Factors Behind Excessive Yawning

Yawning is the natural response of the body to tiredness, sleepiness, and boredom. It is quite natural for people to yawn in the middle of a long lecture or in a conference where discussion is not of interest to a particular individual. Yawning is a process in which the mouth opens up involuntarily to inhale air and fill the lungs with it.

The time of yawning may be short or long and sometimes they are also accompanied by tearing. This form of yawning is routine and is not a cause for concern but in some people this practice of yawning starts to happen excessively and even without a trigger of feeling sleepy or bored. That is when it is a cause of concern that something might just not be right in the body which causing an individual to yawn excessively. This article gives a brief overview of the various factors which may lead to an individual having Excessive Yawning.

Excessive Yawning may be caused due to three factors which can be divided into physiological causes, psychological causes, and other potential more serious causes of Excessive Yawning.

Some of the physiological causes of Excessive Yawning are:

Extreme Fatigue, Drowsiness, or Tiredness: It is quite common in people who may not have had a good night’s sleep and may be feeling drowsy and tired the next day resulting in Excessive Yawning.

Changes in Sleep-Wake Cycle: This is more seen in people who have traveled from one country to another with different time zones. They may find themselves feeling sleepy and drowsy in daytime which may be actually the sleeping time in their country due to the different time zones. Additionally people who do multiple shifts at a time at work might also experience a disruption in their sleep wake cycle resulting in Excessive Yawning.

Medical Conditions: There are also certain medical conditions which can also cause Excessive Yawning like narcolepsy or sleep apnea.

Medications Side Effect: Excessive Yawning may also be a side effect of certain medications that you may be taking which may be causing you excessive drowsiness resulting in Excessive Yawning. You need to consult with your physician regarding any medications you may be taking and try and change that medication to get rid of Excessive Yawning

In some cases Excessive Yawning is found in people suffering from the following conditions:

• Epilepsy
• Stroke
• Liver failure
• Cardiovascular diseases
• Venous insufficiency
• Electrolyte imbalance
• Hashimoto’s thyroiditis
• Hypothyroidism
• Multiple sclerosis in extremely rare cases can cause Excessive Yawning

Some of the psychological or emotional causes of Excessive Yawning include:

• Excessive Stress
• Depression
• Anxiety resulting in hyperventilation

Some of the more serious causes of Excessive Yawning are symptoms of sudden worsening of COPD which needs emergent evaluation and treatment along with bronchitis and emphysema which can cause Excessive Yawning.