5 Causes Of Yawning Although You Are Not Sleepy, Have You Ever Experienced This?

Illustration of the cause of yawning (Freepik/Pressfoto)

YOGYAKARTA – Drowsiness begins with yawning many times, but it doesn't work the other way around. Yawning is not always related to drowsiness, because it is a common reflex. Usually after yawning some people feel more relaxed. But why yawn even though you're not sleepy?

Yawning has long been associated with feeling tired or bored. But there's a recent study reported by WebMD, Tuesday, May 24, that yawning may do more than just get oxygen to your brain. Researchers have also explored a lot, with various approaches, they found that by yawning the body is giving a sign of fatigue, boredom, or experiencing mild stress. Other researchers have also found that yawning is an empathetic and social skill that can be contagious when someone in front of you yawns.

If we dig deeper, there is no particular reason why it evaporates. It's just a reflex that just happens accidentally. You don't think about it when you yawn, do you? However, it turns out that there are many things that researchers agree on as the cause of yawning, including the following.

1. Altitude change

If you are on an airplane or driving at different altitudes, you may yawn as an automatic body response. This is the body's way of relaxing the pressure in the ear.

Illustration of the cause of yawning (Freepik/Drazen Zigic)

2. Empathy

Psychological and social approaches are also used to explore the causes of yawning. Researchers found that another cause of yawning is social empathy. If you see someone yawning or read about yawning, you may have the urge to yawn. Psychologists say the driver is empathy. So the closer you are to someone, the more likely you are to yawn if they yawn.

3. Feeling bored or tired

Research has shown that yawning is not a sign of tiredness or boredom. On the other hand, yawning is a reflex from the brain that makes you wake up or feel more alert. That means that yawning is your body's way of trying to 'wake up' you.

4. How to cool a warm brain

Although there is no scientific evidence that yawning is the body's way of cooling a warm brain, it is often associated with the need for cool air. In hot situations, you yawn more often. So this approach seems to find empirical evidence even though there are no studies that prove it scientifically.

5. Stretch the lungs

When yawning, sometimes followed by a greater stretch. So that the body can flex the muscles and stretch the joints. When yawning may also experience an increase in heart rate. Therefore, by stretching your lungs and improving your heart rate, you will feel more awake.

Quoting the health page of the Medical University of South Carolina, yawning is normal. However, if there is an increase in yawning that is not due to lack of sleep or any of the other causes described above, then yawning could be a symptom of several ailments. The most common medical problems associated with increased yawning are insomnia, sleep apnea, narcolepsy, bleeding around the heart, brain tumors, multiple sclerosis, stroke, and heart attack.