Why is it important for people to know about yawning? Yawning, we often stretch, tensing the muscles of our arms, legs and back - excellent gymnastics! Blood pressure decreases and muscle tone improves

Each of us yawns on average 5-10 times a day. We start yawning in the womb, about 20 weeks after conception, and we yawn until we die. Not only people yawn, but also almost all mammals. Fish yawn before changing activities, penguins - during courtship; Horses, sea lions, tigers, dogs and cats yawn, not to mention the great apes, which often do so collectively. It seems that only giraffes and dolphins do not yawn - perhaps because they do not have a full stage deep sleep: While one hemisphere is sleeping, the other is resting.

Because yawning is so stereotypical and appears in similar forms in a wide variety of animals, it is considered one of the ancient mechanisms regulation of behavior. In 1838, Charles Darwin wrote in his diary: “The sight of a dog, horse, or man yawning makes me believe that all animals are built on the same pattern.” Clearly there must be some benefit to yawning. But the causes and functions of yawning for a long time remained a mystery to scientists.

Today we know that yawning is not just a sign of fatigue or boredom, but something much more interesting.

There are many scientific explanations yawning. Yawning is thought to help maintain alertness during times of stress, regulate sleep-wake cycles, cool an overheated brain, or oxygenate the blood. Yawning, unlike laughing or crying, does not seem worthy of attention. Yawning is not very decent, but pleasant: on a hedonic scale, this activity is given 8.5 out of 10 points. But this is not where the matter ends. It turns out that yawning is not only pleasant, but also very useful.

In voice therapy, conscious yawning has been used for decades as a way to reduce fear of failure and as a means of preventing throat hypertension. Some modern neurophysiologists call yawning one of the most effective ways elimination nervous stress, increased empathy and focus. A good yawn is the best thing you can do for a short rest. This may seem strange, but yawning, among other things, is closely related to sexuality.

American neuroscientists Andrew Newberg and Mark Waldman consider yawning to be a “powerful neural stimulator.” They even recommend incorporating yawning into stress management programs, psychotherapy, and contemplative spiritual practices, and using intentional yawning to improve memory and cognitive function. Yawning, in their opinion, increases empathy, and due to this it can improve relationships with other people:

"If you want to improve your intimate life and stay together, learn to yawn together.”

Brain scanning experiments have shown that yawning stimulates areas of the brain directly associated with empathy and social awareness, self-reflection and the awakening of memories. Yawning is extremely contagious: after seeing a person yawning, about 60% of people begin to yawn themselves. Just reading about yawning is enough to start indulging in this activity yourself. While writing this article, the author yawned many times, and not at all from boredom. Therefore, do not be surprised if this paragraph also uncontrollably made you want to stretch and yawn.

Physiologically, the process of yawning is quite simple: it is a long inhalation, followed by a short breath-hold, during which the air reaches the stomach. This is followed by a short exhalation, which is often accompanied by stimulation of the lacrimal glands - for this reason, some actors, preparing for a crying scene, begin to yawn vigorously backstage. When yawning, the volume of the nasopharynx increases several times and the Eustachian tubes are blocked, which temporarily almost deprives us of hearing.

Yawning first appears in the mother's womb (this can be clearly seen in ultrasound recordings), but acquires “contagious” properties only by the age of six. Perhaps yawning somehow helps the growth of the embryo - it makes the lungs grow and develops articulation jaw joints. But with age, yawning also becomes more social functions. For example, some anthropologists suggest that, with the help of contagious yawning, groups of people learned to go to bed and wake up at the same time.

Yawning is not only a physiological act. By yawning, a person conveys a message to others. For example, that he is bored, or that he is tired, or that he is potentially ready for sexual relations. The latter will be less surprising if you compare the facial expression of a person during a yawn and during sexual intercourse - in some respects they are surprisingly similar. As some ancient sources indicate, in India, yawning was part of courtship rituals (by the way, Adélie penguins also yawn during mating games). It is curious that males yawn more often in animals. Humans, unlike other species, retain sexual activity at any time of the year, and yawns are distributed approximately equally between men and women.

Psychologist and neuroscientist Robert Provin notes that in yawning, as in sex and sneezing, there is a phase of preparation and pleasant release:

“Once this business starts, it continues until the end, no one wants to interrupt this process.”

When yawning and sexual arousal the same neurochemicals are released. Perhaps behind these two phenomena there is a common biological mechanism. This idea is confirmed by the unusual by-effect which occurs in some people while taking antidepressants. Typically, serotonin reuptake inhibitors suppress sexual desire. But in some cases they cause severe yawning, accompanied by orgasm.

Some scientists suggest that yawning is related to the functioning of mirror neurons. It is known that the “contagiousness” of yawning depends on how close two people are to each other, and this pattern is observed not only in humans, but also in bonobos. We are more likely to respond to a yawn from a loved one than from a stranger on the subway. It is not yet known whether shared yawning can act as an indicator good relations. Therefore, do not rush to conclude that you have fallen out of love if close person stopped yawning with you - perhaps you just began to tire him less.

The mystery of yawning has occupied many scientists and thinkers, starting with Hippocrates. The famous ancient Greek doctor believed that yawning frees the body from harmful air and elevated temperature. To this day, yawning is often considered something reprehensible and indecent. In many European countries it was believed that during a yawn, hostile spirits could enter the body, so after a yawn one should make the sign of the cross over the mouth. In Muslim culture, it is believed that yawning is a sign of laziness and carelessness. If a believer begins to yawn during prayer, this means that the unclean is trying to distract and lead him astray from the righteous path.

As it is said in one of the hadiths, the sound of a yawn is how Satan laughs at a person.

In medicine, it has long been believed that yawning is reflex mechanism, which turns on when there is a lack of oxygen. Deep breath enhances ventilation of the lungs, saturates the blood with oxygen and thereby reduces drowsiness - this is why we yawn especially sweetly before going to bed and after waking up. This opinion was first expressed by the Dutch physician Johannes de Gorter in his book “De perspiratione insensibili,” published in 1736, and since then it has been repeated many times, despite complete absence experimental confirmation.

It was only in 1987 that three psychologists from the University of Maryland refuted this hypothesis. People who were given oxygen to breathe continued to yawn periodically, but participants in the other group, who inhaled air with reduced oxygen levels, did not do so more often. Another American psychologist, Andrew Gallup, through a series of experiments, showed that yawning is a kind of built-in air conditioner that is needed to cool the brain. This is probably the function that yawning performs not only in humans, but also in most vertebrates.

Yawning - involuntary act, but you can learn to yawn by at will. To do this, it is enough to pretend that you are yawning, and after 4-5 times the yawn will turn out to be quite real. According to some reports, Japanese companies are even introducing special five-minute yawning sessions: tired workers watch people yawning on screens, and then begin to yawn themselves. According to scientists, during this time they cool their brains, regain strength and focus, and perhaps even develop a sense of empathy for others.

In their book on the neurobiology of belief, Andrew Newberg and Mark Waldman recommend using intentional yawning as a relaxation practice. According to them, yawning “stimulates alertness and concentration, optimizes brain activity and metabolism, improves cognitive function and memory, promotes awareness and self-awareness, reduces stress, relaxes the body, promotes pleasure and sensuality.”

If this is true, then we all need to yawn as often as possible. But even if scientists exaggerate, yawning is still pleasant and useful - not only Japanese employees, but also almost any animal with a backbone will confirm this.

WHY DO WE YAWN

Lgova Alisa Yurievna,

student of grade 3 “B”,

MBOU "Secondary School No. 11" of the city of Belovo

Supervisor:

Odinokova Victoria Anatolevna,

teacher primary classes,

MBOU secondary school No. 11 of the city of Belovo

Novokuznetsk

2015

Table of contents

Introduction 3

Why do we yawn 4-5

Contagious Yawn 5

Yawning and etiquette 5-6

Study 7-8

Conclusion 9

List of sources and literature 10

Introduction

Yawning - what do we know about this phenomenon? I believed that we yawn when we feel sleepy or when we are very bored. I was also surprised that yawning is an extremely contagious thing. I also observed that after a yawn, a slight wakefulness sets in for a short time. I was interested in these facts and I wondered what happens in our bodies during yawning. I decided to try to understand this phenomenon in more detail and try to understand why we yawn?

Goal of the work:

find out if yawning is good for you

what happens in our body during yawning

Tasks:

Study the literature and find out what yawning is and whether it is beneficial for our body

Analyze the information received

Conduct a survey at school among students in grades 2-4

Object of study: students 2-4 MBOU classes Secondary school No. 11 of the city of Belovo

Subject of study: yawning is a stress reliever

Methods: literature study, questioning, observation

Research hypothesis:

A person yawns because it is a means of dealing with stress.

Why do we yawn?

Yawning is a slow, deep breath in which your mouth opens wide and you want to stretch, followed by a quick exhalation. When animals yawn, their back arches. Yawning usually occurs when you are tired, drowsy state, staying indoors with increased content carbon dioxide, sometimes for no apparent reason at all.

The reasons that cause yawning have not yet been fully elucidated. When we fall asleep, our breathing rate decreases because during sleep we need less energy than when awake. If at this time a person tries to stay awake, then the brain begins to experience a lack of oxygen. To correct this, people yawn to increase the amount of air entering the lungs. For the same reason, yawning can also occur in a person who is absolutely not going to sleep if he finds himself in a stuffy room.

Imagine how with a slow and deep yawn the blood is enriched with oxygen. The speed of blood flow in the vessels of the head increases. Blood supply to brain cells improves. The muscles of the legs, arms and especially the back tense, the person makes some kind of movement. Muscles force the brain to “shake off” inhibition.

Yawning is the body's way of dealing with stress. Remember that you don’t want to yawn if you are in a cheerful and upbeat mood. It’s a completely different matter when we are depressed, depressed or mopey about something. This is where yawning strikes.

There's another one interesting version: Yawning helps to cool the brain and thus improve its functioning. Scientists say that the brain begins to work worse when overheated, and with the help of yawning, cold air is supplied to the body.

Indeed, remember the common expression “your brain is boiling”! 4

Yawning as a response to “brain overheating” fits all its manifestations.

Perhaps this is why we begin to yawn when crossing from the street to warm room, as well as after eating food, the digestion of which warms the body.

Contagious yawn

It’s worth seeing a yawning person - and you yawn, hear the sound of a yawn - the same thing, or you are reading a book and the hero yawns - you yawn too, you even have to think about yawning while sitting in an empty and dark room, – huge probability that you will certainly yawn!

The amazing contagiousness of yawning is associated with proven remedy fighting insomnia. If you're having trouble falling asleep, try imitating a yawn. Accept comfortable position, relax and yawn several times, closing your eyes and opening your mouth wide. Repeat this several times, as if infecting yourself with a yawn. Before you know it, yawning will turn from an imitation into a real process, and perhaps the long-awaited dream will come to you.

Yawning and etiquette

Yawning is often driven into boundaries defined by etiquette.Onlookers catch the disapproving glances of those around them, yawn through tears, and hide behind the first objects that come to hand. And then they try to yawn again and again.

In Islamic tradition, yawning is a sign of laziness and boredom. Therefore, Allah does not like yawning, but Satan rejoices at the sight of someone yawning. If you can't suppress a yawn, you should at least cover your mouth back side palms.

So, if yawning overcomes you during the day while working or studying, this is a signal that it’s time to open the window and provide an influx of fresh air. cool air. It won't hurt to warm up a little: stand up, walk, do a few bends and turns of the body. 5

So, yawn heartily, stretch and feel that your body is divided into two parts - upper and lower. Then take five deep breaths in through your nose and out through your mouth. Drink water, tea or lemonade. Don't rush to the coffee machine: hot drink will not produce a cooling effect. Change the position you were in.

To cope with yawning in the morning, you need to wake up correctly.

Don't get up suddenly. Set your alarm clock with five to ten minutes to spare and do a few simple movements in bed. Remember how it happens on weekends: take a comfortable position, straighten your arms and legs, slowly and happily stretch several times. If you want, yawn at the same time, just be careful. There are cases when, after an unsuccessful, too “spiritual” yawn, people had to set their jaw.

Study

After studying the literature about yawning, I decided to conduct my own experiment. I conducted a survey among grades 2-4. The guys were asked the following questions:

Why are you yawning?

1) When you want to sleep

2) When I'm bored

3) When I feel stuffy

4) When it’s not interesting

5)When I see someone else yawning

The survey was attended by 2 classes - 48 people, 3 classes - 49 people, 4 classes - 47 people.

As a result of the survey, we received following results:

Table 1

Why are you yawning?

I want to sleep

boring

stuffy

not interested

When I see someone yawning

2 classes

3 classes

4 classes

Diagram 1

Why are you yawning?

I want to sleep

Not interested

When I see that

someone yawns

IN polls

Number of persons

2nd grade

3rd grade

The table shows that most guys yawn when they want to sleep - 54 people, bored - 23 people, stuffy - 19 people, uninteresting - 13 people, yawn when someone yawns - 33 people.

To the question “How do you feel after yawning?”, I received the following answers:

cheerfulness and lightness (95 people)

nothing has changed (27 people)

I don't know (22 people)

Conclusion

After conducting my research, it turned out that yawning has an extraordinary effect on well-being. positive impact:

1) allows the human body to replenish oxygen reserves;

2) allows you to breathe deeper;

3) activates blood circulation;

4) clears the mind-mind, cooling the brain;

5) supplies brain cells with energy;

6) promotes the activity of the lacrimal glands - after yawning, dry eyes are moisturized and feel much better;

7) relaxes the muscles of the jaws, temples, head in general, face, neck, back of the head, shoulders, abdomen and chest;

8) improves mood and increases overall tone.

Yawning can reduce headache in the temple area. Nothing invigorates and relieves muscle tension, like a pleasant yawn with stretching of the whole body!

The desire to yawn is a signal from the body that it needs additional energy.

To do this, stretch your whole body well, yawn with pleasure, exhale noisily and tell yourself: “Don’t worry! All tasks will be completed! I can handle everything! And now I yawn and fill my body with a new portion of the energy that I so need!”

List of sources and literature

1.Apchhi...To your health! Sneezing, hiccups, yawning./Auth.-comp. L. Cheremukhina; M.: "Eksmo" 2010.-128p.

2.Daily educational journal.-Access mode:http:/ shkolazhini. ru

3. “A brief history of the head.”/Auth.-comp. R. Tallis; "Amphora" 2010.-352 p.

10 interesting facts about yawning! Why do we yawn and why?
We bet that by the time you read this article to the end, you will yawn at least once (at least!) once?

10th place: The ancients believed that the soul was able to leave the body not through the ears, nose, eyes or other openings, but through the mouth. And it is through the mouth that demons can enter there. That is why modern polite man, guided by this superstition, covers his mouth when he yawns. The Austrian artist Lampiy was returning one day with a friend from a performance. “It surprises me,” his companion remarked, that such boring thing they didn’t boo!” “Nothing surprising,” the artist replied, “when you yawn, it’s impossible to whistle!”

9th place: Experts have no doubt that yawning can be infected and, as it turned out, in any of its manifestations: in a recent study, 75% of subjects only had to read about it to yawn.

8th place: The most reliable way to correctly place punctuation marks is the typesetters method. Here is his summary. Type until you can hold your breath without your face turning blue. When exhaling, put a comma. When you turn red and you want to sneeze - red line. When you want to yawn, use a semicolon.

7th place: During research, New York neurologists found that when yawning Airways expand, and the human brain receives large dose oxygen. By yawning, a person relaxes, relieves fatigue and nervous tension. So don’t be offended if a friend yawns in your company - this means that he feels good and is resting.

6th place: In criminal folklore there is quite logical advice - “don’t yawn.” This is the so-called "eleventh commandment."

5th place: The longest yawn was documented in 1888. According to the Guinness Book of Records, a certain Dr. Lee reported that a 15-year-old girl did this continuously for five weeks.

4th place: Someone Mon - a resident of Paris - was once very surprised when, after listening to radio broadcasts, he turned off the receiver, but continued to hear the radio as if inside himself. This phenomenon did not go away after a few seconds, minutes, days. The poor guy turned to all sorts of doctors, explaining that the only relief came only when he yawned! Only 2 months later Mon was helped by an electrical engineer he knew. He advised replacing gold teeth with porcelain ones: 2 metal parts opposite each other create a miniature magnetic field.

3rd place: One of the New York television studios began to practice new way providing assistance to suffering people - at the end of the evening programs, a person appears on the television screen for a few minutes and yawns sweetly.

2nd place: It turns out that even frogs yawn. If an animal yawns: If a doe or gazelle begins to do this while the herd is moving, it means she is signaling that she is tired and the herd is stopping. A crocodile yawns before an attack, and a chick yawns when it wants to eat. As for the sexual side of the issue, among monkeys, for example, the male gives an unambiguous signal of love by looking straight into the female’s eyes and yawning loudly.

1st place: GERONIMO (GOYATLAY), leader of the Chiricahua Indian tribe, who led for four years fighting against US troops. His Indian name means “he who yawns,” and his English name became the battle cry of paratroopers.

No, no, just yawning is such a contagious thing that you only need to mention it once and you automatically start taking a deep breath and covering your mouth with your palm.

Yawn. WITH medical point point of view, the process is more than banal. "Involuntary breathing movement“consisting of a long, deep inhalation and a vigorous exhalation.” Why is this most involuntary breathing movement necessary? A person yawns when too much carbon dioxide accumulates in his body. Take a deep breath - and the body receives a good portion of oxygen, and with it strength and energy. And therefore it is wrong to think that we yawn only when we want to sleep.
Surprisingly, a person begins to yawn long before birth! Scientists have found that already at the 12th week of development in the womb, the embryo is yawning with might and main. Animals, by the way, are also onlookers. Those who have a dog or cat at home understand perfectly well what I mean. True, they do not do this before bed, like we do, but on the contrary, when they become excited. For example, before a walk. And some animals yawn to show the enemy their sharp (and dangerous!) teeth. Particularly impressive are hippos, which open their mouths as much as 150 degrees. Wow!

And yawning, as you know, is very contagious. As soon as one person yawns in the room, everyone else takes a deep breath and covers their mouth with their hand. Research has confirmed that the yawning “virus” infects 40-60% of those around them: the group was asked to watch a video in which the actors yawned every now and then. As a result, every second participant in the experiment fell victim to this yawning infection.

During the same experiment, scientists noticed that those subjects who had an active area of the brain responsible for empathy were “infected.” That is, if your neighbor yawns after you, he is a sensitive and responsive person. Mind you!
And yet, yawning does not spread through the air. They yawn from lack of sleep while sitting through a boring monotonous lecture. Or poring over a textbook at night, when everything good people sleep. Or listening for the fiftieth time to a friend’s story on the topic “And he... And I... Blah-blah-blah...”. She looks at you with offended eyes. “Are you bored, huh?” - “No, no, what are you talking about! Continue!" And you yawn embarrassedly.
We are especially vulnerable during monotonous and boring work. American psychologists somehow took the time to count the number of yawns at one of the mathematics seminars. It turned out that the average student can make 25 “aaaahs” (in the sense of yawns) in an hour. This “aaaah” helps to invigorate the body, which is about to fall asleep. In Japan, by the way, at some enterprises they take special breaks, during which workers carefully yawn - first imitating, and then being drawn into a real yawn - and... continue to work twice as actively. Brilliant, right?
Another source of yawning, besides boredom and fatigue, is nervousness. For example, before an interview or an important meeting. By taking a breath, we relieve stress and mobilize strength.
Causes may include migraines, circulatory disorders in the brain, vegetative-vascular dystonia and other troubles accompanied by drowsiness and daytime weakness, which is a reason to visit a neurologist.
One way or another, yawning is useful and vital, so yawn to your health!
And some interesting facts about yawning.
# A common person yawns for an average of 6 seconds with a frequency of 68 seconds.
# Men and women yawn equally often, but men cover their mouths less often.
# Chimpanzees are also susceptible to massive yawning. When one yawns, after 6 seconds everyone else becomes infected. But their cubs do not react; why remains a mystery to scientists.
# The best way to get rid of yawning is to stand up, move around, or, if you can’t stand up (say, in class), straighten your shoulders, take a couple of deep breaths and exhalations.
# If they are looking at you, then you are unlikely to yawn.
# The superstitious Russian people did not ignore the phenomenon of yawning and came up with their own “tricks”. Firstly, they claim that when you yawn, evil spirits can fly inside (?), so while you open your mouth and take a breath, you need to cross your mouth, otherwise... Yes, and secondly, if you yawn often, it means you have been jinxed.

Yawning is one of the most mysterious processes in the body. As you know, not only people, but also most mammals can yawn.

At the same time, yawning no longer occurs in birds and reptiles - completely different reasons force them to open their mouths wide.

How does the yawning process occur?

It has not been reliably established what the mechanism of yawning is, however, through many years of observation, quite a lot of interesting facts have been established. Firstly, you need to immediately indicate what it is reflex process– that is, yawning occurs involuntarily.

The mouth opens wide, the lungs expand, a deep inhalation occurs, followed by a short sharp exhalation. Many people make a specific “yawning” sound.

Yawning is inherent in a person from the first days of life, but not everyone knows that even an unborn fetus does it while in the mother’s womb.

Yawning is extremely contagious, as many of us have experienced. own experience: as soon as one of the group of people yawns, the majority immediately takes up this initiative.

Scientists believe that in this way it is possible to identify people who are prone to sympathy and empathy.

Yawning and our smaller brothers

Animals also begin to yawn literally from the first hours after birth. Dogs and monkeys, bears, horses and rabbits can yawn.

In general, yawning is somehow connected with brain development - animals that cannot boast high level intellectuals, as a rule, do not know how to yawn. But predators yawn not only before going to bed, but also when they see prey. In many animals, a wide yawn is a kind of greeting to a met opponent: an open mouth allows you to demonstrate the entire set of teeth.

Versions of the causes of yawning

It is widely believed that people yawn:

- when you just woke up;

- when they are bored and have nothing to do.

But what motivates us to open our mouths wide and inhale a huge portion of air? Here are the versions the scientific world offers on this matter.

1. Yawning occurs when too much carbon dioxide accumulates in the blood. A deep breath and an involuntary sharp exhalation supply a large portion of oxygen to the body, due to which the gas balance is restored.

2. Morning yawning is a great way to activate the body. As a rule, it is accompanied by stretching - a kind of gymnastics that kneads muscles and joints. As a result, the body receives a charge of vigor, blood circulation increases, and an increased portion of oxygen begins to actively flow to all organs.

3. Before an important event, many people are attacked by yawning. Famous historical fact: Emperor Napoleon always yawned in front of major battles. Artists before going on stage, athletes before the start of competitions, patients in front of the dentist's office, and many others are susceptible to this symptom. Perhaps the biological mechanism of the process is the same as in previous cases: an increase in the level of adrenaline requires the activation of oxygen supply to all organs, which occurs during yawning.

4. Many airline passengers know: if your ears are blocked on the plane, you need to actively yawn, and then the pressure inside and outside eardrum will become equal, and the feeling of congestion will disappear.

5. Yawning helps you relax and unwind. Paradoxically, this is a fact confirmed by many studies. Some relaxation techniques necessarily include a few yawns. To provoke them, you need to lie down comfortably, relax your muscles and open your mouth as wide as possible, imitating a yawn - soon after that you will begin to yawn for real. Interestingly, many Japanese enterprises have special breaks for yawning: employees stop working and yawn for 10 minutes. After such ten minutes, attention and productivity increase sharply, just like after a long rest.

So the call “Don’t yawn!” in some cases, it may be necessary, but you cannot completely abandon yawns because of their obvious benefits for the body.

10th place: The ancients believed that the soul was able to leave the body not through the ears, nose, eyes or other openings, but through the mouth. And it is through the mouth that demons can enter there. That is why the modern polite person, guided by this superstition, covers his mouth when he yawns. The Austrian artist Lampiy was returning one day with a friend from a performance. “I’m surprised,” his companion remarked, that such a boring thing wasn’t booed!” “It’s not surprising,” the artist replied, “when you yawn, it’s impossible to whistle!”

9th place: Experts have no doubt that yawning can be infected and, as it turned out, in any of its manifestations: in a recent study, 75% of subjects only had to read about it to yawn.

7th place: In the course of research, New York neurologists found that when yawning, the airways expand, and the human brain receives a large dose of oxygen. Yawning, a person relaxes, relieves fatigue and nervous tension. So don’t be offended if a friend yawns in your company - this means that he feels good and is resting.

6th place: In criminal folklore there is quite logical advice - “don’t yawn.” This is the so-called “eleventh commandment.”

5th place: The longest yawn was documented in 1888. According to the Guinness Book of Records, a certain Dr. Lee reported that a 15-year-old girl did this continuously for five weeks.

3rd place: One of the New York television studios began to practice a new way of helping suffering people - at the end of evening programs, a person appears on the television screen for a few minutes and yawns sweetly.

1st place: GERONIMO (GOYATLAY), leader of the Chiricahua Indian tribe, who fought against US troops for four years. His Indian name means “he who yawns,” and his English name became the battle cry of paratroopers.