Yawning is not an insult

WHEN your friend stifles a yawn as you chat, don't be offended.

Instead, take it as a compliment.

For, far from being a sign of boredom, yawning may signal empathy.

Scientists believe that contagious yawning - yawning after someone else does - is a sign of being keenly interested in the first person's thoughts and feelings.

This is the theory of Italian researchers who observed more than 100 men and women from four continents as they went to work, ate in restaurants and sat in waiting rooms.

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