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New York Today

New York Today: Why Do We Yawn?

Yawning is not a sign of boredom. So why do we do it?Credit...Stephen Crowley/The New York Times

Good morning on this, yawn, Monday.

Up and at ‘em — and back to work again.

As we go about our morning — standing in the coffee queue, waiting for our train, or trying to make it through an early meeting — does it seem unusual that almost out of nowhere, we may squint our eyes, drop our jaws and yawn?

What’s up with that?

A couple of New York City doctors told us that nobody quite knows.

Yawning is an ancient evolutionary behavior, but it’s unclear why we do it, according to Dr. Orrin Devinsky, a professor in the departments of neurology, neurosurgery and psychiatry at NYU Langone Medical Center.

“Whatever it is, its origins go back long ago to when our ancestors were literally living in the oceans and breathing through our gills,” he told us. “We know the circumstances that yawning is associated with, but what we don’t know is why this reflex first evolved in fish and later in reptiles, and why it has been maintained over hundreds of millions of years,” Dr. Devinsky said.

A reflex? Yawning is hard-wired into our nervous system, like sneezing as a way of cleaning out our nasal passages, or coughing as a way of expelling mucus in our throat, but “yawning is probably the least well-understood of all of these,” he said.

Helps with breathing? One big theory is that it plays some role in our breathing. “If the muscles for respiration weren’t fully open or fully engaged, it was a way to initiate muscle activity,” Dr. Devinsky said, a way of stretching or “opening up airways that otherwise could be slightly closed.”

Dr. Daniel Barone, sleep expert at Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian, added that if we’re not getting enough oxygen to our lungs, “yawning has been proposed as a method our brain uses to trigger us to take a bigger breath.”

A defense mechanism? “When animals are sedentary, sometimes yawning exposes their teeth and shows them to be potentially aggressive,” Dr. Barone said of another theory. “So that when predators see them yawning, they may think twice.”

“The point is, nobody really knows,” Dr. Barone added. “It’s so common — literally everybody does it and everybody’s curious about it — but nobody has answered those questions.”

Are yawns contagious? “One theory is that there’s a mechanism in our brain to mirror what other people are doing, so when someone else yawns and then we want to, it may just be us mirroring them,” Dr. Barone said.

Dr. Devinsky added: “If you’re tired and you hear someone else yawn, it reminds your nervous system in some way — probably through subconscious mechanisms — that a yawn is a possibility.”

So the next time you see your co-worker yawn as you’re up there presenting, ask them why.

Here’s what else is happening:

It’s finally fall — that time of year for pumpkin-spiced everything — but with today’s summery weather, perhaps you’d be better suited by some fresh watermelon and a piña colada.

Expect a spectacular workweek ahead, with highs in the 80s and clear skies as far as the eye can see.

Life, I love you. All is groovy.

A message of inclusion was writ large at this year’s Muslim Day Parade, which for the first time had a rabbi as its grand marshal. [New York Times]

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Parade attendees.Credit...Mark Abramson for The New York Times

Some charter bus companies defy state and federal laws and rack up countless violations. Now, a renewed call for stricter policing of private bus lines. [New York Times]

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo urged his colleagues to put politics to the side in order to focus on providing aid to Puerto Rico in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. [New York Times]

A look at how plans to build “Diller Island,” the performing arts pier in Hudson River Park, came to an end after mounting resistance from critics. [New York Times]

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A barge with a construction crew was waiting to start work on Pier 55 in Hudson River Park even as Barry Diller pulled the plug on the project.Credit...John Taggart for The New York Times

The author Harlan Coben visits a Cold War antiaircraft missile base, a site that figures into his latest novel. [New York Times]

LaGuardia Airport is the lowest-rated airport in the country, according to a new survey. [New York Daily News]

A peek into the shop where the New York City Ballet’s costumes are made. [NPR]

“Glamping” has come to New York City, for people who want to discover nature but have a touch of home. [PIX 11]

Today’s Metropolitan Diary: “Good Deed at the Tow Pound

For a global look at what’s happening, see Your Morning Briefing.

You can donate items for Hurricane Maria relief — including diapers, baby food, batteries and first aid supplies — at these locations across the five boroughs. 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Jump into a swing dancing class (the Charleston for beginners, or eight-count footwork for the more advanced) at Q.E.D. in Astoria, Queens. Times vary. [$20]

Join Muhammad Yunus, the economist who won a Nobel Peace Prize for his work in microfinance, for a talk at the New York Public Library in Midtown Manhattan. 7 p.m. [$40, tickets here]

“Blank Out,” a 3-D chamber opera based on the South African poet Ingrid Jonker, at the Park Avenue Armory on the Upper East Side. 8 p.m. [Tickets start at $40]

Looking ahead: Spend an evening with Steven Van Zandt, a veteran member of Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band, this Wednesday at St. George Theatre on Staten Island.

Yankees host Royals, 1:05 p.m. (YES). Mets host Braves, 4:10 p.m. (SNY).

Alternate-side parking remains in effect until Saturday.

For more events, see The New York Times’s Arts & Entertainment guide.

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Expanding internet access in the city.Credit...Verena Dobnik/Associated Press

The Library HotSpot Program — a joint project between the city’s Department of Education, the New York Public Library, Queens Library and Brooklyn Public Library — is offering thousands of eligible New Yorkers free internet access for the rest of the school year.

(You’re eligible if you are at least 18, have a child in a city public school, have no internet access at home, have a valid library card and are in good standing with less than $15 of fines.)

To participate, you must register and attend a lending event. You can sign up for one near you through the New York Public Library (with locations in Manhattan, the Bronx and Staten Island), the Brooklyn Public Library or the Queens Library.

Happy surfing.

New York Today is a morning roundup that is published weekdays at 6 a.m. If you don’t get it in your inbox already, you can sign up to receive it by email here.

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Follow the New York Today columnists, Alexandra Levine and Jonathan Wolfe, on Twitter.

You can find the latest New York Today at nytoday.com.

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