Am I tired? No, I'm just cooling my brain.

 Have you ever thought about the function of yawning? Is it a sign of exhaustion or drowsiness? Or is there another meaning to it? I found an article that focused on yawning and how there could be other purposes for yawning and how its linked to physiology. If you've ever seen someone close to you yawn, more than likely you've yawned after them. This is known as a contagious yawn and is seen as a sign of social bonding and empathy. Growing up, I was always told that if you yawn and someone else yawns, vice versa, you tend to have a strong connection. This idea has been reinforced in my mind because most of the time when my mom and sister yawn, someone always follows them. This paper also discusses a spontaneous yawn, but there are other functions that are believed to stem from this type of yawning. After reading each of these theories I thought it was super interesting because I didn't realize that yawning could serve another function. Three theories this paper discusses involve the cooling of the brain, ventilation, and alertness and arousal. The cooling of the brain was a super cool one because I never thought about this (even as a neuro major) where the deep inhalation and the opening of the mouth leads to heat exchange. We learned about this, where the thermoneutral zone was the zone for optimal function. This heat exchange could lead to the optimal functioning of the brain and ensure the brain doesn't overheat. Yawning has also been seen to decrease in a colder environment. I definitely think that there should be more research about this, but I thought that this was a new and really cool perspective on the function that yawning serves. 

Source 

Pinaki Deepak Wani, & Mayank Agarwal. (2025). The science of yawning: Exploring its physiology, evolutionary role, and behavioral impact. Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care, 14(8), 3115–3120. https://doi-org.dml.regis.edu/10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_1677_24