为什么打哈欠会传染？：英语精读讲义

Hey,

嗨，

Vsauce Michael here

这里是 Vsauce 的 Michael，

and today we are going to talk about yawning. 短語搭配

今天我们来聊聊打哈欠。

Why do we yawn

我们为什么会打哈欠，

and why is yawning contagious?

打哈欠又为什么会传染呢？

How come when I see someone yawn 語法

为什么看到别人打哈欠，

or even think about it it makes me kind of want to yawn. 語氣意圖

甚至只是想到这件事，我就有点想打哈欠？

First things first, 習語

首先，

definitions.

我们来明确一下定义。

When you yawn,

打哈欠时，

you inhale air

你会吸入空气，

and stretch your eardrums.

并拉伸耳膜。

That's why your ears pop when you yawn. 表達脈絡

所以打哈欠时，你会觉得耳朵突然通了。

Now, if you yawn

那么，如果你打哈欠

and at the same time

并同时

stretch your whole body,

伸展全身，

that is called pandiculation. 用詞

这就叫作伸懒腰。

A common misconception about yawning 表達脈絡

关于打哈欠，一个常见的误解

is that people yawn when they need more air,

是人们需要更多空气时会打哈欠，

more oxygen.

也就是需要更多氧气时。

But studies have shown 短語搭配

但研究表明，

that no matter how much oxygen 語法

无论有多少氧气

is in the air around a person,

存在于一个人周围的空气中，

they won't yawn more or less frequently.

打哈欠的频率都不会因此增减。

And when people exercise

而且人在运动时，

and their bodies do in fact need more oxygen, 語法

身体确实需要更多氧气，

they don't yawn more often.

也不会更频繁地打哈欠。

Instead, research has shown

相反，研究显示，

that our first answer

第一个问题的答案

most likely lies in being cool. 習語

很可能在于降温。

When you are exhausted and tired,

当你精疲力竭、困倦不堪时，

deep brain temperatures increase.

大脑深部的温度会上升。

But your brain is like a computer. 表達脈絡

但你的大脑就像一台电脑。

It operates best at a very specific temperature.

它在一个非常特定的温度下运作得最好。

And so yawning,

所以，打哈欠

bringing all of this outside air in

会把外界空气吸进来，

through your ears and your mouth,

让它经过耳朵和嘴巴，

cools your facial blood

从而冷却面部的血液，

and actually helps cool down your brain. 短語動詞

并切实帮助大脑降温。

This phenomenon is particularly easy to observe

这种现象尤其容易观察到，

when parakeets yawn.

看看长尾鹦鹉打哈欠就知道了。

Researchers have found that parakeets only yawn

研究人员发现，长尾鹦鹉只会在

within a very specific range of temperatures. 短語搭配

一个非常特定的温度范围内打哈欠。

Too cold outside 語法

外面太冷，

and yawning will cool the brain too much.

打哈欠会让大脑冷过头。

Too hot

太热，

and yawning will actually warm it up.

打哈欠反而会让大脑升温。

Parakeets are perfect test subjects 用詞

长尾鹦鹉是绝佳的实验对象，

for this effect

很适合用来研究这种效应，

because they yawn just like you and me

因为它们和你我一样会打哈欠，

except they don't exhibit contagious yawning.

只不过它们不会被哈欠传染。

If you show a person a video

如果你给一个人看

of other people yawning,

其他人打哈欠的视频，

it's likely that the person watching

观看者很可能

will yawn his or herself. 用詞

也会跟着打哈欠。

unless you put an ice pack on their forehead, 語法

除非你在对方额头上放一个冰袋，

keeping their brain cooler. 語法

让对方的大脑保持凉爽。

Seriously, the University of Albany

说真的，奥尔巴尼大学

has found that people

的研究发现，人们

contagiously yawn less frequently

受传染而打哈欠的频率会降低，

when they have ice packs on their head,

如果他们头上敷着冰袋的话。

which means that yawning to cool your brain

这意味着，打哈欠给大脑降温

isn't just for the birds. 習語

可不只是鸟类才会做的事。

Studies have shown that yawning

研究表明，打哈欠

also increases blood pressure,

还会升高血压、

stretches facial muscles,

拉伸面部肌肉，

and increases focus.

并提高专注力。

When you pandiculate,

当你伸懒腰时，

you stretch all of your muscles

你会伸展全身所有肌肉，

making them better ready

让它们准备得更充分，

to be used at any moment.

随时都能派上用场。

So when it comes to a herd of prey animals, 講解

所以，对于一群作为猎物的动物来说，

contagious yawning makes sense

哈欠会传染是有道理的，

because a herd that yawns together 表達脈絡

因为一起打哈欠的群体

stays alert together.

也会一起保持警觉。

Under this theory, 表達脈絡

按照这个理论，

yawning is advantageously contagious

哈欠具有传染性是一种生存优势，

because that first animal to yawn

因为第一个打哈欠的动物

acts as a sort of reminder 短語搭配

就像是在提醒

to the rest of the herd

群体里的其他成员，

to keep themselves ready and alert.

要保持准备状态和警觉。

But of course, when we say that yawning is contagious, 語氣意圖

当然，我们说打哈欠会“传染”时，

we don't mean like a disease.

并不是说它像疾病一样传播。

Instead, it's a bit more closely related to empathy. 短語搭配

它其实与共情的关系更密切一些。

Sympathy is when you are concerned for others, 用詞

同情，是你关心他人，

where you wish someone was better off. 習語

希望对方的处境能变得更好。

Empathy is the ability to recognize and share

共情，则是识别并感同身受

the emotions that other people feel.

他人情绪的能力。

Emotional contagion is when 用詞

情绪感染是指

the emotions of people around you

周围人的情绪

influence the way you feel

会影响你的感受，

without you even having 語法

而你甚至不必

to separate yourselves from them,

刻意把自己与他们区分开来。

like when being around happy people

比如，和快乐的人待在一起

lifts your spirits 習語

会让你心情振奋，

or how anger and fear can lead to mob mentality. 用詞

而愤怒和恐惧则可能引发群体心理。

Now, children with autism

而患有孤独症的儿童，

who exhibit impaired social interaction

如果存在社会互动

and communication

和沟通障碍，

yawn less frequently than other children

会比其他儿童更少打哈欠，

when viewing videos of people yawning.

当他们观看别人打哈欠的视频时。

So is yawning an emotional contagion

那么，打哈欠属于情绪感染，

or is it about empathy?

还是和共情有关？

Well, last year the University of Pisa found

去年，比萨大学发现，

that yawn contagiousness is greatest with family

哈欠在家人之间最容易传染，

and then friends

其次是朋友，

and then acquaintances

然后是熟人，

and lastly strangers.

最后才是陌生人。

And a study at Leeds University

利兹大学的一项研究

brought in participants to take a test 短語動詞

找来参与者做一项测试，

that measured how empathetic they were.

测量他们的共情能力。

But before the test began,

但在测试开始前，

amongst them was one person 語法

参与者当中有一个人

who worked for the researchers

其实是研究人员的助手，

and this person yawned every minute for 10 minutes.

这个人在 10 分钟内每分钟打一次哈欠。

Interestingly, the people

有意思的是，那些

who wound up scoring the highest 短語動詞

最后得分最高的人，

on the empathy test

就共情测试而言，

were also the ones

也正是

who contagiously yawned along the most.

最常受传染、跟着打哈欠的人。

Let's talk more about animal yawning.

再来聊聊动物打哈欠吧。

What fascinates me so much 語法

让我特别着迷的是，

is that animals across many species all yawn,

许多不同物种的动物都会打哈欠，

but they do so for different reasons. 語法

但原因各不相同。

Animals like guinea pigs and some monkeys

豚鼠和某些猴子等动物

yawn to intimidate and show their sharp scary teeth.

会用哈欠来威吓对手，露出尖利吓人的牙齿。

Some penguins yawn to attract mates 短語搭配

有些企鹅打哈欠是为了吸引配偶，

and when snakes yawn,

而蛇打哈欠时，

it seems to be about realigning their jaws 語氣意圖

似乎是在重新调整下颌的位置，

and opening their tracheas to breathe better

并打开气管，以便呼吸得更顺畅，

after a big body-disfiguring meal. 用詞

在吃下一顿撑得身体变形的大餐后。

Fish yawn more frequently

鱼打哈欠会更频繁，

when water oxygen levels are low

当水中的含氧量较低，

or water heat levels are high.

或水温较高时。

So when you yawn,

所以，当你打哈欠时，

you're participating in a behavior 語法

你其实是在做一种

shared across all kinds of animals,

各种动物都会有的行为，

but most likely you're yawning

但你很可能是

for purposes unique to your species,

为了你所属物种独有的目的而打哈欠，

us humans.

也就是我们人类这个物种。

And what's really cool

真正酷的是，

is that yawning is most likely an ancient signal 表達脈絡

打哈欠很可能是一种古老的信号，

telling the rest of us humans,

它在告诉其他人：

let's do this. 語氣意圖

我们行动吧。

Let's survive.

我们活下去吧。

And as always, thanks for watching.

一如既往，感谢观看。