You did not know this! Why is the opening of the mouth contagious?

Have you ever wondered why opening your mouth is contagious? Why is it sometimes enough to see someone doing it on public transport or even on TV to make us open our mouths?

Dr. Reyan Saghir from London College says that scientists define mouth opening as an activity consisting of an involuntary wide opening of the mouth and maximum jaw extension, followed by a deep inhalation and a slow exhalation.

However, it's still not entirely clear why we actually open our mouths… Some think it happens when the brain runs out of oxygen, but that theory was disproved about three decades ago when experiments were published that showed no link between the lack of oxygen and the will to open the mouth.

"Today, the most accepted theory is that we open our mouths to induce arousal," says Dr. Saghir.

When we are tired, especially when we watch or listen to some uninteresting content, such as a boring lecture, the body wakes up through opening the mouth.

He adds that studies have shown that our heart rate increases after opening our mouths and peaks 10 to 15 seconds after we open our mouths and wake up immediately. According to researchers, empathy is the most likely reason we open our mouths when we see others. doing this. "As humans grow older, we improve our psychosocial and neurological development, taking other individuals opening their mouths as a signal that we should also open our mouths," asserts Dr. Saghir.

Opening the mouth is not the only action where this copying behavior is observed. For example, on a daily basis, we constantly and automatically imitate other words (echoalia) or actions (ecopraxia) to fit in.

It turns out that it's only natural that our brains have an automaticity to copy the people around us.

Moreover, opening your mouth is also evidence that you are an empathetic person and can represent a deep human desire to strengthen connections with people close to you.