How many times have we found ourselves, more or less, in situations in which we felt our cheeks flush with heat and we realized that we were blushing? Whether it’s the sense of inadequacy, a strong embarrassmentsuch as seeing the person we like suddenly, or a feeling of anger, it is important to know that any emotionally intense moment can provoke this reaction. The cause is the adrenaline which is released in our body at that moment due to the intense emotions and causes a greater flow of blood into the capillaries closest to the skin of the face. We are often ashamed of blushing, but it is a normal physiological response and a useful sign, because it helps to reduce social conflicts. Everyone blushes in a different way and with different intensity and in some cases, for example those who suffer from social anxiety and blush very frequently, it can become a pathological problem known as erythrophobia. Let’s see in detail why people blush and if it happens to everyone in the same way.
Blushing is a physiological response mediated by adrenaline
Blush it’s an answer natural and physiological of the human being, which leads to a greater blood supply al facein the chest and neck, caused by the release of adrenaline by the sympathetic nervous system.
This is a completely involuntary reaction: in fact, the sympathetic nervous system is part of the autonomic nervous system, which controls the involuntary functions of the body. The adrenaline released is both a hormone and a neurotransmitter which prepares the individual for “fight or flight” reactions by increasing heart rate and breathing, sending greater blood flow to the muscles and dilating some blood vessels. It is precisely this action, mediated by a particular enzyme, Adenylate Cyclase, which causes the vessels to dilate, causing more blood flow to the capillaries present on the face, neck and chest, thus causing redness. In some cases, instead of dilating the vessels, adrenaline narrows them to direct blood flow to the muscles and heart, and also not all capillaries are sensitive to adrenaline, which is why we don’t blush all over the body.
Emotional blushing is a social code that helps reduce conflict
This type blush emotional comes from very specific emotions: embarrassmentanger, shameanxiety, fear, trying remorse for doing something wrong and fear of judgment of others when you are observed or are the center of attention.
According to the evolutionary psychologynoticeable redness is a social codethat is, it allows communication with other members of the society in which we live, a non-verbal sign to communicate our emotion, ask for help, apologize or feel remorse for a mistake. It has been seen, in fact, that redness is a signal that it weakens collisions and contrasts with other human beings, generating a sense of empathy towards those who blush.
In the very recent study of Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience – KNAWthe researchers did one brain scan to gods volunteers to study the origins of redness on the face, subjecting them to karaoke performances in public, purposely assigning each participant songs that were very difficult to sing. The volunteers were then subjected to viewing their own performance and that of the others participating in it, while it was being performed functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) on their brain.
The researchers noticed that areas such as those of the visual cortex and the cerebellum were activated in the participants, the former site of attention, and the latter of some emotions, confirming how much emotions are involved in the process of facial redness and how this phenomenon is linked tosocial exposure.
Do we all blush the same way?
You may have noticed that while some people blush visibly at the slightest embarrassment, in other people it is barely noticeable. This different intensity with which each of us blushes depends on many factors, first of all personal sensitivity, as well as the modality, assiduity, reasons and vigor of blushing. We must not forget that about those who own one particularly light skin the redness is more visible than on darker skin.
Given the strong emotional component linked to redness, people who suffer from sociophobia or public anxietyfor whom social situations are highly stressful, therefore tend to blush more often and easily. In some cases, there are those who blush so frequently that they develop a certain difficulty in managing this physiological event, to the point of developing a real phobia of blushing, theerythrophobiafor which it is necessary to turn to specialists.
