Yawwww! Almost all animals with a spine yawn.
Penguins do as a mating ritual. Snakes do it to realign their jaws after a meal and Guinea pigs to it to display anger?
So why so actually humans yawn?And why do babies yawn? Is it a sign of disease? No one knows for sure. And they are still many theories of why we do so?
What is a yawn?
Yawn is a involuntary reflex consisting of simultaneous inhalation of air and the stretching of the eardrums followed by am exhalation of breath. Yawning seems to be the most reactions of a baby.
Healthy newborn babies can yawn. They do yawning and stretching before they are born. Below are the ultrasound images. Your baby will yawn more than often but it’s considered normal.
But if we notice him yawning excessively when he still in a good sleep, it is a concern.
…..
1. Why Do Babies Yawn?
- As I have already mentioned, ultrasound imaging revealed babies yawning before their birth. Scientists at Durham and Lancaster Universities states that the moment may be related to the maturation of the central nervous systems. ” It may be that in order to get part of the brain to mature in a correct way it needs a stimulus. Yawning maybe the stimulus.” they said.
- In 2002, researchers at New York Down Hospital states that unborn babies with anemia have unusual bursts of yawning.
- Recently, another physiological function of yawning has been proposed stating that yawning regulates the temperature of the brain. It might cool down the brain while the temperature increases.
- It also linked with actions like muscle stretching, joint movement and increased heart rate ( think early morning waking), yawning may be the way to gear up.
- Its theorized that yawning is a not a sign of sleepiness or boredom but it induces your brain to wake you up and makes more alert.
- A disproven theory is that we yawn to improve oxygen in the blood and reduce carbon dioxide. This seems logical since yawning can increase oxygen with a deep breath an expiration removes carbon dioxide than the usual breath buy research by putting up people in low oxygen and high carbon dioxide environments does not produce yawning.
…..
2. Is Yawning Contagious For Babies?
Everybody have sensed that yawning is contagious. It is said that you can yawn even when you see someone else yawning.
But it’s not true for babies. Children under 4 years don’t yawn because they don’t see people yawn. Children with autism are also not affected by yawning.
…..
3. Sleep Is Very Important For A Baby!
Good nutrition and exercise help your child to get a good sleep. try to keep your means in time so that your child doesn’t go hungry to sleep or doesn’t get to full.
Quiet activities such as looking at books, telling your child a story,or playing soft music will help your child go to sleep. The total sleep varies between babies. It can be 10-18 hours a day.
…..
4. What Causes Excessive Yawning In Babies?
Increased yawning can be a sign of serious problems like aortic dissections or any other congenital heart diseases and seizures.
Previous medications given to the mother during labour can cause excessive yawning in babies as the baby withdraw from their effects. Morphine,Demoral,Vicodin can cause yawning in babies.
Find out the root cause of your baby if he yawns too much.It maybe due to improper sleep,hunger,fatique,bored, anything and get a better solution for it.
…..
Reference Links:
- https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yawn
- https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/318414
- https://muschealth.org/medical-services/geriatrics-and-aging/healthy-aging/yawning
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3678674/
- https://www.sleep.org/articles/yawning-when-tired/
- https://amp-theguardian-com.cdn.ampproject.org/