At least once a day I have an ‘attack’ where I start yawning and can’t stop. It almost always happens in the evening in front of the TV or when I’m reading a book, when I’m not sleepy at all. I’ve had this for years. Do you know why this is and what you can do about it?
Joris Bartstra, journalist with a medical degree.
In all honesty: no. Yawning is a mystery, it’s a kind of reflex that occurs in all vertebrates and we don’t know what it’s for. Extreme yawning can occur in a variety of serious conditions, including the brain, but if you don’t have any other symptoms, it doesn’t mean much. Because you’ve had it for years, it’s probably not the first sign of a condition that will show more symptoms over time. Some medicines have the side effect of making you yawn more. If you are experiencing significant discomfort, you can ask a neurologist to look at you. It is true that yawning always occurs in recognizable situations, as you also describe. You may be able to stop such an attack by walking a bit, because then you will break through the ‘typical situation’.
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