BACKGROUND: This report details the case histories of two women who suffer from chronic and debilitating episodes of excessive yawning in the absence of sleep problems. METHODS: Each woman independently provided information and answered questions about their excessive yawning symptoms and medical histories. RESULTS: Both women show signs of thermoregulatory dysfunction, and each reports symptom relief and/or the postponement of yawning attacks through means of behavioral cooling. One woman recorded her body temperature before and after bouts of yawning, revealing a significant drop in temperature following each episode (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The trigger for yawning in these patients appears to be related to increases in body/brain temperature. These cases are consistent with growing evidence showing that recurrent episodes of excessive yawning are not necessarily associated with a sleep disorder, but rather may be indicative of thermoregulatory dysfunction.
BACKGROUND: This report details the case histories of two women who suffer from chronic and debilitating episodes of excessive yawning in the absence of sleep problems. METHODS: Each woman independently provided information and answered questions about their excessive yawning symptoms and medical histories. RESULTS: Both women show signs of thermoregulatory dysfunction, and each reports symptom relief and/or the postponement of yawning attacks through means of behavioral cooling. One woman recorded her body temperature before and after bouts of yawning, revealing a significant drop in temperature following each episode (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The trigger for yawning in these patients appears to be related to increases in body/brain temperature. These cases are consistent with growing evidence showing that recurrent episodes of excessive yawning are not necessarily associated with a sleep disorder, but rather may be indicative of thermoregulatory dysfunction.
Authors: Andrew C Gallup; Elaine Herron; Janine Militello; Lexington Swartwood; Carmen Cortes; Jose R Eguibar Journal: Temperature (Austin) Date: 2017-11-03
Authors: Jorg J M Massen; Margarita Hartlieb; Jordan S Martin; Elisabeth B Leitgeb; Jasmin Hockl; Martin Kocourek; Seweryn Olkowicz; Yicheng Zhang; Christin Osadnik; Jorrit W Verkleij; Thomas Bugnyar; Pavel Němec; Andrew C Gallup Journal: Commun Biol Date: 2021-05-06