#83: 🥱🌈 Why Do We Yawn on Psychedelics?

Hypotheses and theories to unlock the mystery

🗣️  Looking for the read-aloud version of Nina’s Notes?

Click the button below to listen to all the episodes. If you didn’t already know, I narrate them all myself! It’s not an AI generated voice, it’s ME!

Check it out on Apple Podcasts and Substack Podcasts.

---

Hey Friends,

Originally I had the question - “Why do we yawn on psychedelics” and before I could research why we yawn on psychedelics, I had to first figure out, why do yawn in the first place.

To answer that, I wrote #81: Why We Yawn. 

This week’s newsletter is a follow-up to Why we Yawn, to explore why we yawn on psychedelics.

Enjoy.

---

💬 In this note:

• 🥱🌈 Why Do We Yawn On Psychedelics?

• 📚 The Atlas Complex

• ⚡️ What’s Going on at the Fly Ranch?

---

🥱🌈 Why Do We Yawn on Psychedelics?

Image generated by ChatGPT

Many people who have used psychedelics, in particular psilocybin (the psychedelic molecule in magic mushrooms) report frequent, uncontrollable yawning as part of their psychedelic experience.

This phenomenon can surprise a first-time user as they may be yawning without feeling tired or bored.

Several theories have been proposed to explain why yawning occurs on psychedelics, and the first of those theories can also be used to explain why we yawn sober.

And that is the theory that yawning cools the brain.

Yawning on psychedelics might be cooling the brain

It is possible that yawning on psychedelics is an extension of the brain cooling mechanism. 

Psychedelics, like psilocybin and LSD, are known to induce a hypermetabolic state in the brain, where increased neuronal activity could lead to higher brain temperatures.

This rise in brain temperature may prompt the body to trigger yawns as a cooling mechanism to manage the thermal stress caused by the intensified brain activity.

In addition to this theory, several other theories exist as to why psychedelics can induce yawning.

Psychedelic-induced yawning may be for a physical or emotional release.

Psychedelics can evoke intense emotional and physical responses.

Yawning might be a response to relieve stress or tension, serving as a mechanism to release built-up energy or emotions.

It is possible that yawning occurs when transitioning from one state of arousal to another, suggesting a mechanism of transition or emotional release.

Yawning on psychedelics may increase alertness 

The third theory is that as psychedelics alter consciousness and perceptions, the brain might interpret these changes as a need to increase alertness or a need for a neurological reset, which can be facilitated by yawning.

Psychedelic-induced yawning could be associated with elevated serotonin and dopamine levels 

Psilocybin and psilocin, the active compounds in psychedelic mushrooms, primarily target serotonin receptors in the brain. These receptors can cause elevated levels of serotonin in the brain.

In a six-week placebo-controlled study of citalopram, a widely used antidepressant and serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), reported yawning as a frequent side effect, suggesting a link between serotonin and yawning. 

Additional neurotransmitters such as nitric oxide, norepinephrine, acetylcholine, glutamate, γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA), oxytocin, and various neuropeptides have been shown to trigger yawning when administered directly into the brain of animal subjects.

While all are plausible, I think the first option is the most likely.

However, more scientific and clinical research is required to know definitively if yawning is a mechanism of the brain to cool down while on psychedelics.

Ways to prevent yawning during a psychedelic experience

There are effective strategies you can use to stop yawning according to psychologist Andrew C. Gallup, who identifies two primary to stop yawning:

• Breathing through the nose

• Applying a cold compress to the forehead

Based on anecdotal evidence, there might be a correlation between dosage and yawning frequency. 

It could be possible that, at lower doses, yawning is alleviated.

---

📚 Book of the Week

Photo by me

The Atlas Complex by Olivie Blake 

Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

This book is such a disappointment after the others in the Series. 

The Atlas Complex is the third book in the Atlas Series. 

The first book, The Atlas Six, is amazing. 

But this book, wow. 

It’s long.

It’s terrible.

And in my opinion, the characters are just sitting around talking to each other for the entirety of the book.

One requirement of the Atlas Six to be initiated into the Alexandrian Society is that they have to kill one of their cohort. 

So they sit around talking about it for 486 pages. 

It was a 10+ hour read which took me weeks to finish. I was so bored.

Now that I check it on Goodreads, it has a 2.9 Star rating…should have known.

Read the first one, The Atlas Six, and even read the second one, The Atlas Paradox (which also isn’t as good as the first one.)

But absolutely skip the third. 

---

⚡️ Check This Out

What’s going on at the Fly Ranch?

Back in 2016, the Burning Man Project bought Fly Ranch, a 3,800 acre ranch a few miles away from Black Rock City with the idea of creating a year-round sustainable and awe-inspiring space. 

In 2021, a competition was launched to ask the burning man community to co-create the space. 

Beautiful architecture and ideas were submitted.

Ultimately ten proposals were chosen to receive grants to build their prototypes at Fly Ranch.

Here are some of the Top 10 submissions:

The source by mateusz góra and agata gryszkiewicz (tamaga studio) uses solar photovoltaic, battery energy storage, water cistern, rammed earth thermal mass, fruit trees, fruit walls, and compost to contribute 250 kg/year of food, 2.2 mwh/year of electricity, 9,000 liters/year of water, habitat enhancement, environmental education venue, and soil replenishment. a top ten submission to the LAGI 2020 fly ranch design challenge. Source: DesignBloom 

solar mountain by nuru karim and anuj modi uses solar photovoltaic, and recycled materials to contribute 300 mwh of electricity per year and interactive spaces for play and exercise. a top ten submission to the LAGI 2020 fly ranch design challenge. Source: DesignBloom 

ripple by matthew lagomarsino, william jacob mast, pierre-yves bertholet, xiaojin ren, scherwyn udwadia, bas kools, israel orellana, and melika tabrizi integrates electrochromic glass, a bioceramic dome (geoship SPC), seed bank, solar photovoltaic, cisterns, drip irrigation, composting toilets, and native restoration plants to provide shelter, food, medicinal herbs and teas, habitat enhancement, water harvesting, 36 mwh/year of electricity, and 40,000 liters/year of harvested water. A top ten proposal to the LAGI 2020 fly ranch design challenge. Source: DesignBloom 

Want to see the progress on the Fly Ranch yourself? 

You can book a Fly Ranch Nature Walk!

The three-hour long walks are organized by the Friends of Black Rock High Rock, and cost $50. 

The walks happen on Saturdays between 11:00 - 14:00 Pacific Daylight Time (PDT). 

---

Edited by Wright Time Publishing