Don’t Make Me Yawn! Why We Can't Help But To Mimic Yawning

It's a fact that humans yawn several times a day, especially in the morning and evening. The science behind yawning isn't a fast-paced industry because most researchers believe that it's a function that has many causes or triggers. Narrowing down the reasons why humans yawn may be difficult, but most people understand that there's some mimicry or contagious factor in play. When you yawn, someone nearby may yawn too. Take a moment to learn about yawning and why it's mimicked among most intelligent organisms.

The Myth of Extra Oxygen

In the past, researchers believed that the yawning process was a mechanism to bring more oxygen into the body. When you saw a person yawn, your body responded at a primitive level to take in more oxygen too. Yawning involves a huge intake of air, but with little exhalation afterward. Although this hypothesis was a strong one, today's researchers understand that the bloodstream doesn't actually reflect an increase in oxygen after a yawn. Basic breathing is all that's necessary. With this fact in mind, researchers looked for other reasons why humans yawn and its contagious nature.

Your Hot Brain

The latest research suggests that yawning is meant to cool your brain. Your mind uses a lot of energy, and that fact makes it run hot. The scalp helps you release heat to the atmosphere through sweating. At times, however, your brain needs another mechanism to cool off. Yawning simply offers another cooling outlet. Mimicking a yawn means that your subconscious mind is keeping up with the surroundings. If another person is yawning, your brain may need cooling off too. 

Cooling Off

The brain cools off with yawns by accessing the incoming air. As you yawn, cool air moves into the nasal passageways where it can move through the sinuses. The bones and tissues cool off to a certain extent, which ultimately affects your brain. 

Environmental Cues and Circadian Rhythms

The body uses circadian rhythms throughout the day to keep up with waking-and-sleeping patterns. As you wake up, the brain starts its hard work for the day. Your brain's temperature rises high enough that a yawn may be necessary to cool it off. Researchers wondered at that point about bedtime yawns. It was presumed that the brain cools off in the evening, but it actually warms up as bedtime approaches. When you mimic yawns brought on by the circadian rhythms, it's a way to keep your body on track with waking and sleeping too.

The Empathetic Mind

A major part of mimicked yawning is your ability to have empathy for others. From a social aspect, you yawn with another person because you can put yourself in their shoes. This human connection means that you can relate to the acquaintance on a primitive level even if you don't know the person.

As you grow into your senior years, you'll have more time to contemplate some of these yawning scenarios. Think about your surroundings when you yawn along with the time of day. When it's possible to yawn around an average of eight times a day, observing your own behavior becomes a lesson in science and empathy.

How Meditation Can Help Self-doubt and Boost Your Confidence

What Is Meditation and Anxiety? 

Thousands of individuals practice meditation each day to clear their minds in order to relieve stress or to reach a higher state of consciousness. There are several ways to perform meditation, and it provides additional benefits, including reducing self-doubt and increasing confidence levels. Self-doubt is damaging because it makes you worry about your abilities and actions, leading to doing nothing so that you won’t make any type of mistake. If you have self-doubt, then you may develop extreme anxiety, making it impossible to do anything. Anxiety can become a debilitating condition that causes physical symptoms that include: 

• Headaches
• Nausea
• High blood pressure
• Perspiration
• Inability to mentally focus 

Reasons For Lacking Self-confidence 

There are several reasons why you may begin to doubt yourself, including losing a job or going through a divorce. When a traumatic event occurs in your life, you might begin to question your choices that led to the event. If you get stuck in feeling doubtful about your actions or abilities, then your self-confidence is eroded, making it difficult to try anything new. When you stop trying to do anything, you will become more doubtful about your abilities. 

How To Meditate To Increase Confidence Levels 

Fortunately, it is easy to meditate at home, work or any other location to reduce your self-doubt. Some individuals find it easy to meditate while others must practice to clear their minds. With meditation, it is possible to stop your obsessive negative thinking. If you find it difficult to meditate with other people, then you need to find a special place such as a quiet corner of your bedroom. You may need to close your eyes to meditate, or you might gaze at an object that makes you feel calmer. Meditation focusing objects can include a statue or flower. In addition, you might relax more by listening to certain types of music, and you can create a soothing ambience with burning scented candles. 

Ways That Meditation Reduces Self-doubt 

Meditation can reduce your self-doubt and improve your confidence in a variety of ways, including:

• Stopping your compulsive negative thinking
• Keeping you from caring about the criticism from others 
• Helping you create future positive goals
• Trusting your own intuition
• Making you more creative
• Ensuring that you live in the moment

Meditating To Boost Your Self-confidence

Scientific neurological research reveals that your brain waves and body chemistry change during meditation. An important aspect of meditative practices is thinking positive affirmations. If you suffer from self-doubt, then you may find it difficult to remember the great things about yourself, making it impossible to boost your confidence levels. However, meditation helps to clear away your negative thoughts so that positive thinking can begin. When you begin to have positive thoughts, your mood will change, helping to reduce your self-doubt. Here are a few ways to begin meditating on a daily basis:

• Sit in a comfortable chair 
• Close your eyes 
• Listen to relaxing music
• Focus on your breathing 
• Have a mantra to help you focus mentally
• Begin with short sessions

If you are having problems relaxing before meditating, then you can enjoy a hot bath, yoga session or gentle massage first. With regular practice, meditation will increase your mindfulness to increase your self-confidence levels. If you are feeling unemotional constantly due to self-doubt, then meditating may help you to release difficult emotions so that you can overcome a traumatic experience in order to boost your confidence. 

Can Video Games Help Stress or PTSD?

Video games used to be a distraction for kids as technology developed in the 1980s. Today's video games, however, are remarkably lifelike. They attract players from almost every age group too. Researchers have been working with video games and their use with certain patients. In fact, current studies suggest that video games can help with stress or PTSD disorders.

Distraction From Daily Stress

Stress can take on many forms, from financial issues to family strife. Although you may have a healthy mind and body, dealing with stress can be difficult. Playing video games can distract you from your worries for a short time period. Become a warrior fighting for a kingdom, or solve a murder mystery through this virtual reality. By distracting your mind, you create new neural pathways for the signals. After the mental escape, you can refocus on your issues and possibly solve them with a clear mind.

Spatial Tasks For PTSD Sufferers

PTSD or post traumatic stress disorder sufferers deal with visual traumas almost every day. Whether their trauma is from war or personal tragedies, flashbacks of the situation incapacitate them on both mental and physical levels. Although the association is unclear at this point, PTSD sufferers benefit from paying video games with spatial tasks, such as Tetris. By focusing on a spatial activity, these patients have fewer flashbacks throughout a given week. Further research must be done to see if spatial activities can help both short- and long-term memories.

Virtual Reality Tricks

Researchers are also trying therapeutic video games with PTSD patients. Games that simulate a military experience are used as mechanisms to work through the trauma. Under supervision, patients play the games to face their fears. By working through the trauma on a regular basis with the games, patients have fewer episodes at home. Their minds have essentially broken down the traumas for a short time period so there's no need for the flashbacks to occur. Researchers caution patients that video games don't solve the PTSD issue, but it's a valuable coping mechanism.

Dealing With Assault Issues

Assault victims deal with their own traumas that involve isolation, entrapment and abandonment. Video games designed to cover these feelings are being used to treat certain trauma victims. Researchers report that they're not creating an assault situation through these games, however. They must approach it with the emotions involved so that further damage doesn't occur during the game. The mind is a fragile system, but science continues to seek out simple ways to provide relief from any mental traumas.

It's important to stress that video games cannot be replacements for therapy in extreme situations. If you're battling PTSD, visit a medical professional as soon as possible. They may have solutions that complement the video-game play. Your current, mental health can be improved so that your senior years are more rewarding than ever before.

4 Foods that Help Digestion

Before you reach for a laxative the next time you are feeling constipated or bloated, consider changing your diet to include these four foods that are known to improve overall digestion. The below food options are low in calories and allow your body to digest food more efficiently. Instead of taking a pill when you are having difficulty with digestion, you can make permanent changes to your diet that will support a healthier lifestyle.

Chia Seeds




While these small seeds may not have a full flavor, they do wonders for your help. Just two tablespoons of chia seeds a day can reduce inflammation and aid your bowel movements. Chia seeds are also an amazing source to fulfill your daily fiber needs. When you eat foods that are high in fiber, you end up feeling fuller longer, which helps you to get a grip on snacking throughout the day.


Coconut Oil


This is a great replacement for other cooking oils because it has been shown to speed up metabolism and is a very healthy fat. Its antimicrobial properties assist with digestion and can boost your energy levels in the process. Coconut oil can be ingested directly or used as a cooking substitute.


Salmon




This is a great source of omega-3 fatty acids and protein. Salmon has been shown to reduce bad cholesterol levels and improve heart health. The healthy oils and fats in salmon can help your body remove harmful toxins.


Ghee



Ghee is a clarified version of butter that can be found in most organic food aisles. Instead of backing up the digestive process, it helps to facilitate the breakdown of food and eliminates bloat by stimulating stomach acids. It is also lower in calories and unhealthy fats and stays fresh at room temperature much longer than traditional butter can.