Yawn Nina and the Neurons: Brilliant Bodies

# If you've got a question and you don't know where to go

# Ask Nina for some help Cos she's got a science show

# She makes sense of her senses While helping all her fans

# By doing her experiments with potions and with bangs

-# Touch your tongue

-Tongue!

-# Fingers

-Fingers!

-# Eyes.

-Eyes!

-Ears.

-Ears!

-Nose.

-Nose!

# Nina and the Neurons find out what you need to know

# Nina and the Neurons find out what you need to know

# Luke, he helps us with our eyes and Felix, with our touch

# Ollie sniffs out smells And Belle, she hears so much

# Bud is Ollie's brother He helps us with our taste

# They're Nina's little Neurons And they're coming to your place!

-# Touch your tongue

-Tongue!

-# Fingers

-Fingers!

-# Eyes.

-Eyes!

-Ears.

-Ears!

-Nose.

-Nose!

# Nina and the Neurons find out what you need to know

# Nina and the Neurons find out what you need to know

# Oh, yeah! #

Oh, hello! I'm in the middle of an experiment.

I gave this plant special food to grow quicker,

but I've been waiting for ages and nothing's happened.

BEEPING

Oh! I hear a beep, I see a flash. I wonder what they're going to ask?

ALL: Hi, Nina!

Hi, guys!

We've got a question for you.

Why does yawning make other people yawn?

A great question.

Why does yawning make other people yawn? I've noticed that.

Come down to the lab and we'll investigate.

ALL: See you soon, Nina. Bye!

Bye!

I'll need help to answer this and I know just who to ask.

OK, Neurons, time to get to work.

ALL: Neurons at the ready, Nina.

Today's question is, "Why does yawning make other people yawn?"

Which Neuron will be most useful to help find the answer?

ALL: Me! Me! Me! Oh, me!

Will it be fabulous Felix?

I can help so very much if you need the sense of touch.

Will it be beautiful Belle?

I send messages to brain from ear. If there's a sound, I'll help you hear.

-Will it be lovely Luke?

-For looking and seeing, day or night,

I'll help you with your sense of sight.

-Will it be awesome Ollie?

-If it's pongy or whiffy but you can't tell,

my messages help your sense of smell.

-Or will it be baby Bud?

-Sour, salty, bitter or sweet,

I'm your taste buddy whenever you eat!

-Ah!

-It's Belle.

-Yes!

ALL: Go, Belle! Go, Belle!

Go, Belle! Go, Belle! Go, Belle!

-Go, Belle!

-Brilliant! I'm all ears, Nina.

Today's question is, "Why does yawning make other people yawn?"

Because yawning makes such a brilliant sound,

Belle will help us today.

I need to get the lab ready for the experimenters.

Christopher likes lasagne, Kyle likes cakes,

and Jack loves Taekwondo.

But they want to know why yawning makes others yawn.

So today, Christopher, Kyle and Jack

become the experimenters.

-Hi, guys!

-ALL: Hi, Nina.

Welcome to my science lab. Come on in.

You asked, "Why does yawning make others yawn?",

which is a great question. But why do you want to know?

Sometimes, when I'm with my family, I yawn and make other people yawn.

We want to know why.

It is rather strange that yawning seems to make other people yawn.

We need to do some investigating to find out more.

For our first experiment, we'll use our senses.

ALL: Whoop-woo! A senses experiment! We're ready, Nina.

OK, experimenters. Tell me when you normally yawn?

When I'm bored.

I yawn in the mornings when I wake up.

I yawn at night when I'm tired.

That's true. We yawn if we're feeling sleepy or a bit bored.

-So is there any other time you yawn?

-I yawn when other people yawn.

Exactly!

So why don't we put that to the test? OK, guys.

I want you to watch me as I pretend to yawn.

Just hearing Nina yawn makes me want to...

ALL YAWN

SHE LAUGHS

It looks like you caught my yawn too, Kyle.

So sometimes, seeing someone yawn

or even hearing someone yawn,

is enough to make us yawn, too.

Ever tried to stop yourself yawning?

It's really hard.

Yawning can sometimes look rude, so we cover up

and try to stop it. But it's really difficult.

Yawning is something called a reflex action.

This means our body does it by itself.

-What else might you do when you yawn?

-Stretching.

Oh, that's right! So, let's all do some big, lovely stretches.

Oh!

Oh, I do love a good stretch. Oh!

ALL: Wah!

Well done, guys. That was super stretching.

We've learned different things make us yawn,

like feeling tired or bored or seeing someone else yawn.

Yawning is a reflex action. It's something our bodies do

all by themselves, whether we want to or not.

And I know somewhere really wild that might help us find out more.

-So let's go, experimenters.

-ALL: Yeah!

'Off we go for another adventure.'

Nina said it was wild.

Maybe it's the Wild West!

I've always wanted to be a cowboy! Yee-ha!

Ho-ho! I don't think so, Bud. The Wild West is a long way away.

'Listen up, Neurons, we're here. I think I can hear animals.'

We're at this zoo for a special experiment.

People catch yawns from each other, like we did in the lab.

But what about animals? Can animals catch our yawns, too?

To find out, we're going to try and make lots of different animals yawn.

So let's get yawning. Come on!

THEY YAWN

Wow! Look at the chimps! Ooh-ooh, ah-ah!

Stop monkeying around, Bud!

Chimpanzees sometimes yawn

when they see another chimp yawn,

but they don't catch yawns from us.

OK, experimenters. How many animals

-did you manage to make yawn.

-None.

So this experiment has shown us that although we made each other yawn,

it seems that animals don't catch our yawns.

There's only one animal known to yawn

when it sees a person yawning. A dog.

Have you heard of the expression, "A dog is a man's best friend"?

-ALL: Yes, Nina.

-Many people believe that their dog knows

when they're feeling happy or sad.

And this can even make the dog feel the same way.

Which gives me an idea for our final experiment.

-Let's go back to the lab.

-ALL: Yeah!

Before we start, I want to tell you about a funny thing

that happened to me yesterday.

I was... I was having this yoghurt...

SHE LAUGHS

I was... Ha-ha!

THEY LAUGH

Ha-ha-ha! Ho-ho-ho!

Ah! Oh, dear me!

Now, I didn't even finish my funny story,

-so why were you laughing so much?

-Because you were laughing.

Ah-ha, that's right.

When people around us are laughing, it tends to make us laugh, too.

We say laughter is infectious.

That means it spreads from one person to another,

a bit like a cold.

Laughter and yawning can both spread from person to person,

and they're also both ways of talking without words.

Our final experiment will show you what I mean.

These cards each have a picture of me on them pulling a face.

So what do you think I'm saying without words in this picture?

-OK.

-OK.

That's right.

Wherever we are in the world, a smiley thumbs up

says, "Yes," or "OK."

Jack, would you come over here, please?

OK, so we'll keep the card hidden from your brothers.

Copy the face that I'm pulling, and then your brothers

will try to work out what you're saying.

OK, so have a look.

Now, let's see you make that face.

Um... Angry?

Well, let's see.

Yes!

His face says he is angry. You're not really angry, are you?

No.

Good.

OK, Jack. Thank you very much.

Kyle, do you want to come over here, dear?

So let's see you make that face.

Show your brothers.

-Happy.

-Happy.

-Let's see.

You were right, it is happy.

I bet that's made you guys feel happy, too.

Thank you, Kyle. Christopher, up you come.

OK.

Go for it!

Sad?

Oh, let's see.

That's right! His face is telling us that he feels sad.

I don't know about you,

but seeing his sad face makes me feel a bit sad.

It's made me feel sad too, Nina.

Thank you.

That's one of the really special things about people.

Our experiment has shown us that we're really good

at understanding how someone feels

even when they're talking without words.

We often start to share that feeling, too.

Seeing someone look happy or sad makes us feel the same way.

So if yawning is talking without words, what does it tell people?

-That you're tired.

-Yes.

Yawning can tell people that I'm tired.

A long time ago, people talked without words all the time.

When the leader of a family decided

it was time for everyone to go to sleep,

he'd do a big yawn to tell them

and they'd all yawn back to say they'd understood.

So your question was, "Why does yawning make other people yawn?"

We've answered it. We discovered yawning is a reflex action,

something our body does all by itself.

It's thought we catch yawns from each other

because we're good at understanding how each other feels.

Seeing someone who looks happy or sad can make us feel the same way.

When we see someone yawn, it makes us feel like yawning, too.

-I hope that's answered your question.

-ALL: Thanks, Nina. Bye!

Bye!

If you want to find out more about the science around us,

go to the Nina section on the CBeebies website. Have fun!

-Hearts beating.

-Lungs breathing.

-Fingers feeling.

-Mouths eating.

And don't forget your brain!

# Brilliant bodies, brilliant bodies

# Inside and o-o-out

# Brilliant bodies, brilliant bodies

# Come on, let's find out about

# Our handy hands and bendy knees

# Stretchy backs and noses that sneeze

# We all have brilliant bodies...

ALL: Brilliant bodies!

# Every part has a job to do

# Even scabs and earwax, too

# We all have brilliant bodies...

ALL: Brilliant bodies!

# Brilliant bodies, brilliant bodies

# Lashes to protect our eyes

# Brilliant bodies, brilliant bodies

# And don't forget to exercise. #

Oh, I've had a brilliant day.

I've lost count of all the wicked yawns I've heard.

I've really enjoyed myself today.

The zoo was full of exciting smells,

even if the animals didn't catch our yawns.

Ah, it's been such a great day, man.

All that talking without words was brilliant.

The happy face made me really happy.

Everyone's body is different,

but they're all brilliant. See you again soon. Bye!

ALL: Bye!