Can You Watch This Without Yawning?

Added: 2026-05-17

[00:00:00]Reading the word yawn might actually make you [music] yawn. And no, it doesn't happen just because you're tired.

[00:00:07]Contagious yawning is a form of social contagion.

[00:00:11]Sometimes, just seeing someone yawn, hearing it, or even thinking about it can trigger your own yawn.

[00:00:19]The most interesting hypothesis, your brain may interpret that yawn as a social signal and automatically imitate it.

[00:00:27]Some scientists link this to mirror neurons, a system that helps us reflect what we see in others. But science still doesn't have a final answer.