and continue the active work of the brain, the body was saturated with oxygen with the help of a yawn. Now you can safely continue your story.

In the same way, one can explain why a person yawns when talking - overexertion contributes to a decrease in the amount of oxygen in the bloodstream, and yawning as a protective mechanism replenishes the spent energy.

Is yawning contagious?

It has been noticed that yawning is “contagious” - as soon as one person yawns, others around him also begin to reflexively repeat. Why do people yawn even when they are just watching a video of a person yawning or reading an article about yawning? The answer lies in the cerebral cortex. Are you yawning now? This is your mirror neurons, which are located in the cerebral cortex. They are responsible for empathy and are the cause of contagious yawns on an emotional level. It has been noted that categories of people who have less developed parts of the brain responsible for feelings are not prone to contagious yawning. These people include children under 5 years old (although there are exceptions), autistic people and those suffering from schizophrenia.

Signs and superstitions

There are such beliefs among the people about yawning:

They cover their mouth with their hands during a yawn so that the devil does not fly into the soul.
Residents of Turkey believe that if you do not have time to cover your mouth during a yawn, the soul can fly out of a person.
The Indians believe that yawning is a call to death or the devil, and in order to scare away the unclean, you need to snap your fingers.
In our spaces folk healers They say that in the process of yawning, the evil eye comes out. And if a person yawns while talking with another, the soul is protected from unfavorable energy.

When yawning becomes a dangerous symptom

Why do people yawn so often? Frequent yawning is a signal to the body that it lacks oxygen. In this case, ventilate the room, but rather organize a walk in the fresh air.

Frequent yawning may indicate fatigue. Set aside time for rest and good sleep, alternate vigorous activity with breaks for relaxation. We found out why a person yawns, but how to deal with such a process when it takes us by surprise at the most inopportune moment, for example, during a business meeting or a date with a loved one? How to cope with the reflex act and, as they say, not lose face in front of others? There are some actionable tips:

Fresh air will saturate the body with oxygen, and the need for the body to yawn will disappear.
Daily morning jogging or other active sports will help minimize the chances of yawning during the day.
Do not forget about proper rest and sleep.
While working at the computer, sit straight - this way the diaphragm is not squeezed, and the air saturated with oxygen enters in the required volume.
Learn proper deep breathing.
Cold drink or food will eliminate the attack of yawning.
Express method for suppressing the reflex - as soon as you feel the urge to yawn, lick your lips.
It also helps to hold back a yawn by taking a deep breath in through the nose and a short breath out through the mouth.

So, we found out why a person yawns. It turns out that such a simple process has important functions in the work of the whole organism. Therefore, it should not be taken lightly. With prolonged and frequent yawning, be sure to undergo an examination of the heart and blood vessels under the supervision of a doctor.

Have you ever thought about why it happens that you often yawn a lot? This article is an attempt to explain what is going on and give you an idea of where frequent yawning comes from. Curiously, frequent yawning is our body's involuntary response to fatigue as well as boredom. When you yawn, your mouth opens wide and your lungs fill with air. A yawn can be short or long, sometimes tears come along with yawning, and sometimes a runny nose. Yawning is normal, but it happens that a person yawns too often. Below you will find explanations for the causes of frequent yawning.

Physiological causes of frequent yawning

Physiological causes of frequent yawning include:

tiredness or drowsiness;
changes associated with sleep patterns: change of work schedule, lack of sleep, travel associated with the crossing of several time zones;
a disorder such as narcolepsy, which can lead to daytime sleepiness;
sleep apnea, a disorder that restricts breathing for short periods of time;
side effects from drugs such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), which are used to treat depression and anxiety;
functioning problems vagus nerve, which can be caused by bleeding in or around the aorta, or in severe cases due to a heart attack.

In some cases, frequent or excessive yawning may be an indicator of:

epilepsy;
stroke or brain tumor;
liver failure;
cardiovascular disease;
chronic venous insufficiency;
electrolyte imbalance;
an autoimmune disease called Hashimoto's thyroiditis (leads to hypothyroidism and low level hormones thyroid gland);
hypothyroidism;
multiple sclerosis.

Psychological and Emotional Causes of Excessive Yawning

Excessive yawning can be caused by emotional or psychological reasons. These include:

stress,
depression,

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anxiety.

Yawning can occur when a person feels anxious or has anxiety attacks. As a rule, during such episodes, the body requires hyperventilation of the lungs, which causes bouts of yawning. Hyperventilation makes you feel as if there is not enough air to breathe, in response the body sends a command to the brain what needs to be done to get more oxygen, so involuntary excessive yawning occurs. Through this process, the brain tries to oxygenate the lungs.

Serious and life-threatening causes of excessive yawning

Excessive yawning can sometimes be a sign that the condition a person is in is life threatening. Such symptoms should be considered an emergency. This happens with a sudden deterioration in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), as well as in chronic bronchitis and emphysema.

What to do to control yawning

Here are some tips on what to do to control yawning and avoid excessive yawning.

Get enough sleep

The advice is pretty obvious. However, when a person gets enough sleep, they are better rested and therefore able to control yawning. If you do not get enough sleep, you will yawn, as you will not be able to overcome drowsiness.

Try to control yawning like this:

inhale deeply through your nose and exhale through your mouth;
when you realize you're about to yawn, try drinking a cool or chilled drink (if you have one on hand);
eat vegetables with a high water content, such as cucumbers or watermelons, if you want to avoid excessive yawning;
if you feel like yawning, go to a cool place or ventilate the room thoroughly to lower the temperature and add oxygen to the room;
if you have an important meeting ahead of you, during which you should never yawn, put a wet compress on your head for a few minutes before going to such a meeting. This measure will prevent yawning until you have finished your negotiations.

How to treat excessive yawning

If medications such as SSRIs are found to be the cause of your frequent yawning, your doctor may prescribe lower doses of them. Studies show that lowering the dosage can eliminate excessive yawning, but leave the desired effects of taking these drugs. In any case, the doctor must decide.

If you have a sleep disorder that has resulted in excessive yawning, your doctor may be able to advise you on medications to take to improve sleep and methods to use to help you sleep better. One example of a disease that causes excessive yawning is sleep apnea, which is associated with persistent airway pressure. So, you need to normalize breathing and make sure that Airways were open.

If you have other diseases that cause frequent yawning, such as tumors, kidney failure, liver or heart problems, stroke, you should contact your doctor immediately.

When to see a doctor for frequent yawning

It makes sense to consult a doctor with a complaint of frequent yawning if:

there is no explanation why you often yawn,
your frequent yawning is associated with daytime sleepiness.

Article author : Kristina Sumarokova, Moscow Medicine ©
Denial of responsibility : The information provided in this article about why you often yawn is for informational purposes only. However, it cannot be a substitute for consulting a professional doctor.

Yawning is an unconscious breathing act, a deep long inhalation and a rapid exhalation. At the same time, the mouth is open, and the process of yawning itself is accompanied by a characteristic sound. At first glance, yawning seems natural process for the body, but in some cases, excessively frequent yawning can become a symptom of the disease. There are several hypotheses that answer the question of why people often yawn. Doctors are studying why this process is necessary for the body, but they have not come to final conclusions.

Why do people yawn?

Consider the most common hypotheses that explain why people often yawn and how it affects general state organism.

Yawning as an aid to the body with a lack of oxygen in the brain tissues. During a deeper breath, more oxygen enters the bloodstream than during normal breathing. Saturation of the body with oxygen leads to accelerated blood flow and metabolism, which makes a person feel better and the whole body comes into tone. Therefore, in various situations when the oxygen balance is disturbed, a person yawns and becomes more cheerful. For example, yawning after sleep or long monotonous work.

Yawning to cool the brain. Scientists were able to prove this effect by conducting an experiment in which two groups of people watched videos of yawning actors. Participants with a cold compress on their foreheads yawned less compared to people with or without a warm compress.

Useful properties of yawning

Help for stuffy ears. Why do you often yawn when the plane changes altitude? Yawning helps relieve ear congestion, which occurs due to a sharp difference in pressure.
Warm-up for muscles . During yawning, a person usually involuntarily stretches and kneads the frozen body. Thus, yawning prepares a person for active action. So, students yawn, preparing for the exam, and artists - before the performance. This also explains the yawning of people when they are bored or want to sleep - yawning helps to cheer up and work with stiff muscles.

Protection nervous system. During a serious conversation or an exciting situation, a person may ask himself: "Why do I often yawn?" Such a reaction will be a kind of sedative for the body, which will help to cope with stress.
Relaxing effect . If a person, then yawning will help the body relax and prepare for sleep.

Yawning as a sign of illness

Frequent and prolonged yawning is a symptom of an unhealthy state of the body. This may be one of the signs of sleep problems, high blood pressure, depression, or severe anxiety. Therefore, in cases where yawning overcomes a person constantly, it is better to consult a doctor - to check your pressure, the state of blood vessels and the heart. And first you need to try to be less nervous, get enough sleep and replenish the supply of vitamins and minerals in the body.

The mirror property of yawning

Yawning is a phenomenon that can be "infected". Why do you often yawn when you see people with their mouths open in real life or on TV? In the cortex of our brain are which are the cause of the stickiness of yawning. It is enough for a person to read about yawning or think about it, and then he immediately begins to yawn. But not all people are susceptible to this “disease”. Children with autism can watch a provocative video without yawning. And children under the age of five are not capable of mirror yawning, since they still do not know how to empathize with other people's emotions.

The frequent yawning of the owners is transmitted to the dogs, and they also completely copy the physiological state of the owner, becoming relaxed and sleepy, like a yawning person. Dogs also see the difference: if the owner just opens his mouth wide, then the dog will not mimic his behavior, and the yawn will definitely copy.

Yawning as a sign of emotional intimacy

Frequent yawning occurs among relatives and close friends of the yawner. And distant acquaintances and strangers almost do not show mirror signs. Proximity is the only factor that scientists have been able to identify, because both gender and nationality do not affect a person's need to yawn in response.

Yawning as a way to communicate

Scientists believe that even during the evolution of primates, yawning began to be used as an imitative action. The reasons were very different. So, at the sight of danger, one of the group members yawned, and his condition was transmitted to everyone else and put them on alert. And in order to convey a signal to people that it was time to go to bed, the leader yawned, and the tribe supported him with an appropriate reaction.

Ways to deal with yawning

The periodic occurrence of yawning is natural for the body, but if a person constantly asks the question “Why do I yawn often?”, This may mean that some kind of malfunction has occurred in the body. Here are some simple tips to help you beat yawning:

Healthy sleep . It is necessary to determine how much time a person needs to sleep in order for the body to recover. Also, with severe fatigue in the daytime, you can afford a small 20-minute rest. This will help the body relax, but will not allow you to switch to a full sleep.
Straight posture . A bent back can cause frequent yawning. The reasons for this effect is that the hunched state does not allow the diaphragm to fully work and causes its involuntary contractions. Whereas an even posture will reduce the desire to yawn.
Fresh air and sports. A person is saturated with oxygen during exercise, and this allows him to remain alert throughout the day. More the best option will spend more time outdoors, taking walks or arranging light workouts in the fresh air.
Food . Good nutrition will help bring the body in order and get rid of frequent yawning for no reason. You should try to take vitamins, remove unhealthy foods from your diet and drink more fluids.

Why is yawning necessary?

When a person yawns, they open their mouth wide and take a very deep breath. Thus, hyperventilation of the lungs occurs, and the body receives the maximum amount of oxygen.

It is logical to assume that you want to yawn in a stuffy room or other situations when there is a lack of air or it is difficult to breathe. But observations have shown that yawning happens not only in such cases.

Main reasons

After various studies, scientists were able to develop a classification of the main causes of yawning. It turned out that they can be not only physiological, but also psychological. And too frequent yawning is even a symptom of some serious diseases.

Therefore, if you catch yourself yawning not only when you want to sleep, you should not leave this moment unattended.

Physiological

Most common physiological causes. We have already noted the lack of oxygen. In addition, the person yawns:

with severe stress or prolonged nervous strain - this allows him to relax a little;
with vitamin deficiency - metabolic processes are disturbed, often a person feels chronic fatigue and yawns all the time;
for a shake - for example, after monotonous work or a long wait to get rid of fatigue;
when relaxing - a deep breath contributes to the complete relaxation of the whole body;
with stuffy ears - this way the air pressure on both sides of the eardrum is equalized;
when overheating - often yawning attacks in a hot climate, when the human brain overheats.

Knowing the physiological reasons that can provoke yawning, it is easier to understand in which cases you should not worry, even if it recurs, and when it is better to consult with specialists.

Pathological

Scientists have proven that frequent uncontrolled yawning, not associated with external influences, can be a symptom of one of the following diseases:

More often than usual, people yawn during the treatment of oncological diseases with a course of chemistry or radiotherapy, taking potent medicines. Alarming symptoms are lethargy, drowsiness, frequent headache or dizziness, panic attacks accompanying yawning.

Only experienced doctors can identify and treat such conditions. Therefore, if you constantly yawn without visible reasons- Be sure to get tested.

Types of yawning

In a dream

Separately, I would like to say about such a phenomenon as yawning in a dream. It is especially common in newborns and children under three years of age. Moms begin to worry and try to find out from the pediatrician what such yawning can be a symptom of. But here the facial structure of the child, which still has very narrow nasal passages, is to blame.

When the room is too hot or the air is very dry, crusts form in the nose and less oxygen is supplied when breathing. The baby compensates for this shortcoming by yawning. If you ventilate the room well and carefully clean the nose, the child will continue to sleep peacefully.

Older children and adults can yawn without waking up for other reasons:

uncomfortable position of the body, in which the chest is compressed;
severe nervous strain during the day;
violation cerebral circulation(harbinger of a stroke);
difficulty breathing with snoring and respiratory diseases;
squeezing the larynx in the supine position with a large excess weight.

It turns out that yawning is a universal mechanism that performs several functions at once: protective, signaling, regulating.

Mirror

A very interesting process is the so-called "mirror yawn". If there are several people in the room at the same time, and one of them starts to yawn sweetly, then it happens literally “ chain reaction” - this is transmitted to everyone around.

Scientists have never been able to find a satisfactory explanation for why yawning is contagious. One theory says that this is one of the types of atavism that we inherited from our ancestors.

The mirror response is supposedly programmed genetically. Thus, the leader synchronized the actions of the group and then gave the appropriate commands.

Is it possible to control

Evening yawning does not bother anyone. But if her attack takes you by surprise in the middle of the working day, it is uncomfortable and indecent. Doctors decided to find out how to control yawning and whether there is effective means combat this undesirable phenomenon?

Most people try to suppress a yawn by clenching their jaws hard. But usually this does not help, because it does not allow you to get the extra portion of oxygen that the body needs now.

To quickly stop yawning, it is better to try the following:

If yawning is provoked by lack of sleep, then a cup of coffee will be a temporary remedy against it. But you should not drink too much of it, otherwise it will be difficult to fall asleep after a long day, and in the morning everything will happen again.

Prevention

Even if yawning is associated with chronic diseases, there are quite simple ways prevent her uncontrolled seizures:

And finally one more interesting fact, which was noted by British psychologists studying yawning. The more emotional and sociable a person is, the more often he mirrors a yawn.

Those who often yawn are kinder and more sociable by nature, they quickly show sympathy and come to the aid of others. So take this into account when choosing new friends.