When you yawn you open your mouth and inhale deeply. Yawning is universal and contagious. If you see someone else yawn or just think about yawning, the reflex may strike. There are many reasons why you may yawn during physical activity, and most of these are no cause for concern. If you yawn excessively, this may signal a medical problem that needs to evaluated by a doctor.
Oxygen
Yawning deepens respiration when levels of oxygen are too low and improves the oxygen supply to the brain. If you have shallow, rapid breathing when you exercise, you may have too much carbon dioxide built up in your lungs. Carbon dioxide needs to be expelled, oxygen needs to be inhaled.
Stretch Reflex
Yawning may be a stretching mechanism, notes Dr. Tamer Fouad on the Doctors Lounge website. When you stretch, muscles contract, squeeze and replace blood in veins with new oxygenated blood. Your body has an increased need for oxygen when you exercise, and yawning might be a way if giving your body what it needs by stretching.
Vigorous Exercise
If you exercise more vigorously, you may yawn less. The University of Cincinnati reports a study conducted by Dr. George A. Bubenik of the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada that indicates yawns may be caused by chemicals in the brain like serotonin, dopamine, glutamic acid and nitric oxide. However, a larger presence of opiate neurotransmitters in the brain reduces the frequency of yawns. The more vigorous you exercise, the more endorphins are released.
Sinuses
Audiologist Kenneth G. Donnelly, University of Cincinnati professor emeritus of communication sciences and disorders, reports to the University of Cincinnati News that you may yawn more if you have a cold or sinus problems. During exercise, yawning may signal your body's attempt to balance the air in your middle ear with the air outside. In order to avoid fullness or pain in your ears, it's important that this balance occurs.
Fatigue
Yawning may signal a change from a state of fatigue to a more alert state. During exercise, you may be tired, especially if you have just been through a time change or a change in your normal schedule. Yawning signals that your body is moving from a tired to a more alert state.
Excessive Yawning
Excessive yawning is yawning more often than you would expect even if other conditions that may cause you to yawn are present. It is normal to yawn during exercise, but excessive yawning may be caused by a vasovagal reaction, which may indicate a heart problem. Call your doctor if you experience excessive yawning with no explanation that is associated with excessive fatigue.
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