Goosebumps

You ever feel that chill run down your spine? A tingling along your arm? The tiny hairs on your arms standing on end as though they are in shock of what terrifying thing might be lurking in the shadowy corner of your dark room at night?

Photo by Duangphorn Wiriya on Unsplash

Your eyes widen and you open your mouth to scream, but nothing comes out. All you feel are those weird little bumps on yours arms and legs.

So you check... you check under your bed. Under the huge pile of unfolded clothes that you swore looked like a person a minute ago. You check everywhere.

Whew! You think. You evaded danger.

But how?

Well, you might wanna thank those bumpy things on your arms and legs!

George A. Bubenik, a physiologist and professor of zoology at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada, explained to Scientific American that goosebumps might’ve been a way for our ancestors to ward off predators by appearing bigger than normal with those bumps on their skin whenever they were scared and on the defense. Though now, with humans being less hairy, it doesn’t seem as impressive.

The question is now, how and why do we get goosebumps?

Well, it’s induced purely out of stressors and psychological factors, a reaction that allows small muscles attached to small individual body hair to contract, which creates the standing up hair trick! This was an inherited ability from our ancestors as a way for them to capture air beneath their thick wooly hair and retain heat, as well.

It is considered to be a vestigial response, which means it is a response that has lost its original function. In humans, vestigial responses include ear perking, goose bumps and the hypnic jerk. Probably worth a google, if you’re curious about those responses!

One of the main purposes of goosebumps is to keep you warm when you are cold. The muscle movements that trigger the pimples help keep you warm. Maybe not as good as a fur coat, but hey! That’s a natural way for the body to work through outside stressors. After your body is warmed up, or you have to use the bathroom (Bowel movement) goosebumps will disappear. That’s not that scary now that is deconstructed, but I do think the origins of why we needed them in the first place are!

Even more of a deconstruction of the creepy goosebumps is that it can be a reaction of arousal. It can start in what’s called your sympathetic nervous system that normally deals with threats, but also can branch into other sensory situations—-through music, taste, smell, and sexuality.

Goosebumps can also be attributed to something called “skin orgasms,” which is mainly caused by an emotional climax by a “powerful other,” according to new research. A social and scientific study of the overlooked aspects of goosebumps have shown that this type of expression is called, piloerection, and cannot be faked—-in fact it is most closely associated with the emotional effects of awe.

To go more into depth about skin orgasms and how they are stimulated, I recommend this very intriguing article here on the BBC:

Other chilling facts about goosebumps:

-The Medical terms for goosebumps are cutis anserina, piloerection and horripilation.

-A person who is going through withdrawal from a drug may experience goosebumps – a possible explanation for the term “cold turkey.”

-The term “goosebumps” comes from the way a person’s skin looks when they form: like a plucked goose.

-Animals get goosebumps to stay warm. When animals with thick coats of fur get cold, the hair rises and creates insulation to retain heat. Because humans lack such a thick coat, the reaction results in goosebumps.

-Some people get goosebumps when they listen to music. A study from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro found that people who are more open to different types of music and to new experiences were more likely to get goosebumps and chills from listening.

Reference for facts: