Why do we blush?
Posted on 11. Mar, 2010 by Iwind in Health, People
Blushing — that act of blood rushing to our faces and the reddening our skin — is actually an autonomic admission of our guilt over something and a way of apologizing. It is about being embarrassed over something we have done, or even think we might have done, that we are feeling shameful for, and for which our bodies are delivering a natural reaction of compensation.
The physiology of blushing is all about vasodilation — the expansion of blood vessels for the purpose of delivering more blood and oxygen to an area. As with the “fight or flight” mechanism that sends adrenaline coursing through our bodies when something of an emotional nature occurs, adrenaline is sent to specific nerve endings in the face and neck when we are embarrassed. Those nerve endings then instruct the blood vessels to open wide and we become red-faced when more blood is delivered to the area.
That’s the physical explanation, but that doesn’t really answer the question, WHY do we blush? Knowing the physiology is useful, especially if you are an easy blusher and would like to stop or at least stem the tide of your emotional reactions.
As mentioned before, blushing is an automatic response to an emotional event. For example, if you trip over nothing, you feel embarrassed that others around you have seen your clumsiness. This is embarrassing and, for some people, will lead to blushing in response to one’s guilt over being so clumsy.
That cute girl or boy noticing you might also bring on the same emotional response. But in this case, you’ve done nothing wrong. Or have you? Your body is saying that yes, you are guilty of something when someone you like takes notice of you. For some people, especially young people, a certain feeling of embarrassment over having those kinds of feelings exist, and blushing is the natural response to experiencing guilt over those feelings.
That still does not completely answer the question, why do we blush. After all, it is a biological reaction that can be tamed. You can stop yourself from blushing with concerted effort. So why do we do it, in the first place? This is where understanding the physiological reasons behind blushing comes into play.
There is some body of evidence to suggest that this reaction came about as a biological point of evolution. As an example, you understand that an insult given to another could lead to a fight, right? What if the insult was unintentional? A person would be embarrassed when he finally understood the offense he had given. This sense of embarrassment sends that adrenaline rush, which leads to blood vessel dilation and the “flush” of redness to the face. That’s why we blush. To express to others in a social situation, our feelings of guilt and embarrassment. Our social evolution created the need for this way to admit guilt and embarrassment.
Popularity: 5%
