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They are contagious in the sense that other people may start laughing or yawning when they see you doing it, but they are not diseases.

I thought that because contagious is derived from the Latin "tangere" - to touch, that both laughing and yawning were infectious. I'm not 100% sure though and would welcome a more knowledgeable answer.

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Q: Are laughing and yawning contagious or infectious?
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Continue Learning about Zoology

Why to we yawn when someone else is yawn?

Yawning is contagious.


Do you get sleepy when some one yawns?

Yes, it is common for people to feel sleepy or have the urge to yawn when they see or hear someone else yawn. This is known as contagious yawning and it happens due to the activation of mirror neurons in the brain, which mimic another person's action, in this case yawning. Contagious yawning is believed to be related to empathy and social bonding.


How are yawns contagious?

Study shows yawning isn't contagious but the fact we have a circuitry system that makes us want to mimic.


Why a man got yawning by seeing a person who yawns?

Yawning is associated with tiredness, stress, overwork, lack of stimulation, or boredom. Yawning can also be a powerful non-verbal message with several possible meanings, depending on the circumstances. In humans, yawning has an infectious quality, i.e. seeing a person yawning, or just thinking of yawning, can trigger yawning which is a typical example of positive feedback. Infectious yawning has also been noted in chimpanzees. The primary reason behind yawning is to control brain temperature. It cools off your brain, much like a fan cools off the inside of a computer. The claim that yawning is caused by lack of oxygen has not been substantiated scientifically. Some claim that yawning is not caused by lack of oxygen, for the reason that yawning allegedly reduces oxygen intake compared to normal respiration. Another speculated reason for yawning is nervousness and is also claimed to help increase the state of alertness of a person-paratroopers have been noted to yawn in the moments before they exit the aircraft.


Why is yawns contagious?

Yawning is extremely contagious -- 55% of people who witness someone yawn will yawn within five minutes. If a visually impaired person hears a tape of someone yawning, he or she is likely to yawn as well. Face it, the likelihood of you making it to the end of this answer without looking like one of these gaping maws is unlikely.Although the contagious nature of yawning is well established, we know less about why this is so. Researchers are currently giving the topic some serious attention. One theory suggests it's a holdover from a period in evolutionary history when yawning served to coordinate the social behavior of a group of animals. A recent study postulates that contagious yawning could be part of the "neural network involved in empathy."While the mystery of contagious yawning has yet to be solved, perhaps researchers are closing in on an answer. On the other hand, given the subject matter, we wouldn't blame them for falling asleep at the wheel. In the meantime, give the "yawn challenge" a try -- it's tougher than it looks.Similar to the howling of the wolf pack, which is designed to synchronize mood in gregarious animals, yawning would have signalled tiredness to other members of the tribe thousands of years ago.Similar to the howling of the wolf pack, which is designed to synchronize mood in gregarious animals, yawning would have signalled tiredness to other members of the tribe thousands of years ago.Yawning is contagious, because if you see someone yawning your body thinks that it might get starved of air like that person is 'stealing' the air so your body yawns and tries to get the air.

Related questions

Why is yawning not contagious to people with autism?

Yawning is not a disease.


Are all contagious diseases infectious?

No, because the chicken pox are not contagious


Why to we yawn when someone else is yawn?

Yawning is contagious.


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When you look at someone while yawning you will probably yawn.Some people think it's contagious.


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Is yawning contagious?

yawning is contagious only if someone sees you do it ... as a sort of social action.It is not contagious in the disease sense.The physiologic function of yawning is to relieve the imbalance between where the blood flows in the lungs (mainly at the base) and where the air flows (mainly at the apex). Note that this is a problem mostly when you are in an upright posture.Yawning is contagious, at least to humans. Many animals yawn, but only dogs, chimps, and humans are known to yawn after someone else does. There is no conclusive evidence why we yawn to begin with, but it's possible that contagious yawning may have something to do with social bonding and empathy. For example, autistic people tend not to yawn after another person does, and children under the age of four don't do it either. This suggests that yawning after someone else is a sympathetic and social act, similar to unconscious mimicking.When tired, yawning is psychologically "contagious", but not physically contagious in the most common sense of the word.


Is yawning more contagious when in a big or small room?

neither...it does not matter


Why do people yawn when they see someone else yawning?

It's contagious?


What are the release dates for MythBusters - 2003 Is Yawning Contagious 3-4?

MythBusters - 2003 Is Yawning Contagious 3-4 was released on: USA: 9 March 2005 Finland: 24 January 2007


Is tumpid lupus contagious?

Lupus is an autoimmune disorder and is not infectious or contagious.