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Why do people yawn?

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Yawning - Level 0

Why do we yawn? A new study researched this. It found that yawning is unstoppable. We yawn when we see others yawn. We yawn more when we try to stop yawning. Some people want to yawn more than other people. Reading about yawning could make us yawn. You might want to yawn right now.

The researchers studied the actions and brain activity of 36 people. They looked at videos of other people yawning. They then had to yawn or stop themselves yawning. The people were videoed doing this. Jackson said understanding more about yawning will help to treat illnesses. He wants to find ways to help the brain.

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11 online activities    |    8-page printable   (PDF)

Yawning - Level 1

Why do we yawn? Do you yawn when others yawn? A new study has researched this. It found that yawning is contagious and unstoppable. We automatically yawn when we see others yawn. We yawn more when we try to stop yawning. Some people want to yawn a lot more than other people. Researcher Professor Stephen Jackson said that even reading about yawning could make us yawn. You might even want to yawn right now.

The researchers studied the actions and brain activity of 36 people. The people looked at videos of people yawning. They then had to yawn or stop themselves yawning. The people were videoed doing this. The researchers checked the brain activity of the adults. Jackson said understanding more about yawning will help to treat illnesses like dementia and epilepsy. He said he was looking for possible non-drug treatments that might help the brain.

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11 online activities    |    8-page printable   (PDF)

Yawning - Level 2

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Do you ever think about why we yawn? Do you yawn when you see others yawn? A new study from the UK has researched this. It found that yawning is contagious, powerful and unstoppable. People automatically yawn when they see other people yawn. Researchers said people yawn more when they try to stop yawning. They also found that some people want to yawn a lot more than other people. Lead researcher Professor Stephen Jackson said that even reading about yawning could make people yawn. You might even want to yawn right now.

The researchers studied the actions and brain activity of 36 adults. The adults looked at videos of people yawning. They then had to yawn or stop themselves yawning. The volunteers were videoed as they did either of these. The researchers also checked the brain activity of the adults and checked how much they wanted to yawn. Jackson said understanding more about yawning will help to treat illnesses such as dementia and epilepsy. He said: "We are looking for potential non-drug, personalized treatments…that might be effective in [changing] imbalances in the brain."

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11 online activities    |    8-page printable   (PDF)

Yawning - Level 3

Do you ever wonder why we yawn? Do you always yawn when you see other people yawn? A new study from Nottingham University in the UK has done research on this. Researchers found that yawning is contagious. It is a powerful and unstoppable reaction. People automatically want to yawn when they see other people yawning. The researchers said people actually yawn more when they try to stop yawning. The researchers also found that some people have a much stronger urge to yawn than other people. Lead researcher Professor Stephen Jackson said that even reading about yawning could be enough to make people yawn. You might even want to yawn right now.

The researchers studied the reactions and brain activity of 36 adult volunteers. The volunteers looked at video clips of other people yawning. They then had two choices - either to stop themselves yawning or to allow themselves to do it. The volunteers were videoed as they yawned or tried not to yawn. The researchers also monitored the brain activity of the volunteers and checked how strong their feeling to want to yawn was. Jackson said understanding more about yawning will help to treat conditions such as dementia, epilepsy and Tourettes. He said: "We are looking for potential non-drug, personalized treatments…that might be effective in [changing] imbalances in the brain."

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25 online activities    |    26-page printable    |    2-page mini-lesson



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