There is a really annoying and childish game I like to play with my husband simply called “Yawn.”

It consists of me trying to get him to yawn by merely repeating the word “yawn” until either he yawns or I do and that causes him to “catch” the yawn. Needless to say he hates the game but I love it because yawning is one of those weird things humans do like sneezing when exiting a movie theater into the bright sun or photic sneeze reflex.

There are several theories as to why humans yawn: boredom, trying to get more oxygen to the brain, and apparently when we are aroused because nothing says “I think you’re sexy!” then a big ol’ normally- associated- with- boredom yawn! Though we have been involuntarily yawning since the day we were born we still don’t know why we do it and why it can be contagious in humans, dogs, and apes.

Elisabetta Palagi and Elisa Demuru from the University of Pisa, Italy studied contagious yawning in bonobos- a great ape and one of our closest living relatives. Over the three month study period the researchers recorded and  analyzed yawning in two adult male, six adult female, and four infant bonobos at Apenheul Primate Park in The Netherlands.

Palagi and Demuru observed bonobos that are bonded by either the ties of friendship or family are more likely to catch a yawn. Relaxed bonobos were also more likely to yawn and instances of yawning increased when the first bonobo to yawn was a senior member of the group.  

The senior- led yawning supports the theory that the action was used as a way to unconsciously communicate and coordinate activities.

However the only coordinated activity I can see stemming from this unconscious communication is going to sleep.  Perhaps mothers of young children unwilling to nap should start yawning every five seconds; really play it up with a long stretch of the arms, an exaggerated titled head, and huge audible yawn. NFL quarterbacks should start yawning in the huddle, the coach should yawn when a timeout is called: whenever we want someone to do what we want we should yawn.

"Though we are still far from a clear demonstration of a link between yawn contagion and empathy, the importance of social bonds in shaping this phenomenon in bonobos suggests that a basic form of empathy may play a role in modulating yawning behavior," the authors concluded.