I probably yawn about 3-4 times an hour, whether I'm physically/mentally tired or not. Even when I'm working out, eating, anything. When I do, my eyes water like crazy since it's always such a heavy yawn. Anyone else have this bizarre problem? Is there some kind of treatment for this? (Besides cocaine, a runny/bloody nose is no better)
Sounds like you need more oxygen. When I drive on road trips, if I start to yawn a lot, it goes away if I adjust the vents to draw in external air, or if I open a window.
There is a pretty common misconception that yawning means you are tired. Yawning is a way to get extra oxygen to your brain, so its possible that maybe when you are working out or whatever, you aren't getting enough oxygen to your brain due to strange breathing patterns, so you body tells you to yawn.
The truth is, nobody really knows what causes yawning. All the theories, including the ones listed above, are just that theories. Nobody can explain why we and other animals do it.
I don't have chronic yawning but I do tear up when I yawn. I asked my doctor about it once and he said that for some people the facial muscles you use to yawn squeeze the tear glands.
Al Calavici, I know you might say you're not sleepy, but the amount of sleep you're getting does not total to the sleep you need. One of these days, sleep as early as you can and wake up as late as you can, then continue to sleep the same amount. You will catch up eventually, but if you continue with the current routine, you will continue to leave some sleep time behind and will not have enough. It sounds weird that I am saying this, because I also do that and continuously yawn, even though I know I must sleep more. You are squeezing some glands in your head that need to secrete the liquid out through your eye... there is no other organ that can secrete this liquid, but your salivary glands also secrete liquid you cannot see or feel (your mouth is already wet). The name of the fluid escapes me, but it's logical that if you squeeze your muscles around your mouth and eyes, something has got to give and water combines with that liquid. This happens also when you get hit on the nose or on top of the head. When a tear comes out, you're just squeezing one out .
