Is Yawning Normal During EMDR?

Is Yawning Normal During EMDR?

Short Answer: Yes. Yawning can happen during EMDR and, by itself, is generally not a reason to worry. Researchers have not established exactly why some people yawn during a session or whether yawning has any particular connection to EMDR.

It may simply be an ordinary physical response that occurs while concentrating, feeling tired, or beginning to relax.

If you have noticed yourself yawning during an EMDR session, it does not necessarily mean anything is wrong. You may yawn once, several times, or not at all.

Each of these experiences can occur, and yawning alone does not tell you how well the session is going.

Key Takeaways

• Yawning can happen during an EMDR session.
• Researchers have not established why some people yawn during EMDR.
• Yawning may be related to tiredness, concentration, relaxation, or another ordinary cause.
• Some people may yawn several times, while others may not yawn at all.
• Yawning is not a reliable indicator of whether EMDR is working.

Why Do Some People Yawn During EMDR?

EMDR involves briefly focusing on a distressing memory while engaging in bilateral stimulation, such as eye movements, tapping, or alternating sounds.

During a session, you may also notice physical responses such as yawning, sighing, stretching, or changes in how tense or relaxed you feel.

Researchers have not established a specific explanation for yawning during EMDR. Yawning can occur for many ordinary reasons, including tiredness, sustained attention, boredom, changes in alertness, or relaxation.

It is therefore difficult to know whether a yawn is connected to the EMDR process or would have happened anyway.

Because everyone experiences EMDR differently, you may yawn during a session while someone else may not. Neither response is better or more meaningful on its own.

Can Concentration or Tiredness Play a Role?

Yawning can happen in many situations that have nothing to do with EMDR. You might yawn when you are tired, when your level of alertness changes, or during a period of sustained attention.

Because EMDR also involves focused attention, it can be difficult to separate a yawn that happens during the exercise from one that might have happened anyway.

For example, if you begin a session after a long day or when you are already feeling tired, yawning during the session may simply reflect your existing energy level. Someone doing a session at a different time of day might have a different experience.

Concentration may also be part of the picture, although a yawn by itself cannot tell you what caused it.

EMDR asks you to focus on a memory, thought, feeling, or body sensation while also following bilateral stimulation. Your level of attention can change during that process, just as it can during other activities that require concentration.

The important point is that there is no need to identify a specific reason every time you yawn. A yawn can simply be noticed without assigning it a special meaning.

Does the Time of Day Affect Yawning During EMDR?

The time of day may be one ordinary reason yawning shows up during one session but not another. A session completed early in the day may feel different from one completed after work, after a long commute, or close to your usual bedtime.

That does not mean there is a best time of day for EMDR or that yawning at a particular time has a special meaning. It simply gives you another everyday factor to consider if you notice yourself yawning during a session.

If you tend to yawn more when you are tired, the same pattern may show up during EMDR. On another day, when you are more alert, you may not yawn at all.

The difference does not tell you that one session was more effective than the other.

You also do not need to schedule sessions around avoiding yawning. If you are comfortable and able to focus, a yawn by itself does not require you to change the time of day you normally use for EMDR.

What Does Yawning During EMDR Mean?

You may wonder whether yawning means EMDR is working.

Yawning does not provide a reliable way to measure progress. You might notice it as you begin to feel calmer, but that does not prove that the yawn was caused by emotional processing or a change in your nervous system.

You can also have a productive session without yawning.

Rather than assigning a particular meaning to the yawn, pay attention to your overall experience. For example, notice whether the memory feels different, whether your level of distress changes, or whether new thoughts, emotions, or sensations arise during the session.

Does Yawning Mean You Are Relaxing?

You may notice yourself yawning at the same time that you begin to feel more relaxed. That does not necessarily mean that relaxation caused the yawn.

Yawning occurs in many different circumstances, including times when a person is tired or experiencing a change in alertness. Because of that, the timing of a yawn is not enough to establish what is happening during an EMDR session.

If you notice that you feel more relaxed, you can pay attention to that change without using the yawn as proof of it.

In the same way, if you yawn without feeling particularly relaxed, there is no reason to assume that something is supposed to be happening beneath the surface.

This distinction matters because physical reactions during EMDR can be easy to interpret after the fact. A yawn may happen alongside another change without necessarily being the cause, result, or sign of that change.

Does Yawning Mean Your Nervous System Is “Releasing” Something?

You may come across explanations suggesting that yawning during EMDR represents a nervous-system release, emotional release, or evidence that the body is processing something.

Researchers have not established yawning as a reliable sign of any of these things during EMDR.

That does not mean your experience is unimportant. It simply means that the yawn itself should not be given more meaning than the evidence supports.

If a thought, emotion, memory, or physical sensation changes during the session, you can notice that change directly. There is no need to use yawning as evidence that a particular internal process has occurred.

This also helps avoid creating an expectation that you are supposed to yawn. Someone who does not yawn is not missing a necessary part of the EMDR process.

What If You Keep Yawning During a Session?

Yawning once and yawning several times do not necessarily have different meanings. Repeated yawning may simply be more noticeable and make you wonder whether the session is causing it.

Before drawing that conclusion, consider the ordinary circumstances around the session. You may have started when you were already tired, slept less than usual, or simply be yawning more that day.

The timing of the session and your usual energy level may also be relevant.

You do not need to count your yawns or monitor them closely. Doing so can shift your attention away from the part of the session you are actually working on.

If repeated yawning is making it difficult to concentrate because you are becoming sleepy, the more useful question may be whether you are alert enough to continue focusing comfortably.

In that case, taking a break is an option. The issue is not that yawning itself is a problem; it is simply whether you are able to stay engaged with the session.

What If You Never Yawn During EMDR?

Nothing needs to happen.

Yawning is not a required response to EMDR, and there is no reason to try to make yourself yawn. Some sessions may include noticeable physical reactions, while others may not.

If you have read or heard that yawning is a sign that EMDR is working, it can be tempting to look for it during your own sessions.

But using yawning as a marker of progress can create an expectation that the research does not support.

Instead, allow your experience to unfold without looking for a particular physical response. If you do not yawn, that does not mean you were not concentrating enough, did the exercise incorrectly, or failed to have the response you were supposed to have.

The same principle applies if you yawn during one session but not another. Your physical responses do not need to repeat themselves from session to session.

What Should You Do If You Yawn During EMDR?

You do not need to do anything special simply because you yawn.

• Let the yawn happen naturally.
• Continue if you feel comfortable.
• Keep breathing normally.
• Take a brief pause between sets if you need a moment before continuing.

Yawning usually does not need to interrupt a session. However, if you are struggling to stay awake or concentrate, it may be more helpful to pause and return when you feel more alert.

Should You Pay Attention to Yawning During a Session?

You can notice a yawn in the same way you might notice another ordinary physical sensation without making it the focus of the session.

There is usually no need to stop and analyze why it happened. If you are still comfortable and able to concentrate, you can allow the yawn to pass and continue with the exercise.

This can be especially helpful if you find yourself wondering whether every physical response has a meaning.

EMDR does not require you to interpret each yawn, sigh, shift in posture, or other small change that occurs during a session.

What matters more is the experience you are actually working with. Thoughts, feelings, images, and sensations may change as a session continues, or they may remain relatively similar for a period of time.

A yawn does not need to be used to explain those changes.

Can Yawning Be Different From One EMDR Session to Another?

Yes. You might yawn during one session and not during the next.

There are many ordinary reasons your experience can vary. The time of day may be different. You may be more or less rested.

The session may require a different amount of concentration, or you may simply happen to yawn more on one day than another.

Because of that variation, there is little value in comparing sessions according to how much you yawned. More yawning does not automatically mean more happened during the session, and less yawning does not mean less happened.

If you notice a pattern, you can simply be aware of it. You do not need to turn the pattern into a measure of how well your EMDR sessions are going.

Can Yawning Continue After an EMDR Session?

You may occasionally notice yourself yawning after a session as well as during it. Just as with yawning that happens during EMDR, there is usually no way to determine from the yawn alone whether it is related to the session or to an ordinary cause such as tiredness or a change in alertness.

The timing can make the connection feel obvious, especially if you begin yawning shortly after the session ends. However, timing by itself does not establish why the yawning occurred.

If you otherwise feel comfortable, there is no need to monitor how long the yawning continues or use it to evaluate the session. You can simply notice it and continue with your day.

The same principle applies whether you yawn during a set, between sets, or afterward: yawning is not a required response and does not provide a reliable measure of what happened during EMDR.

When Might Other Factors Be Relevant?

If yawning is happening because you are already tired, everyday factors such as your sleep may be relevant.

Your general stress level can also affect how alert or tired you feel at different points in the day.

These factors do not mean the yawning has a particular connection to EMDR. They are simply ordinary circumstances that can influence how you feel during a session.

Conclusion

Yawning can happen during EMDR, but researchers have not established exactly why it occurs or whether it has any specific meaning. It may be connected to tiredness, concentration, relaxation, or another ordinary cause.

Whether you yawn once, several times, or not at all, yawning alone does not indicate how well EMDR is working.

You can simply let it happen, notice your overall experience, and continue when you feel comfortable.