Andrew Gallup, assistant professor of Psychology at SUNY Polytechnic Institute, joined SciTech Now host Hari Sreenivasan to discuss the science of yawning.

SciTech Now is a program that tells the stories of advancements in technology, science, and many other fields that could shape our future in amazing new ways. The half hour show is comprised of multiple segments that originate from PBS stations in a collaborative network that stretches across the country.

“Yawns occur at very distinct changes in our circadian temperatures, our brain and body temperatures. So in the evening, we're more likely to yawn spontaneously than any other time in the day, and that's when our brain and body temperatures are at their highest point,” says Dr. Gallup at one point during the program.

"Is there a connection between yawning and how much oxygen we need? I mean, people keep saying, ‘Why do I yawn all the time? My mom snapped at me once, 'how much oxygen do you need?'," asks Sreenivasan.

“Yeah, so when I poll classrooms or audiences, and I ask them, ‘Why do we yawn?’ the most common response is ‘oxygen deprivation,’ or that we yawn to equilibrate oxygen-CO2 levels in our blood,” explains Dr. Gallup. “This is the most widely believed reason why we yawn. However, the research has tested that, and subsequently, that hypothesis has been falsified. So they actually brought people into the lab and had them inhale altered contents of O2 and CO2 to see its effect on yawning and they find that while you can manipulate breathing rates really effectively, that yawning rates are unaffected by the manipulation of O2 or CO2.”

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