What does it mean when a person yawns? Exercise "deep breaths"

Yawning is natural physiological process, inherent in absolutely every person and many animals. Moreover, this process cannot be controlled; the body itself decides when it needs to capture a large portion of oxygen received during yawning. On average, a person can yawn several times a day. But when it happens too often, many people become worried. Why does a person yawn often and is it worth sounding the alarm about this? Let's look into these issues.

What is yawning

Yawning is an uncontrolled reflex act of breathing, in which the mouth and pharynx open wide with a deep, long breath and short exhalation. During one yawn, the body receives several times more oxygen than during normal quiet breathing.

Why does our body need this?

There is no absolutely exact answer to this question, because, firstly, the process has not been fully studied by scientists, and secondly, all that has been found out is that we yawn various reasons. Mainly like this:

• To maintain the balance of oxygen and carbon dioxide when he is not normal.
• To “invigorate” the brain (receiving a large portion of oxygen, the brain is toned).
• To calm the nervous system (during excitement, oxygen is burned faster and additional air supply provides support to the nervous system).

These are just the most basic reasons why a person often yawns in certain situations.

Natural Causes of Yawning

If yawning occurs for any of the following reasons, then there is no pathology in this.

• Feeling sleepy.
• Fatigue, weariness.
• Stuffiness in the room.
• Heat (indoors or outdoors).
• Low Atmosphere pressure, weather change (especially when it’s cloudy).
• Abrupt change of time zones.
• Nervousness, stress.
• Specularity ( mirror yawn scientists call the phenomenon when a person begins to do this by looking at other yawners, and it doesn’t matter whether they are people, animals, or even just pictures).

Pathological causes

Sometimes yawning can indicate some disease or disorder within our body. Causes of excessive yawning can be:

• Cardiovascular system disorders.
• Brain tumors of various types.
• Epilepsy.
• Low pressure.
• Thrombophlebitis.
• Venous insufficiency.
• Pre-stroke or pre-infarction condition.
• Severe liver diseases.
• Neuroses.
• Some thyroid diseases.
• Multiple sclerosis.

Why does a person often yawn with such ailments? All these diseases, one way or another, are associated with blood vessels, veins, and arteries. When the blood thickens, the veins narrow or become clogged with blood clots, the arteries lose their tone, the speed of blood circulation decreases - the organs, especially the brain, begin to lack oxygen. After all, the main carrier of this valuable element for life is our blood. Feeling a lack of oxygen, the body rushes to replenish it with intense yawning.
How not to confuse natural process with illness?

To know when to sound the alarm and when to ignore a yawn, you need to analyze the situation. If you yawn in a stuffy room, going out into the air will stop the symptom. The same is true with sleep or stress - after a good rest and relaxation, yawning will not bother you for a long time.
Be alert when frequent, intense yawning persists for days or even weeks on end, no matter what environment you're in. In this case, it is better to visit a doctor so as not to miss the possible onset of any diseases.

Everyone knows what this process is. Usually the phenomenon is associated with fatigue and the desire to sleep. When communicating with other people, many people, noticing that the interlocutor is yawning, conclude that he is not interested in their company (this, by the way, is refuted by modern scientists). But there are other reasons why a person is overtaken by this phenomenon.

Those who are most interested in the causes of yawning are those who experience it constantly, which also happens quite often.

As a rule, a person’s ideas about this manifestation are very poor, because it is usually perceived as a normal physiological process. In most cases this is true, but sometimes the phenomenon can signal illness.

What it is?

This process is an uncontrolled reflex, an involuntary prolonged act of breathing. A yawn consists of a slow, deep breath, accompanied by a quick exhalation and, in some cases, a sound.

Thus, during it, a person takes in a lot of air, due to which blood supply improves and the body is saturated with oxygen. In addition, the muscles of the neck, mouth, and face are involved in the process of yawning, due to which there is more oxygen and nutrients enters the brain.

Due to this, they are eliminated from the body harmful substances, and brain activity improves. This is not surprising, because respiratory, circulatory, cardiovascular, skeletal and muscular system, due to which the lack of air is compensated and the work of organs is activated.

That is why, when it is necessary to improve the functioning of the body, a person begins to yawn. Many people notice that one of the times of day when the phenomenon occurs most often is in the morning.

During rest, all processes, including brain processes, slow down significantly, and upon awakening, their activation is necessary, which explains frequent yawning in the morning.

Benefits of the phenomenon

All doctors agree that this manifestation is very useful, and here's why:

• Thanks to it, metabolic processes, the performance of the brain and other systems are normalized;
• Ear pressure is normalized;
• During this process, the blood is saturated with oxygen, and therefore the facial skin is nourished and rejuvenated;
• In the process, swallowing air is often accompanied by stretching, straightening the shoulders, moving the arms, etc. All this gives physical activity on the back, arms, legs and other muscle groups;
• Jaw muscles are connected to nerves visual organs. Because of this, during a yawn, the eyes rest, because their level of tension decreases.
• That is why in most cases this process only brings benefits. But sometimes it can indicate the presence of some ailments in the body. Thus, the causes of its occurrence can be classified into 2 groups.

Physiological

As a rule, they are the ones who provoke yawning. There are many such reasons.

Lack of air

This is the most common reason. The phenomenon can be observed if a person is long time in a stuffy room. In conditions of lack of air, the brain tries to get as much as possible large quantity oxygen, which is necessary for normal activity.

If a person spends little time on fresh air, and is often located in practically unventilated, stuffy rooms, yawning and lack of air can be observed constantly.

In this case, the solution is obvious. It is necessary to spend more time in the fresh air and ventilate the rooms where you are. Receiving sufficient quantity oxygen, the brain will stop suffering from oxygen starvation, which is very dangerous.

This is not the only thing that can be done for constant yawning and lack of air. Try to breathe through your nose - this is the most useful way of getting air, since more oxygen this way gets into the organs and systems, into the brain.

The need for brain cooling

American scientists have found that the brain can overheat. This means that its critical temperature is exceeded, which is also why there is a decrease in brain activity.

This may be caused by an increase in temperature in the environment. Thus, the process acts as a natural mechanism that promotes brain ventilation.

To relieve the condition and cool down, you need to apply cold compresses to the forehead. It is also necessary, as in the previous case, to breathe mainly through the nose.

Decreased body activity

The state of wakefulness is characterized by heterogeneity. It consists in the fact that phases of activity are replaced by phases of inhibition. During the latter, the activity of the whole organism slows down somewhat. This is accompanied by the accumulation of metabolic products in the blood.

Yawning promotes recovery heart rate, blood flow, stimulation metabolic processes, which, in turn, promotes the removal of metabolic products from the body. As a result, activity intensifies nervous system, brain.

Emotional stress

In this state, a person often falls into a stupor. By yawning this can be avoided.

It is so inherent in nature that the body’s reaction to potential danger– numbness, respectively, slowing down brain activity. The process allows you to saturate the body with oxygen, which will bring the brain out of this state and activate its activity.

Fatigue, lack of rest

This is another common reason. A provocateur constant yawning May be chronic lack of sleep, staying awake at a time when you should be resting.

If a person does not get enough sleep, his brain is not rested, it means that he is not able to work fully. To restore activity, he needs air.

A person may notice that he is overcome by constant yawning, even in cases where he spends a sufficient amount of time in sleep, but the daily routine is shifted. The body must rest at the time of day provided for this by nature - at night. Doctors say that when the regime shifts, the body does not receive sufficient rest, which is why all the activities of all systems suffer.

In this case, constant yawning means only one thing - that you need to go to bed on time and start your day in the morning.

"Chain reaction"

It sounds, of course, rude, but it has long been known that when one person yawns, many of those who surround him this moment, immediately repeat after him. A single explanation for this phenomenon has not been found.

Modern doctors say that such a reaction is usually shown by people capable of empathy and understanding. This is why scientists refute the theory that constant yawning during communication is a sign that a person is not interested in his interlocutor.

Diseases

Although a harmless phenomenon, the process can still in some cases be a symptom of an illness.

It is noted that the phenomenon is observed in a pre-fainting state, but the latter is accompanied by other symptoms (blurred vision, dizziness, changes in pressure and body temperature, etc.). Sometimes it is a harbinger of an epileptic seizure.

In addition, this manifestation of the body may indicate:

• Multiple sclerosis;
• Disorders of thermoregulation in the brain. It, among other things, contains the causes of oxygen starvation;
• Hormonal imbalance;
• Problems with blood circulation;
• Vegetative-vascular dystonia;
• Depression. The depressed state of a person also contributes to the inhibition of the body’s activity, therefore, it requires activation of its processes.

Yawning is an uncontrollable reflex of the human body, representing a deep, long, slow inhalation and rapid exhalation.

U healthy people yawning occurs when you are overtired, lack of sleep or drowsy, or when you are in a stuffy room.

When yawning, the blood is enriched with oxygen, the speed of blood flow in the vessels of the brain increases, blood supply to the brain improves, more nutrients flow to the brain cells, and thus harmful substances and carbon dioxide are eliminated faster.

Yawning helps relieve fatigue and mental stress, renew the air in the lungs, and cool the brain.

Causes of yawning. Note that the reasons that cause yawning are still not fully understood. The main causes of yawning include:

- prolonged yawning can be a symptom of oxygen starvation of the brain. If the brain senses a lack of oxygen, it sends a signal to the body, which strives to quickly replenish the lack of oxygen. And this is done through yawning.

- as an imitative action (in the form of a mirror neuron reaction).

- as a symptom of others painful conditions(diseases). Frequent yawning physical weakness And drowsy state points to chronic fatigue or emotional stress. Also, the yawning process is caused by a violation cerebral circulation, vegetative-vascular dystonia, multiple sclerosis.

During yawning, the collapsed alveoli in the lungs are straightened and their surface area increases. With a long, deep breath and a fairly rapid exhalation, oxygen quickly reaches the brain. Often, with a strong yawn, a person stretches his whole body - this is also a consequence of the instinctive desire to eliminate local blood stagnation and even out the improper distribution of blood. The main systems of the body take part in yawning: muscular, vascular, skeletal, respiratory, nervous. Muscle tension oral cavity, face, neck helps to increase the speed of blood flow in the vessels of the head.

When a person wakes up in the morning, he also yawns. The reasons for frequent yawning in the morning are as follows: after waking up, human brain cells are in a state of residual inhibition. Prolonged inactivity leads to a slowdown in blood flow and the accumulation of carbon dioxide in the blood. That's why we want to yawn in the morning. You need to get out of bed as quickly as possible and start moving, you can do gymnastics. Physical exercise increase the tone of the body, improve blood supply to the heart, lungs, brain and helps to quickly transition to active wakefulness.

Yawning is often associated with lack of sleep and boredom, but in fact, when yawning, the extra air enriches the blood, making you more alert - yawning helps the brain wake up!

Experts advise not to restrain yourself when you want to yawn, because this reflex helps relieve fatigue, mental stress, stress, and renew the air in your lungs.

When yawning Airways open wide and the muscles relax. Yawning activates blood circulation, clears the mind, supplies brain and body cells with energy, and promotes the activity of the lacrimal glands. Dry eyes are hydrated and feel much better. The muscles of the temples, face, neck, back of the head, shoulders, abdomen and diaphragm relax. Your mood improves.

When yawning, the jaw muscles tense the most, and they have a direct impact on vision. Yawning is very useful for those who suffer from bruxism (grinding their teeth in their sleep).

It is known that yawning is contagious: as soon as one person starts yawning, everyone around him picks it up. The fact is that yawning easily occurs as an imitative reflex. This reflex makes us not only yawn, but also smile if someone laughs nearby.

Experts have concluded that the contagious property of yawning is just an effect of imitation. Studies have shown that only those people who are able to empathize with others adopt yawning.

According to the findings of American scientists, thin people who are prone to introspection are more susceptible to yawning.

If a person yawns during the day, this mainly happens to those who work while sitting, this means that it is necessary to open the window or window and take a few deep breaths.

Also, according to the findings of medical scientists, the reason for frequent yawning may be that in the warm season people yawn much less often than in the cold season. It turns out that the human brain overheats, and the body tries to cool it by yawning, since in the summer the air environment warm, then people yawn less at this time of year. The researchers of this experiment suggest that their discovery could help in the treatment of a disease such as multiple sclerosis, which in most cases is accompanied by yawning. Great chance that one of possible options development multiple sclerosis maybe just heat the brain, which in turn begins to function incorrectly.

How to get rid of yawning?

- do it deep breaths.

- ventilate the room, take a walk in the fresh air, outside. If you find yourself yawning on the street, you can take off your hat and open your clothes.

- Apply cold water to your forehead or wet your face with cold water.

- execute breathing exercises: Inhale and exhale sharply several times, then take calm inhalations and exhalations, then take sharp inhalations again.

- make a couple active movements: jogging, squats.

— take a short rest: go to bed and try to sleep. This advice is suitable for pregnant women who are often tormented by yawning. A short nap will help restore strength and eliminate yawning.

Despite the variety of symptoms and sensations, VSD is a book with the same plot. Only we, the patients, are different, and therefore all manifestations of vegetative-vascular dystonia are individual for each patient.

Constant yawning and lack of air can be attributed to fatigue and lack of sleep, or the most terrifying reasons can be found in the patient’s imagination. But often VSDers are surprised when they find out that they are actually yawning... out of fear.

"Respiratory" dystonia

WITH an unpleasant feeling suffocation and frequent desire Every VSD student faces a deep yawn. And if some patients do not attach too much importance to this important, then others literally focus on respiratory problems. Therefore, VSD associated with problematic breathing is called dystonia with respiratory syndrome.

Attention! Respiratory syndrome does not lead to fatal outcome, but excessive fear about this can bring a person to. And then the circle will be closed with an iron link. The greater the fear, the more difficult it will be to breathe.

Often, people with ADHD begin to suspect that they have asthma, heart or lung problems, the more they tie themselves to fear for their lives. As a result, the vegetative rebellion becomes increasingly stronger in the subconscious. To understand the “logic” of constant yawning and get rid of it forever unpleasant symptom, you must first understand: the reason for this state is not organic, but spiritual, however, as always.

Why do VSDers yawn?

When a person is in a situation of stress - for a VSD person this is a “standard” way of life - the brain begins to autonomously change the functions of breathing, changing its depth and rhythm, adjusting it to a “situation of danger” that in fact does not exist. Stressful breathing, as a rule, is frequent and shallow, which means that muscles and tissues do not receive enough oxygen. Hence the eternally cold limbs of the VSDers who sit in warm rooms and drink hot tea. And how badly you lack air during a panic attack! You want to literally swallow it with your mouth, but it seems to be getting smaller and smaller.

Surprisingly, there is actually more than enough air in our lungs. The lungs are literally overflowing with oxygen, and this is very bad. Everything in nature must have its balance, including the ratio of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the blood. When excess oxygen displaces carbon dioxide and the healthy proportion is disrupted, a person feels suffocated: respiratory system doesn't work as expected. And the more this frightens the patient, the more often he begins to breathe, and the less carbon dioxide remains.

So scary vicious circle. This is why some particularly frightened hypochondriacs faint when the carbon dioxide level becomes completely critical. This often happens during panic attacks. The patient begins to feel acute suffocation, but everyone around him only convinces him not to be so nervous. Of course, the lucky ones without VSD will never understand the mental anguish experienced by true dystonics. Meanwhile, the respiratory type of dystonia continues to torment the patient, even when panic attack ended.

The tone decreases vascular network throughout our body, and the heart is unable to provide for the lungs the right amount blood, because the heart itself does not have enough resources for full-fledged work. Begins oxygen starvation in tissues, which can lead to their ischemic damage. Then the autonomous part of the brain, responsible for the functioning of the heart and blood vessels, sounds the alarm and forces the person to “correct the situation.”

Severe yawning and lack of air, as a rule, are inseparable companions. Slow, deep yawns restore respiratory functions, ensuring a normal supply of oxygen to the lungs and normalization of its ratio with carbon dioxide. Therefore, there is no need to be shy about yawning: this is how you recover normal operation body, tissues are saturated with oxygen and their ischemic damage is prevented.

Should yawning be treated?

Going to the doctor and telling him “I constantly yawn, help” is a somewhat dubious adventure for a VSD person. The patient has heard advice to change his lifestyle and go to bed earlier hundreds of times, and not only from doctors. Therefore, VSDers, as a rule, are left alone with their respiratory symptom and periodically intimidate themselves with medical articles about asthma and blood clots in the pulmonary artery.

Have you ever wondered why it happens that you yawn a lot? This article is an attempt to explain what is happening and give you an idea of ​​where frequent yawning comes from. Curious, but frequent yawning- 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 appear along with a yawn, and sometimes a runny nose. Yawning is normal, but it happens that a person yawns too often. Below you will find explanations of the reasons for frequent yawning.

Physiological causes of frequent yawning

TO physiological reasons Frequent yawning includes:

• fatigue or drowsiness;
• changes related to sleep patterns: changes in work schedule, sleep deficiency, travel associated with crossing 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 taking medications such as selective inhibitors serotonin reuptake (SRI), which are used to treat depression and anxiety;
• problems with functioning 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 thyroid hormones);
• hypothyroidism;
• multiple sclerosis.

Psychological and Emotional Causes of Excessive Yawning

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

• stress,
• depression,
• anxiety.

Yawning can occur when a person feels restless or has anxiety attacks. Typically, during such episodes, the body requires hyperventilation, 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 to do what it needs to do to get more oxygen, which is how involuntary excessive yawning occurs. Through this process, the brain tries to saturate the lungs with oxygen.

Serious and life-threatening causes of excessive yawning

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

What to do to control yawning

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

Get enough sleep

The advice is quite obvious. However, when a person gets enough sleep, they are better rested and can therefore control yawning. If you don't get enough sleep, you will yawn because you won't be able to overcome your 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 high content water, such as cucumbers or watermelon, if you want to avoid excessive yawning;
• if you feel like yawning, go to a cool place or thoroughly ventilate the room to lower the temperature and add oxygen to the room;
• If you have an important meeting ahead, during which you should never yawn, put a damp compress on your head for a few minutes before going to such a meeting. This measure will prevent yawning until you finish your negotiations.

How to Treat Excessive Yawning

If medications such as SSRIs are determined to be the cause of your frequent yawning, your doctor may prescribe lower doses of them. Research shows that lowering the dosage can eliminate excessive yawning while leaving the desired effects of these medications intact. In any case, the doctor must decide.

If you have a sleep disorder that has caused you to yawn excessively, your doctor can advise you on what medications to take to improve your sleep and what methods to use to sleep better. One example similar diseases causing excessive yawning may be sleep apnea, which is associated with constant pressure in the respiratory tract. This means you will need to normalize your breathing and keep your airways open.

If you have other diseases that cause frequent yawning, such as tumors, renal failure, liver or heart problems, stroke, you should consult a doctor immediately.

When to see a doctor if you yawn frequently

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

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

Author of the article : Kristina Sumarokova, "Moscow Medicine"©
Denial of responsibility : The information provided in this article about why you yawn a lot is for informational purposes only. However, it cannot be a substitute for consultation with a professional physician.