Turns out there’s another theory as to why we yawn and it’s nothing to do with our brains needing oxygen or being tired.

Yawning. As soon as you read that you probably found a yawn creeping into your mouth and either had to work pretty hard to stifle it or just let your mouth open wide in all its glory.

But why do we do it? Well, it’s been long-debated by scientists with no definitive answer come to rest on, however, a new intriguing theory has since arisen.

What yawning is – scientifically speaking

Yawning ‘is the opening of your airway and mouth to take a long, deep breath of air,’ Cleveland Clinic explains.

It continues: “It’s a complex muscular movement. In seconds, your entire airway fully dilates (expands). And surrounding muscles powerfully stretch or tense, most significantly around your throat (pharynx). Another term for yawning is oscitation.”

The site notes the human function is ‘common but perplexing’ and no theory is certain, however many ‘common triggers’ include ‘tiredness, boredom, waking up and stress’.

“Seeing or hearing other people yawn can also cause you to yawn,” it adds.

However, a new theory has since been proposed as to why we crack open our mouths – and why you’ll probably do so simply while reading about yawns during this article.

Try not yawn throughout this, I dare you (Getty Stock Images)

A new theory

State University of New York at Oneonta’s Andrew Gallup came up with the theory during his undergraduate degree.

He queried whether yawning was, in fact, actually a motion spurred on in a bid to help to cool off the brain.

In the study, Gallup argues the opening of the jaws in such an abrupt way sparks blood flow around the skull which, in turn, helps regulate the brain’s temperature.

As you yawn, you inhale too, which Gallup explains brings air into your system which leads back to the brain, similarly having a cooling effect.

Rather than simply theorizing, Gallup decided to test his prediction out.

People were put to the test in normal conditions and then asked to hold a cold compress to their heads.

The theory argues yawning may be a way of cooling the brain (Getty Stock Images)

Testing the theory

The study reveals: “When participants held a warm pack (460 C) or a pack at room temperature to their forehead while watching people yawn, contagious yawning occurred 41 percent of the time.

“When participants held a cold pack (40 C) to their forehead, contagious yawning dropped to 9 percent.”

The temptation to yawn was prevented further by the participants being asked to breathe through their nose – a reported quicker way to cool the brain compared to mouth breathing.

“There were no yawns in the nasal breathing group. In all other groups, at least 45 percent of viewers yawned at least once. In the strictly oral breathing group (not the nose plug condition), 54 percent of viewers yawned at least once,” the study continues.

Gallup also asked participants to pop a thermometer in their mouths before and after yawning and found participants’ temperatures allegedly rise just before and then drop after.

Is yawning really a sign of you being sleepy? (Getty Stock Images)

The study resolves: “According to our hypothesis, rather than promoting sleep, yawning should antagonize sleep. It has been widely believed that yawning in the presence of others is disrespectful and a sign of boredom (e.g., witness the fact that many people cover their mouths when they yawn).

“However, according to our account yawning more accurately reflects a mechanism that maintains attention. Likewise, when someone yawns in a group setting as evidence for diminished mental processing efficiency, contagious yawning may have evolved to promote the maintenance of vigilance.”

However, University of Bern’s Christian Hess argued: “Gallup’s group has failed to present any convincing experimental evidence to support his theory.”

So, what do you think?

Scientists have revealed some of the reasons why men might want to grow beards.

Love them or hate them, a study from 2017 found that around 33 percent of men in America have beards.

But what actually motivates men to grow facial hair? Is it simply a fashion trend, or is there more to it?

Well, scientists think they may have found the answers.

Scientists have revealed the surprising reason why men might want to grow beards. (Getty Stock Photo)

Beards can help a person to be perceived differently

Researchers from the University of Silesia in Poland, and University of Padova in Italy, found that men with beards are perceived differently to men without.

They looked at 414 men between the ages of 18 and 40, who completed surveys about their facial hair, including questions regarding why they chose to grow their beards and how willing they were to buy hair-enhancing products.

They were also asked to rate how they perceive the importance of health, status, self-protection and how they seek a partner.

“Studies conducted so far have shown that people give different characteristics related to fundamental social motives to men with different types of facial hair”, researchers wrote.

“However, research on perceptions of men’s facial hair provides mixed findings and there is a need for more research on the topic to help clarify this ambiguity.”

A beard can allow someone to be perceived in a certain way. (Getty Stock Image)

Beards look ‘healthy’ and ‘trustworthy’

According to the research, men with beards are viewed as healthier and more trustworthy.

However, they are also considered to be more dominant and more efficient when it comes to ‘self-protection’, as well as being better fathers.

“We hypothesized that men’s striving to realize fundamental social motives might manifest through increased interest in facial hair enhancement,” said the study.

“Therefore, we predicted positive correlations between facial hair enhancement motivation and orientation on such fundamental social motives as self-protection, status-seeking, mate-seeking, and kin care related to children.”

Researchers found that those with facial hair were more family orientated. (Getty Stock Photo)

Valuing long-term relationships and family

They also found that those with facial hair valued long-term relationships and were more family orientated.

“Previous findings indicated that observers tend to perceive bearded men as having more parenting skills,” they explain.

“Therefore, having more facial hair may be used by men to inform other people that their social motives shift from focusing on mating market to focusing on long-term romantic relationships and family.

“In addition, we found that among clean-shaven men mate-seeking motive was linked with a higher motivation to enhance their facial hair, which further supports this thesis.”

Despite the findings, authors recognised that more work is needed to fully understand the motivations around facial hair, but it’s certainly an interesting start.

It’s not often now that women are banned from something men can do, but in one European waterpark the rules are still in place.

For some high powered waterslides, women are advised not to use them with strict waterslides and that includes Austria’s Area 47 adventure park.

Australian high diver Rhiannan Iffland, 32, has sparked concern after she posted a video to social media revealing what happened when she ignored the ‘male only’ warnings and tried it out.

In the clip, the four-time World Championship gold medalist ventured down the continent’s ‘fastest waterslide’ – an attraction that boasts ridiculous speeds of up to 80 km/h, according to The New York Post.

The waterslide is clearly marked as only being for men, but rather than prohibiting women as a sexist rule it’s in fact done for health reasons.

According to a 1998 study, published in the National Library of Medicine, women can sustain grievous vaginal injuries if high-pressure water enters the female body.

Moreover, if these injuries are sustained, women can become increasingly susceptible to infection due to foreign bodies found in the water. There’s also been previous reports of women being ‘ripped apart’ by high-speed waterslides, prompting slide bans across the globe.

As well as gynaecological issues, high-speed water can cause what’s being dubbed as ‘the waterslide enema’ in both men and women.

An enema is an injection of fluids into the rectum that’s usually used to cleanse the colon and help relieve constipation.

It’s not uncommon for people who have used waterslides to experience them, as one person previously wrote on social media: “Unfortunately I got a water slide enema. Peed out half the swimming pool in the toilet from my butt. I literally couldn’t stand upright after it happened. Weirdest thing I’ve ever experienced.”

Another said: “I have gone to one of those. […] Not an enema but the other one. Deep cleaning that baby box. Never again.”

Iffland’s TikTok clip of her trying out the Austrian waterslide has now gone viral, but she’s made it clear to news.com.au that it was ‘never [her] intent to mock’ the slide’s safety regulations.

The diver said she never intended to ‘mock’ safety instructions (Instagram/@rhiannan_iffland)

“A person’s safety is paramount and I am constantly weighing up any danger with my job,” she added. “To suggest otherwise, is wrong.”

Following the clip being posted to social media, viewers have come out in their droves to debate Iffland’s daring stunt.

One Instagram user wrote: “The amount of people that don’t understand why women aren’t supposed to go on this slide is scary,” as a second typed: “The sign says ‘due to high risk of injury’. Why would you still go down?”

The waterpark, Area 47, has now said that when the water park was built back in 2009, it ‘did not intend to create a men-only attraction’.

A spokesperson explained: “Initially, this particular slide was open to both women and men. However, in the second year, we noticed a significant increase in accidents on this slide, which required us to take action.”

They added: “Our highest priority is ensuring the safety and happiness of all our guests, regardless of gender. The risks for women using this slide were tragically highlighted a few years ago when a woman was severely injured on a similar slide in the Canary Islands.”

Our toilet habits might be a taboo subject, but they can offer us some important insights into our health.

Some of us are ‘voluntary withholders’ without even realizing it, while others can’t seem to ever get off the porcelain throne and feel the need to poop after every meal.

Usually, a change in bowel habit isn’t anything to worry about.

But there can be some alarming changes that might worry us – including the color of our poop changing.

If one day you began passing green stool, for example, you’d be pretty concerned.

Fortunately, health experts have explained what it could mean and when you should seek help.

Why is my poop green?

Green poop can be explained away by a number of reasons (Peter Cade/Getty Images)

The most common reasoning behind green stool is major changes in your diet.

And it’s usually because, well – you’re eating your greens!

Vegetables like broccoli, kale, spinach, peas, and asparagus are rich in chlorophyll, the chemical that gives plants the ability to make energy from sunlight.

This can help in turning your poop green.

But other strong-colored foods can have the same effect – think blueberries, smoothies, soda, food coloring in icing, and ice pops.

Medication can turn your poop green

Some antibiotics can cause poop to turn green (Viktoriya Skorikova/Getty Images)

Some medications and illnesses can have an impact on your stool. According to UK charity Guts UK, some antibiotics can make your poop turn a funny color.

And being unwell, like having a gastrointestinal (GI) illness, could also be the cause. If you have such an infection, you’ll also probably notice you’re going to the toilet more often.

Crohn’s disease is among the GI illnesses that could be causing the discoloring. This causes significant inflammation in your digestive tract, leading to diarrhoea, stomach aches and cramps, and even blood in your poo.

Those suffering from gluten intolerance – known as celiac disease – can also experience green poop as a side effect of the illness.

More serious illness

Illnesses can also impact your stool (Jacob Wakerhausen/Getty Images)

Some bacteria can change the color of your poop, such as salmonella, norovirus, and even a parasite known as giardia.

They cause your guts to empty quicker than normal, which is where the discoloration comes from.

Other people might have an undiagnosed liver or bladder problem.

Guts UK adds: “Green poo can also be caused by a condition called bile acid diarrhoea, where bile stays in the stools without being reabsorbed, and hence discolours the poo.

“This can occur if you have liver or gall bladder disease, or if you have had bowel surgery or disorders of the small intestine.”

Howard E. LeWine, Chief Medical Editor at Harvard Health Publishing, said: “Intermittent green stool in someone who otherwise feels fine is usually related to eating dark green vegetables, such as spinach and kale.

“Another reason for green poop is the rapid passage of green bile from the small intestine when a person has diarrhoea.

“Medications, including bismuth subsalicylate (Pepto-Bismol), iron supplements, and some antibiotics, may also result in greenish colored stool.”