As with any psychedelic, magic mushrooms come with various side effects and experiences. Excessive yawning is one of the frequent side effects of magic mushrooms. Yawning can be unbearable and distracting to some people, so they might look for ways to prevent it from happening.
If you are on shrooms right now and experiencing discomfort caused by yawning, you don't need to worry; remember that it is a harmless, temporary side effect and will pass soon.
In this article, we will discuss why shrooms cause yawning and how to avoid yawning during the psychedelic trip.
The following content is only meant for educational and harm reduction purposes and is not meant to encourage readers to buy or use illegal substances.
Let's first understand what yawning is and why we yawn in the first place.
What is a Yawn?
Yawning is a type of reflex that triggers the opening and widening of the jaw while having a deep inhalation of air. The areas of the brain that coordinate yawning are the cortex, limbic system, hypothalamus, and brain stem. Additionally, some neurotransmitters in the brain may have an influence on yawning, such as acetylcholine, dopamine, oxytocin, nitric oxide, adrenocorticotropic hormone-related peptides, excitatory amino acids, opioid peptides, and serotonin.
What Are Two Types of Yawning?
There are two types of yawning: spontaneous and contagious. The first case is when the yawn emerges on its own, and then the second case is when one's yawn is triggered by someone else's yawn.
Why Do We Yawn? Why Does Yawning Happen?
Boredom and tiredness are commonly thought to be the reason for yawning. When we feel bored, our brain craves more oxygen to increase its attention, and yawning is the fastest way to do that. This might be true, but there are also additional factors behind the yawning reflex.
The science behind yawning has been a mysterious topic that made many researchers curious, and it still needs to be fully understood. However, some hypotheses have been proposed over the years, named respiratory, communication, arousal, and brain-cooling hypotheses.
Below, the four main hypotheses are shortly explained.
Respiratory hypothesis
The hypothesis was made by Dutch author Johannes de Gorter in 1725. He suggested yawning as a reaction to low oxygen levels in the brain. So, yawns might occur by inhaling the fresh air rapidly to pump oxygen to the brain.
Communication hypothesis
The communication hypothesis is the one we are familiar with. The hypothesis considers the contagiousness and group synchronization function of yawning and explains yawning as a behavioral response caused by the boredom or tiredness of individuals.
Arousal hypothesis
The arousal hypothesis suggests that yawning might be a biological response to control the walking state activity in the brain. However, this hypothesis requires further research to ensure its accuracy.
Brain-cooling hypothesis
The latest theory on yawning was made by Gallup in 2008. He suggests that yawning might be a mechanism for the brain to cool itself. In other words, it could be working as a thermoregulatory activity in the brain by decreasing the temperature. He also discovered that nasal breathing and forehead cooling methods reduce the occurrence of yawning.
Magic Mushrooms and Yawning
It is quite normal to feel discomfort and anxiety when someone experiences excessive yawning on magic mushrooms.
The first question that comes to mind is: is yawning a dangerous side-effect of magic mushrooms? The short answer is no; yawning while under the influence of magic mushrooms is, as far as we know, not dangerous.
Yawning is neither harmful to your health nor indicates that your trip is going bad. It is a completely normal reflex and is a part of the psychedelic experience, just like nausea or any other side effects of shrooms.
If you are curious about why magic mushrooms make you yawn, let's learn the science behind yawning on shrooms!
Science Behind Magic Mushrooms and Yawning
There is no scientific data that exists on what causes the yawning reaction on psilocybin mushrooms. However, psilocybin and its binding activity to serotonin receptors might explain the logic behind this process.
On the one hand, the yawning reflex involves the activity of serotonin binding to 5-HT2C receptors in the human brain. The binding of serotonin to this receptor was found to be increasing the yawning reflex. On the other hand, magic mushrooms include the compound psilocybin (the compound that becomes psilocin), which binds the 5-HT2A receptor but also has an affinity for the 5-HT2C receptors. Although serotonin, psilocybin, and psilocin have different activities on these receptors, yawning might be one of their common effects.
Another reason might be due to the state of consciousness. It is suggested that lowered critical consciousness can result in increased carbon dioxide saturation in the blood. Therefore, yawning might be a mechanism of the brain to maintain homeostasis and to get more oxygen into our blood circulation system.
Overall, there is no certainty on what causes yawning on magic mushrooms. There are, however, some tips we can suggest to prevent this side effect during psychedelic experiences.
How To Avoid or Reduce Yawning Caused By Magic Mushrooms?
As we've mentioned earlier, there isn't any research on this topic, and although there is no scientifically proven method to stop excessive yawning, there are still some common suggestions. You can try these tips even if they aren't specifically targeted at yawning caused by magic mushrooms.
Listed below are some pieces of advice to stop yawning in general:
- Slow and deep breathing through the nose.
- Applying an ice pack to the head (See brain-cooling hypothesis).
- Moving your body: walking, stretching, jogging, etc.
- Going outdoors and breathing some fresh air.
- Drinking water and hydration.
Furthermore, some people on the internet suggest trying the Lemon Tekking method to decrease yawning. The logic behind this statement is the following:
- The process of Lemon Tekking involves mixing acidic lemon juice with magic mushrooms and letting them sit for 20 minutes before consuming them.
- Some psychedelic users claim that lemon juice can convert psilocybin into the prodrug psilocin.
- As explained above, the yawning could happen due to the serotonin affinity on the 5-HT2C receptor. Psilocin has less affinity for the 5-HT2C receptor; therefore, the occurrence of yawning might be reduced.
Implementing these methods might help you avoid discomfort caused by yawning during magic mushroom trips. However, it is important to remember that what works for other people might not work for you.
How Does Yawning Affect the Psychedelic Trip?
As mentioned, there are magic mushroom users who find yawning distracting and irritating, while others do not seem to care and see yawning as an accepted part of the experience.
If you are curious about what other people experience on magic mushrooms, here are some examples of people on Reddit and Shroomery that discuss how yawning affects their psychedelic trip.
Here are some testimonials from online psychedelic users:
Summary: What Should We Know About Yawning and Magic Mushrooms
Psychedelics come with many side effects, and some of these effects can be uncomfortable and distractive. Yawning is a common side-effect of magic mushrooms that might be annoying for many people, but as far as we know, it is not harmful in any way.
The reason why yawning happens could become a research topic of the future. It would be beneficial to conduct more studies to understand why magic mushrooms cause excessive yawning and to find potential solutions that could avoid this reflex.
To avoid ruining your mushroom trip, you can try different methods suggested by psychedelic users to reduce the yawning reflex.
One thing you should remember is that yawning is normal, many people experience it on magic mushrooms, and it is a temporary side effect.
