Why do i start yawning and getting sleepy when i read my son his bedtime story?

Not enough sex and violence in the stories you read to him. Work on that.

I’ve noticed this, too. I’ll sit down to read to him, and I know within a page, I’m going to have this huge yawn. I’ll probably yawn several times, and after a while, it may go away.

I’m hazarding a guess that it has something to do with the way I breathe while reading. Either I’m not getting enough air, and the yawn gets me to stop and breathe, or I’m not breathing deeply enough, or there’s something wrong with the rhythm of my breaths.

I don’t do the getting sleepy thing so much (maybe a little). I enjoy reading to him more now that he’s onto more interesting stories. I just wish I didn’t yawn so much. It happens every time I read aloud, no matter what time of day it is.

Is he yawning? His yawning will trigger your yawning. It’s a biological response that is almost impossible to supress.

@TitsMcGhee no he doesn’t yawn… and i start within like the first line…or two… (given he’s two there are not that many lines in a book)

@daloon I would have been with you on the breathing thing…but i thought this and tried breathing in deeply before i start…and yet still i yawn.. in fact: i probably yawn quicker… hmmmm

Maybe, because you know it’s ‘bedtime’ your body is getting the message too. You go from up and running around after him, maybe you just gave him a bath not sure on age and you finally have to sit still, with a calm voice and relax. Your body gets the hint.

hormones.

uh because you are sleepy? and plus, bedtime stories don’t have enough blood, violence and gore. that’ll keep anybody up.

punch the bedtime sagas with real voice inflections as though he/she were watching the story live on stage. it’ll keep you up and be just enough to put the little bugga to sleep!

It’s your body’s natural response to situation: To try to lull your son to sleep, you subconsciously slow your breathing and heart rate. Your son will pick up on this and will also calm in a similar way. Dimness of light will accelerate this effect.

I always yawn and nearly nod off when reading my kiddo’s bedtime stories. Isn’t it relaxing? Better than Xanax!

@bananafish well, i think i’m going to plump for your reasoning… seems so…..pleasant and rather clever of the human body… don’t you think?

Why do I always feel like I have to pee when the sink is running? Why do I still reach for a pack of, now, non-existant smokes when I see someone light up? Why do I yawn when I see someone else yawning?

we are very simple creatures

I know when my son was younger, and it was story time, the act of “sitting still” made me want to nod off. Think about it, parents are always sleep deprived, running here and there, making sure everything is ready for the next day. So, when you actually stop, you body says, whoa…. what is that??? Time to pass out for 30 minutes until I have to go again. As the kids get older, most of the time you can regulate better. But, my son is 12 and I still love the occasional school holiday…especially if I get to sleep in!! Please note, sleeping in for me is usually 6 am and not my usual 4am!

i think that just means you’re a really good bedtime story reader.

oh i think i love you @tiffyandthewall

Because you’re tired Lynne. You’ve collected 2 years of sleeplessness and now you’ll never catch up again. I used to fall asleep all the time when I was singing for my daughter (especially since I’d have her in my arms in a rocking chair). When she was too young to speak, she’d kick my arm, and later she’d say something like “hey, go on”. Nowadays she’d probably just continue the song and let me sleep instead while she turns on the TV hehe

You just go ahead and sleep, he’ll do too eventually :)

@Jack79: That’s so cute, I used to do that to my mom, I’d kick her foot or smack her arm lightly. I demanded satisfaction!

@lynneblundell ((((((:

I always felt bad about that!! It’s the reading out loud and not taking in enough oxygen, so I try to breath harder, and it seemed to work better, but still yawned. Last week I read to my granddaughter, and really did the breathing thing so I wouldn’t yawn because my daughter was videotaping!! It worked but I felt dizzy, lol.

Lynne, I do the same except I don’t had a kid. I yawn when EVER I read, especially hwne reading out loud. I yawn when I have to read something to a client, I yawn when I read a news article to my husband, I yawn when I read the instructions to the Ikea dresser he just bought. WHY? WHY?

It might be your posture. If you’re slumped forward you’re not breathing as well as you might think.

Perhaps you’re just bored and you simply don’t want to read all that boring books…

@nbulba It’s not boredom, that’s for sure. I do the exact same thing for some reason and I can assure you that I am never bored when I read to my children.

nope its not boredom…and after many many many nights since experimenting with this topic…it’s not tiredness either….or breathing… I’m going to put it down to a bonding, intuitive thing…

This happens to me too. It doesn’t matter if I’m volunteering to read on story day at the library, if I’m reading to my own children at noon or at bedtime, or if I’m reading a paper at the head of a classroom. I also get this kind of weird feeling on the front left and right side of my neck. (sort of next to my google) I do it over and over and over again. It can be really embarrasing in a professional environment. I HATE it!!! It has always been a problem for me and I have wondered if I need to consult with a vocal coach or take a class on speech giving to get some pointers on how to speak without ??getting shortness of breath??? or ??? tiring my vocal cords??? or WHATEVER it is that is causing this. WHAT IS IT?!?!?

@greenshelby1 what’s a “google”?