Surely, you have noticed that when you exercise in the gym or when you practice physical activity you yawn. It is more common than it seems. In fact, it happens to everyone on occasion, even professional athletes. In these cases, you may have asked yourself the question of why do I yawn when exercising.
It really is something natural and there should be no problem behind it. However, it is still a somewhat curious fact that in we are going to reveal to you so that you know why you yawn a lot while exercising and detect whether or not you have to worry about it.
Increased body temperature with exercise
One of the causes of yawning a lot while exercising can be an increase in body temperature. With physical activity, body temperature increases, which also reaches the brain and in these situations is when yawning occurs in order to breathe in cold air and regulate body temperature. And it is that many times sweat is not enough as a body “thermostat”.
Yawn to get more oxygen
Another reason that reveals the relationship between yawning and sports or sports practices is the need for oxygen. And is that the body requires more oxygen for the recovery of the muscular system when you are exercising.
This situation occurs, above all, in those moments in which you are not paying special attention to breathing during sports practice or you do not breathe properly. This causes little oxygen to arrive, which in turn results in the muscles not working enough during the exercise session. Breathing is therefore very important in all physical activity so that a greater amount of oxygen arrives and better results are achieved in the muscles.
Tiredness and yawning
In addition to the lack of oxygen and the increase in body temperature, there are other causes that explain why we yawn when we exercise, such as tiredness or fatigue, either due to excess obligations or lack of rest.
Also too intense and prolonged workouts can lead to yawning.
Boredom and exercise
Yawning appears when exercising when training or sessions are boring. It is important that sports practice is not monotonous. On the contrary, it has to be something entertaining, apart from being motivated and not practicing physical activity just out of obligation.
Medical causes of yawning a lot while exercising
The causes discussed above for why I yawn when exercising do not present any health risk, initially. However, there are situations in which yawning is signs that something is not working well in the body, so it is always advisable to consult a doctor or specialist because there are diseases or pathologist that include yawning among their main symptoms:
- Blood pressure:yawning is a sign that blood pressure is low. It is important to monitor it so that it is not excessively low or unbalanced.
- Depression:yawning is a reflection of mood. In fact, they are an indication that a person when yawning excessively is depressed or has anxiety. Also, some drugs that are prescribed for this disease can have a side effect of opening the mouth.
- Low glucose:People yawn when their blood sugar is low. In addition, it can indicate that you are diabetic.
- Insomnia:Lack of sleep is also reflected by a yawn when the person does not rest or get enough sleep. Likewise, the mouth is opened if there are sleep disorders such as narcolepsy or apnea, among others.
- Epilepsy:Yawning very frequently is linked to other diseases such as epilepsy. Various scientific investigations have found that a person with epilepsy yawns quite a few times before seizures occur.
- Migraines:yawning is a sign that a migraine is coming. Medical studies establish a relationship between both factors. In fact, yawning is the prelude to a headache.
- Heart problems: heart problems are reflected through yawning. In particular, they are a sign that something is wrong and that a heart attack may occur. One of the keys is in the stimulation of the vagus nerve or pneumococcus nerve (it goes from the brain to the abdomen) which, by becoming more active, causes the blood pressure to drop significantly, apart from producing a change in the heart rate.