Why do we yawn?

Yawning is a normal stretching mechanism. It's similar to stretching other muscles in the body. Normally we stretch when we feel the need to do so. Our muscles contract and squeeze the blood in the veins which are poor in oxygen and have it replaced by newly oxygenated blood giving us a feeling of renewal. That is not the only reason why we yawn, though, obviously. Its also a contagious phenomenon, which hints at a strong psychological effect. Many theories have been proposed, but it remains a mystery why we should yawn to start with.

When there is too much carbon dioxide and too little oxygen in the blood, though, yawning helps in establishing the balance of oxygen.

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