Isn’t it a social signal, apebrain talking?
Comment on *Yawn*
AmbitiousProcess@piefed.social 1 day ago
Apparently there isn’t much consensus on what the actual reason(s) are for yawning. Apparently fish yawn though, so that’s cool.
MonkderVierte@lemmy.zip 1 day ago
CileTheSane@lemmy.ca 19 hours ago
It seems like it helps the brain switch modes (from low activity to high and from high activity to low). So yawning could help prepare the brain to pay attention to something important, as well as wind down for the evening. Hence both morning and evening yawns.
The contagious aspect could be as simple as “Oh, you’re changing modes? I should get ready to do the same.”
its_prolly_fine@sh.itjust.works 1 day ago
Solitary animals yawn too. Don’t if they can catch yawns, or how to test it.
MonkderVierte@lemmy.zip 1 day ago
Supplying oxygen to brain before task, reused in ape for social?
sp3ctr4l@lemmy.dbzer0.com 20 hours ago
My entirely uneducated guess would be that its some, very basal, ancient, basically gasping compulsion, that… just never quite fully got patched out by the subsequent tens of millions of years of evolution.
Sort of the behavioral version of vestigal limb, way down at some fundamental nervous system level.
Agent641@lemmy.world 1 day ago
Are there any other involuntary social signals?
Cruxifux@feddit.nl 1 day ago
….erections?
TownhouseGloryHole@lemmy.world 1 day ago
I do prefer to let my erection do the talking.
sp3ctr4l@lemmy.dbzer0.com 20 hours ago
… anyone who is naturally expressive and has genuine, authentic responses that go against whatever current sociocultural norms are?
Hey, popular person told a dumb, offensive joke, that validates my internal insecurities by projecting derision outward onto some kind of minority group!
(Face twists up into disgust, shock, and maybe pity)
WTF is wrong with you, popular person is funny! We hate you now!
WalterLego@lemmy.zip 20 hours ago
Body language in general.
Dogs wag their tails in order to spread their happy pheromones by waving furiously. They unconsciously want everyone to know they are having a good time. When they are scared, they tuck their tail between their legs in order not to spread their stress pheromones by moving the air around their glands.
StarvingMartist@sh.itjust.works 14 hours ago
Best I can find, the 20 “most argued” reasons for yawning, as t least the 20 most in 1999
AmbitiousProcess@piefed.social 13 hours ago
Increase alertness
Decrease alertness
lmao
QuantumSparkles@sh.itjust.works 6 hours ago
Have you seen a stork yawn? They push their spine out through their mouth