Writers 
WHY DO WE YAWN? THE STRANGE THING YOUR BODY DOES WITHOUT ASKING YOU.
Have you ever been sitting with someone who suddenly yawns, and before you know it, you are yawning too?
Sometimes you aren't even tired.
You just saw someone open their mouth, stretch their face and take that long breath and somehow your body decided to join them.
Yawning is one of those things we do so often that we rarely stop to ask why.
We usually associate it with sleepiness or boredom.
“I'm tired.”
“This class is boring.”
“I need to sleep.”
But yawning is actually more interesting than that.
So, why do we yawn?
Scientists still don't have one simple answer that explains every yawn.
One well-known idea is that yawning is connected to changes in the state of our brain and body, especially when we are moving between being awake, relaxed and sleepy.
You may notice that you yawn when you are just waking up, preparing to sleep or sitting quietly for a long time.
There is also research suggesting that yawning may have something to do with regulating brain temperature, although scientists are still studying exactly how important this mechanism is.
So that dramatic yawn you make when you're tired isn't necessarily your body simply saying, “Go to bed.”
Your body is doing something more complicated than that.
And then there is the contagious yawn
This is probably the strangest part.
One person yawns.
You see it.
Suddenly, you yawn.
Sometimes even reading about yawning can make you feel like yawning.
Why?
Yawning can be socially contagious, and researchers have studied its possible connection with social awareness and empathy.
But it doesn't happen equally to everyone.
Some people are more likely to “catch” a yawn than others.
And no, it doesn't necessarily mean you're extremely empathetic if you catch one, just as failing to yawn doesn't mean you don't care about people.
Human behaviour is rarely that simple.
Yawning doesn't always mean you're sleepy
This is something we often misunderstand.
People can yawn when they are tired, but yawning can also happen during periods of transition between different levels of alertness.
You might yawn before an important event.
You might yawn while concentrating.
You might even yawn when you're nervous.
The body has many automatic responses that happen without us consciously deciding to do them.
We breathe without reminding ourselves.
Our heart beats without us telling it to.
Our pupils change size depending on light.
And occasionally, our mouth simply opens wide because our body has decided that it is time for a yawn.
Should you worry about yawning?
Most ordinary yawning is completely normal.
But like many things in the body, context matters.
If someone suddenly begins yawning excessively and it comes with other unusual symptoms, it may be worth speaking with a healthcare professional rather than assuming it is simply tiredness.
We shouldn't diagnose ourselves based on one symptom.
The body is complicated, and one small action can have many possible explanations.
Maybe the interesting thing is how little we notice our own bodies
We wake up.
We eat.
We breathe.
We walk.
We sleep.
We yawn.
Most of these things happen without us giving them much thought.
But the human body is constantly doing work in the background.
That is why ordinary things can sometimes be fascinating when we actually stop to look at them.
The next time someone yawns and you suddenly feel one coming too, don't just blame the person for making you sleepy.
Take a second to appreciate how strange the human body can be.
You didn't plan the yawn.
You didn't schedule it.
You didn't even ask for it.
Yet there it is.
A tiny reminder that our bodies are doing far more behind the scenes than we usually realise.
