We all know the feeling of getting goosebumps. It appears if we are watching a scary movie and we are afraid of what will happen in the next scene. But we also know the feeling of it, when we are emotionally touched by something, like if a beloved person shows us their appreciation and respect towards us. It can also occur, when we hear specific sounds like the scratching of fingernails over a blackboard. But the sound can also be linked to a positive occurrence of it, for instance, if we hear the melodies of a beautiful orchester symphony or someone singing a song very well. And the most common occasion of getting goosebumps is of course, when we are in a cold environment an we are freezing.
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But what even happens within our bodies during it?
During this process, which can happen to every person anytime, the physical stimuli or the state of excitation are sent through the central nerve system in the brain and the spinal cord to the relevant parts of the body, e.g. your arms and legs. The muscles under our skin are contracting and bring the hair in a vertical position. At the same time the surface of your skin is swelling and there arise little elevations on the skin. This is why the skin always feels more tense and hard during a goosebumps attack. The elevated hair creates an air cushion, which warms the skin up. Furthermore it is called goosebumps because the skin during this process resembles the skin of a goose, which also has the little elevations.
Just like turning red or becoming pale in the face, getting goosebumps is something, we can not control with our mind. Even if it is a weird feeling and people try to get rid of it by covering the parts of their bodies in order to create warmth, you can not control it. This is because it is natural reaction of your body led by the central nerve system.
Another fact is that one can not get goosebumps in the face. This is because there is almost no hair which can rise vertically. The face is quite insensitive to coldness and the specific muscles, which are used during this process are not that well developed in the face.
Animals can also get this common physical reaction. On the one hand, they use it just like us humans, in order to keep warm. On the other hand, they use it to show that they feel threatened by another animal or to scare off enemies.
Furthermore, the origin of goosebumps lies in the past and is a normal part of the evolutionary process. It was and of course, still is, a natural reaction of our bodies, which creates an air cushion between our skin and the hair in order to warm up the body and dispel the cold. This was especially necessary in past times, when people often lived in very cold temperatures in winter, without something to keep them warm.
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