My New Year's resolution: yawn more, drink less coffee

I never thought the subject of yawning was all that interesting, but I read a fascinating article today that explains why we yawn. Contrary to popular belief, we yawn to cool our brains, not because we're bored. Yawning keeps our brain temperature regulated which helps us operate more efficiently.

So how does this relate to Australia? The researchers that conducted this study chose to analyze parakeets because "the birds have relatively large brains, live wild in Australia, which is subject to frequent temperature swings, and, most importantly, do not engage in contagious yawning, as humans and some other animals do." This left me wondering if people in Australia yawn less than say, Americans?!?

Since I can't employ a research team to answer that question, I do know that the Aussie tour group we visited with this weekend was yawning quite a bit. But I think that had more to do with jet lag and a busy schedule than outside temperature, because the temperature change they recently experienced was working in their favor for brain cooling. When they left Sydney, it was 90 °F (32 °C), and when they stepped off the plane in Raleigh, the temperature was 41 °F (5 °C). Since they were pretty tired, and exhaustion was shown to increase deep brain temperature, a big yawn here was probably just what they needed. Plus, they say a good morning yawn can function like a cup of coffee and give you a jolt of energy.

I know what my New Year's resolution is for 2009 -- to replace coffee with yawning. I think I can handle that.