Why are yawns so contagious?
I used to tell my sister that it was a battle for oxygen. When one person yawns, they suck up so much oxygen in the air that the other person is forced to yawn just to stay alive.
Nonsense, but fun. Now scientists are now doing the research, and the first results are in.
What triggers the phenomenon appears to be the capacity for empathy.
Posted by Jill Fallon at August 16, 2007 7:52 AM | PermalinkThis is interesting- I recently saw a story on contagious yawning on ABC news, in which they mentioned the www.wakeuppeople.com website, which is for Diet Pepsi Max- you may have seen the commercials- it's absolutely impossible to watch without yawning- i get the urge just typing the word yawn actually.
Posted by: Jenn at August 16, 2007 1:40 PM