Scientific study Duration of yawning as a sign of intelligence

For larger brain is yawned longer
American researchers have found that the length of yawning is related to the size of the brain: the bigger the brain, the longer it yawns. The scientists assume that temperature regulation plays an important role here.

Yawning is contagious
When people yawn, this is usually a sign of tiredness or even boredom. If you start with it, it also has an impact on your counterparts: yawning is almost always on. Even some animals can hit it. Researchers found that human yawning in chimpanzees is contagious. Why we yawn is still not clear. American scientists have come one step closer to answering that.

Researchers are the answer to the question of why we yawn, one step closer. The temperature regulation of the brain plays an important role here. (Image: ulianna19970 / fotolia.com)

For larger brain is yawned longer
Years ago, researchers from the University of Vienna and the State University of New York (SUNY) reported that yawning cools the brain Yawning is supposed to provide a short stimulus to tired brains by stimulating the blood flow in the skull, which in turn cools the neurons.

Now, a team of scientists around Andrew Gallup from SUNY has found that the length of yawning is related to the size of the brain. Accordingly, the larger the thinking organ is, the longer it yawns.

Researchers evaluated videos
For the study, published in the journal "Biology Letters", the researchers used videos from a total of 24 different species. They found that animals with fewer neurons and a smaller brain, on average, yawn significantly shorter than those with large brains. The size of the animals or the number of bones moving when yawning played virtually no role according to the experts.

People yawn much longer
Humans have an average yawning time of about six and a half seconds and have 21 billion nerve cells. African elephants are the second-longest with an average of just over six seconds and have the second most nerve cells. This is followed in both categories with chimpanzees and gorillas two monkey species. All these animals are considered very intelligent.

On the other hand, mice only yawn for 0.8 seconds and have "only" four million nerve cells in the cerebrum.

Further investigations planned
"Whether yawning specifically cools the brain can still be debated, but there is no debate that yawning has thermoregulatory consequences," Gallup said loudly, "STAT." The researchers have already planned follow-up studies. They also want to check their thesis on fish, birds and other mammals and also examine how the striking differences in the duration of yawning in humans can be explained. In addition to brain cooling, social factors could also play a greater role here. (Ad)