What seems like a natural reaction is actually a fascinating mechanism that helps keep our body warm and serves as a response to emotions.
You’ve probably experienced goosebumps when stepping out of the shower in winter, or even in summer if a cold breeze passes by.
Moreover, the feeling of goosebumps can also occur when you listen to an emotional song or reminisce about old memories. So why do these seemingly unrelated phenomena give you a sense of goosebumps?
This is a natural physiological phenomenon that occurs in the human body.
Since prehistoric times, when humans had more body hair than today, the goosebumps reaction helped keep us warm.
Nowadays, this reaction no longer serves much purpose for humans as we have very little body hair. Scientists have wondered why this reaction persists today when evolution should have eliminated its utility long ago. Therefore, in a new study, researchers from Harvard University investigated what happens at the cellular level to find out what other benefits it may provide.
Goosebumps are a natural reflex of the body. This phenomenon often occurs when we are cold or experience strong emotions such as fear, surprise, anger, or excitement.
When this happens, small round bumps form on the skin due to the contraction of hair follicles. These bumps arise from muscle contractions linked to each hair. Hair follicles are embedded deep in the skin, and each follicle is surrounded by a sheath (follicle). Each follicle has a muscle that causes it to bulge, lifting the skin and creating those bumps on the surface. That’s “chicken skin.” When the follicle bulges, the hair inside stands upright.
Goosebumps are most notably visible on the arms, legs, and neck… In some cases, goosebumps can even appear on the face. They will subside once the stimulating factors disappear.
This is a mechanism we inherited from our ancestors. While it was very useful in the past, it has little effect on modern humans.
According to Scientific American, goosebumps occur when a layer of skin suddenly protrudes, resembling the skin of poultry after feathers are plucked.
These raised patches of skin are the result of tiny muscles under the hair contracting, causing the area of skin near the hair to rise higher than the surrounding surface. This phenomenon also makes the hair stand up whenever the body feels cold.
These raised patches of skin are the result of tiny muscles under the hair contracting.
In animals with long fur, this reaction creates an insulating layer that helps prevent heat loss and regulate body temperature. The thicker the fur, the more heat it retains. However, in humans, this reaction is almost useless and yields no results.
This is because, after millions of years of evolution, the thick fur from our animal ancestors has degenerated into the fine hair we have today.
Although we no longer have thick fur, the phenomenon of goosebumps has persisted to this day. Besides its role in keeping warm, the raised hair is also a way to defend against and intimidate threats.
Besides its role in keeping warm, the raised hair is also a way to defend against and intimidate threats.
In nature, many animal species still maintain this natural characteristic, for example, cats and hedgehogs. They often raise their fur when they feel threatened, startled, or frightened by something.
Emotions are also a factor that causes goosebumps
It’s not just cold weather that causes goosebumps in animals and humans. In higher animals like humans, emotions are one of the triggers for goosebumps.
Common emotions such as stepping onto the stage at a wedding, singing the national anthem, listening to an emotional song, or even watching a horror movie can invoke this response. However, this mechanism can occur at any time or recur when you recall memorable moments or events in your life.
After an emotional state arises, adrenaline will be released into the bloodstream.
The explanation for this mechanism lies in the subconscious releasing a type of stress hormone known as adrenaline.
Adrenaline is a hormone produced by the adrenal glands, located atop the kidneys. This special hormone plays a role in many different reactions within the human body, including goosebumps.
Once an emotional state arises, adrenaline is released into the bloodstream, simultaneously transmitting nerve impulses to various organs. Adrenaline directly affects the sympathetic nerves, helping the body react to dangers. As a result, goosebumps occur when we experience a strong emotion.
It’s not an exaggeration to say that adrenaline is a miraculous substance that activates all survival mechanisms and instincts in animals, including humans. Therefore, adrenaline is considered a type of pain reliever, enhancing alertness and excitement in many situations.
Goosebumps usually occur when we feel cold (to protect body temperature), fear, excitement, and many other emotions.
In animals, this hormone is released when the body experiences cold, stress, fear, or other emotional states such as anger or excitement. Other signs that adrenaline has been secreted include tears, sweaty palms, trembling hands, increased blood pressure, and a rapid heartbeat.
The level of adrenaline quickly decreases when the emotions pass, and the skin that suddenly protruded quickly returns to normal.
In summary, goosebumps are actually an involuntary reaction of the sympathetic nervous system and a form of acute stress response. This mechanism typically occurs when we feel cold (to protect body temperature), fear, excitement, and many other emotions.
Video explaining why humans and animals experience piloerection or goosebumps.
Additionally, goosebumps may also stimulate hair growth in animals
According to journalist Whitcomb, another study suggests that the phenomenon of “goosebumps” may stimulate hair growth in animals. In 2020, a group of scientists took skin samples from mice and removed the nerves surrounding the arrector pili muscle. The results published in the journal Cell showed that the hair follicle stem cells in these skin samples were activated more slowly, taking longer for the hair to grow.
Using electron microscopy, scientists discovered that the removed nerves were not only connected to the arrector pili muscle but also to the hair follicle stem cells. Based on these results, the research team concluded that the Piloerection response allows animals to grow more hair in response to cold temperatures. This is also a potential reason why this trait has been passed down to most mammal species.
