Time yawned reveals human intelligence

If you are planning to control yawning, then you should probably change it. Regardless of the polite issue, yawning whenever your body wants to help reveal the intelligence you have.

Biologists have discovered a surprising relationship between mammalian yawning time and the size and complexity of the animal's brain. They believe that this may also be a sign that they have higher cognitive abilities.

Primate animals including us tend to yawn the longest of all the remaining animals, estimated to be 50% longer than yawning. These findings help suggest a rational role why yawning helps to evolve - it helps cool the brain.

Researchers at New York State University in Oneonta wrote in Biology Letters that yawning time may also be related to human cognitive ability.

They found that animals like rats, rabbits and foxes had the shortest yawn time while gorillas, gibbons, walruses, camels, elephants and finally humans had the longest yawn time. Until now elephants are the animals with the largest brain, although humans do not have the largest brain weight but have more neurons in the cortex than any other species.

According to the study, yawning may be a sign of your cognitive ability.(Source: Alamy Stock Photo).

African elephants also have neurons in the cortex more than other primates and the second long yawning time, this probably refers to their intelligence.

Dr. Andrew Gallup, a psychologist at New York State University in Oneonta, who led the study and his colleagues, said: "Both physical and anatomical structures are not particularly relevant. to the yawning, cranial and lower jaw associated with these effects because gorillas, camels, horses, lions, walruses and African elephants all have an average yawn time shorter than humans. The difference in yawning time seems to have a special relationship with species variation in brain size as well as brain complexity, in which the number of cortical neurons is important. Best".

The researchers looked at dozens of individual videos about each species when they were yawning and how long these yawns lasted.

Primates have an average yawning time longer than non-primates, reflecting larger and more complex brains associated with their lifestyles.

In a total of 205 yawning from 177 specific animals from 24 different species, humans yawn an average of less than seven seconds while African elephants yawned for six seconds. Camels have an average yawning time of less than five seconds but chimpanzees yawn for five seconds. The researchers say their findings may help answer the oldest mysteries about the role of yawning in animals.

This reflex is often accompanied by symptoms of fatigue, sleepiness and depression, and researchers have shown that it can spread in many species including chimpanzees and dogs. A recent study also showed that yawning can be spread even in birds.

There were dozens of explanations given for yawning in animals, but there was little agreement on its main function. Dr. Gallup said yawning can help control brain activity by keeping the brain cool.

African elephants have the largest brain among mammals and also have the second longest yawning time after humans.(Photo: Getty Images / Lonely Planet Images).

The researchers wrote in the journal: "We hypothesize that the physiological consequences of yawning affect the brain more than the whole body, so that longer yawning may be necessary for conditioning. Stimulation makes the brain larger and more complex, and we predict that the classification of diversity in mammalian yawning with large brains may be associated with increased ability to receive consciousness and behavior of species ".

They also added that there are many time-related yawning factors including age. For example, adults often yawn longer than children and babies. They also suggest considering whether yawning diversity in species depends on the brain's cognitive abilities and working patterns. For example, a problem solver with many problems may yawn longer than someone who is relaxing in front of a television screen.

Dr. Gallup and his team added, "We believe we need to pay more attention to yawning time."