This is the real reason we yawn

What I really can't stand, by the way, is being in the middle of a conversation with someone and that person just yawns unabashedly. Hello. Am I talking nonsense sometimes?

It happens sometimes. Not that I would label myself as a ‘boring conversationalist’, but friends are just very tired after a day of work and three glasses of red wine. And then it comes out. Through a yawn. Especially when I'm once again talking about that damn wedding – which has been the topic for a year now. Okay, I get that, because even I couldn't care less whether the napkins next to the plates are salmon pink or candy pink. That's forgiven. But still. Yawning when someone is talking to you. That can't be right? Or am I being a bit strict?

Anyway: we all yawn. Dozens of times a day. Sometimes even more. But we don't yawn because we're tired and not because it's contagious, as is sometimes claimed. No. We yawn to cool our brains a bit: they work better when they're not too hot or too cold. People yawn much less when they have, for example, a cold cloth on their forehead. Yawning improves blood circulation. And that's good for your brain. Look. So that's really something useful. And a small effort. But okay, we also do it a bit out of empathy.

Because when someone else yawns, you also yawn faster. But only with people we like. It has been researched that we yawn along faster when a friend, family member, or partner yawns than when a stranger yawns on the street. It's a form of mimicking behavior that happens more often than we realize. And it’s not just about yawning, because you also unconsciously pick up the language or hand gestures of your friends.

So in the end, we are all the same – it has its charm. It's only fun when I suddenly hear a friend use a catchphrase that I often use. But girls, seriously, no more wide-open mouths during our dinner, okay? I promise not to ramble on about those napkins anymore.

And yes, sleepyhead, you also want to know this about yawning:

• People yawn more when it's colder outside
• Babies yawn in the womb: it's part of brain development
• Children under five do not yawn when they see someone else yawn
• During sex, an orgasm is often accompanied by, yes, a yawn
• Dogs also yawn when they see people yawn