Why do we get goose bumps?

We all know what goose bumps are and how they look on our skin. It’s quite interesting to watch your skin instantly get these raised bumps all over our bodies and the hair on our arms stand up perfectly straight.

The bumps are created when muscles at the base of the hair contract and cause the hair to stand straight up. It is a sympathetic nervous symptom reaction which is linked to the flight-or-flight response.

The piloerection, or goose bump, has lost it original function in humans which was to create insulation using body hair.

However, the reason that our skin elevates when we feel cold occurs because each hair has a contraction of miniature muscles that are attached to it. Therefore, each contracting muscle creates a thin depression on the skin’s surface which leads to the area around it to bulge.  The rising of hair expands the layer of air that is their insulation. The thicker the hair layer, the more heat is kept in.

On the most basic level, goosebumps can help keep you warm. When you’re cold, the muscle movements that can trigger goosebumps will also warm your body.

As your body heats up, your goosebumps will slowly begin to disappear. The same goes for bodily exertions that can cause goosebumps, such as having a bowel movement. After a bowel movement, goosebumps will disappear (form of protection to your survival).

There is a hormone called adrenaline which is often released when we feel cold or if we are under stress and feel strong emotions, such as anger, fear or excitement. It contracts the muscle called arrector pill in the skin that is attached to the hair follicles hence pulling the hairs into upright position causing goosebumps.