Yawning Cools The Brain? The Thermoregulatory Hypothesis

Monday, September 19, 2011 - 18:31 in Biology & Nature

Think someone is bored if they yawn? Perhaps their brain is just overheating.A study led by Andrew Gallup, a postdoc in Princeton University's Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, says yawning frequency varies with the seasons and that people are less likely to yawn when the heat outdoors exceeds body temperature.  Conclusion: yawning could serve as a method for regulating brain temperature.read more

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