 |
| Lilybits, not large, but in charge! |
Yawn!
Now that you’ve read that word, did you yawn? Yawns are contagious, you know, possibly due to the fact that humans can be empathetic. Sometimes I catch Mom yawning after I let loose one of my big cat yawns. This is theoretically all up for debate, of course.
Since people often connect yawning to sleepiness or boredom, you could see how a cat like myself might yawn quite a few times a day. After all we are smart enough to get more sleep than you humans do—sometimes up to 20 hours a day!
New research concludes that yawning is actually a form of cooling the brain. You open your mouth and suck all that cool air in. It hits tissue in your mouth and throat, cooling your blood stream and your brain is primed and ready to think better.
Of course, this makes a lot of sense for a cat like myself, who does lots of big thinking. I have to figure out new ways of being cute and begging for food successfully. I also have to make quick mathematical calculations before I take a leap from one piece of furniture to another. I’m also learning to communicate. Sometimes I can lead Mom over to the laundry room with a certain whine and look, so that she remembers to scoop the icky stuff in my princess potty.
What about you? What makes you yawn?
I yawned. And usually I only do it when I think about it or see someone else doing it. Btw, did you see that you'd listed this post about eight times? Hehe.
ReplyDeleteKathy says: Yes. :( I'm not sure what happened here. It was definitely an accident. At least yours stands out. ;) Thanks for stopping by, J'nell. Every time I open this post I yawn, so
ReplyDeleteit's understandable you did too!
I figured Lilybits hit enter over and over to show how much she approves of this post!
ReplyDeleteAh, yeah, that works! ;)
DeleteMythbusters did a segment testing whether yawns were contagious, but I can't remember if they ended up with any conclusive evidence.
ReplyDeleteAccording to the most recent study at Duke University, the reason yawns are contagious "remains a mystery." http://tinyurl.com/nlcbwvk They're thinking it
Deletemay have more to do with genetics than empathy!