Author: Alex Thompson

Excessive Yawning: Symptoms, Causes, and Treatment

If you have excessive yawning and other signs of stroke, like sudden numbness or weakness in your face, arm or leg, get emergency medical care. In humans and certain social animals, seeing or hearing another yawn can trigger yawning. Once again, researchers don’t know for sure why this happens. But they think it’s related to empathy — our ability to understand and share the feelings of another.

Yawning is the opening of your airway and mouth to take a long, deep breath of air. And surrounding muscles powerfully stretch or tense, most significantly around your throat (pharynx). You may also find you yawn when you’re bored either at work, school, or when completing a tedious task. A yawn is an involuntary reflex where you open your mouth, breathe in deeply, and then quickly exhale. To check for any heart problems, a doctor may use a chest X-ray or an MRI scan to rule out heart abnormalities.

1. Yawning is the body’s response to feeling sleepy or even bored.
2. Older research says it’s normal to yawn up to 20 times a day.
3. Yawning is characterized as a function of your parasympathetic nervous system, and it helps your body to feel calmer and more regulated.
4. Magnetic resonance imaging or X-rays may be ordered if your doctor suspects you have a tumor or another type of mass in your brain.
5. People with epilepsy may also experience excessive yawning due to the fatigue that epilepsy can cause.

Fatigue

Healthcare providers consider excessive yawning as more than three yawns per 15 minutes several times a day. Some people with excessive yawning claim upwards of 100 instances. If they rule out sleep issues, they may look for other possible causes involving the brain, central nervous system, or other underlying conditions. For example, they may order a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan to check the structures of the brain and spinal cord. If you experience excessive yawning — with or without additional symptoms — you may want to seek support from a medical professional.

Researchers believe a circulatory dysfunction may cause this. Some cultures consider yawning to be rude, which can also negatively impact your life. Treatment for excessive yawning requires identifying the cause of the yawning. When the underlying cause is treated, the symptom of excessive yawning goes away.

A polysomnography is an overnight sleep study that monitors your brain waves, heart rate, breathing, and leg movements. People may experience excessive yawning if they take certain medications. Fatigue or drowsiness is a common side effect of many over-the-counter and prescription drugs. Yawning is a common reflex that can happen to anyone at any time. It’s usually not bothersome, except when it happens too frequently in a short time. Consider seeing a doctor if it bothers you how often you yawn or if sleep problems are causing you to yawn often.

Are There Tests to Diagnose the Cause of Yawning?

If a person experiences a lot of anxiety, they may find themselves yawning more often than other people, or more often than when they are not feeling as anxious. Anxiety affects the heart, respiratory system, and energy levels. These can all cause breathlessness, yawning, and feelings of stress. Yawning is mostly involuntary, meaning you don’t have control over it.

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People may yawn excessively during the last stages of liver failure. Scientists believe that this is due to the fatigue that liver failure causes. One study suggests that recognizing abnormal rises in cortisol might help detect some neurological conditions, such as MS and early-onset dementia. In some cases, excessive yawning may indicate bleeding around the heart or even a heart attack. Anxiety-related yawning often gets worse when a person feels more anxious, but it can also arise with no obvious trigger. People also yawn when they see others yawn, or even when they read about yawning, as a form of empathy.

If excessive yawning is a symptom of a serious medical condition, such as epilepsy or liver failure, then the underlying problem must be treated immediately. If your doctor suspects you have a sleep disorder, they will likely recommend a sleep diary or polysomnography (PSG). A sleep diary is a written record of your sleep patterns and habits over several days.

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In this article, we look at the possible causes of excessive yawning and discuss when to see a doctor. You might yawn during a workout because you saw or heard someone around you yawn, or even when you’re anxious, nervous, or bored. Researchers initially thought that yawning might mean you lack oxygen, but more recent evidence suggests this is untrue. Yawning doesn’t mean you lack oxygen or your body is trying to get more oxygen. Thermoregulatory disorders and intense headaches can also cause excessive yawning.

To treat your condition without medicine, doctors usually recommend lifestyle changes. Your doctor may ask you to increase physical activity, use a breathing device, reduce certain medications, and establish a consistent sleep routine. If people experience constant fatigue or sleepiness during the day, or if they have a sleep disorder, they should see their doctor for advice. Older research says it’s normal to yawn up to 20 times a day. Contagious yawning happens when you see, hear, feel, or think about someone yawning. On the other hand, spontaneous yawning occurs without any obvious trigger.

Treatment will vary based on what’s causing you to yawn excessively. In some cases, yawning may be a sign of a potentially serious underlying condition that may require medical help. It’s important to consult a healthcare provider first before making any changes to your prescription medication routine.