Shine OnYawning becomes less contagious as we age, study shows
We've all likely experienced the phenomenon of contagious yawning at some point.
Someone in a particularly dry meeting lets out a gaping yawn and the rest of the room scrambles to cover their mouth for fear that they come off as looking bored.
A new study from Duke University suggests that older people are less likely to experience the contagious yawning phenomenon -- and in fact, it is more strongly associated with age than empathy, tiredness or energy levels, reports BBC.
"The lack of association in our study between contagious yawning and empathy suggests that contagious yawning is not simply a product of one's capacity for empathy," says study author Elizabeth Cirulli.
Researchers examined 328 participants who were shown a three-minute video of other people yawning. They recorded how many times each participant yawned.
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The results showed that people under age 25 yawned the most. Eighty-two per cent of them yawned, compared to only 60 per cent of people aged 25 to 49, and 41 per cent of people over 50.
The researchers looked at other factors that could influence yawning, such as empathy, tiredness and energy levels. However, they found that the strongest predictor of contagious yawning was age.
Cirulli says she is unsure why yawning is so closely correlated with age, but hopes that her research will help uncover possible genetic causes of contagious yawning.
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She also hopes that her study will help determine why people with schizophrenia or autism are less likely to experience contagious yawning.
"It is possible that if we find a genetic variant that makes people less likely to have contagious yawns, we might see that variant or variants of the same gene also associated with schizophrenia or autism," Cirulli explains.
What are your thoughts on the findings of this study? Have you noticed a connection between age and contagious yawning?
