MECHANISMS OF BLUSHING

A high-pitched sound is coming from a small gap under the stairs beside your desk. You grab your smartphone and use its torch to investigate. Crawling under the desk, you shine the light into the darkness. Something is moving—and as you look closer, you almost jump out of your skin. It’s a giant rodent, somehow both cute and terrifying, busily gnawing on an electrical cable…

Just like the hidden corners of a house can reveal unexpected activity, our bodies, too, have visible and invisible dimensions. The physical appearance of our bodies reflects internal processes—emotions and thoughts included. This interconnectedness between the inner and outer self is exemplified by the phenomenon of blushing.

Charles Darwin described blushing as “the most peculiar and most human of all expressions,” tied to emotions like embarrassment and shame. Recent research has explored the complex mechanisms behind blushing, shedding light on its psychophysiological foundations. Blushing, marked by the reddening of the face during emotionally charged moments, results from the accumulation of red blood cells in the venous plexus of the facial skin.

The process is intricate: it involves the active dilation of the arterial supply and the role of β-adrenoceptors in the facial veins. The regulation of facial blood flow is controlled by a network of reflexes and chemical messengers in the bloodstream. Neurotransmitters, hormones, dietary substances, medications, and sensory nerves all contribute to this process—an invisible system, hidden beneath our skin and beyond our control.

In essence, blushing is a visible manifestation of inner emotional unrest—a physical signal of what we often try to conceal. Like the secretive movements of a rodent in the walls, blushing reveals the quiet, involuntary stirrings within us.

Silence.
And then—
Boom!

Sparks fly, the lights go out, and you’re left in the dark, staring at the rodent—who looks even more shocked than you.

You wake up.
It was just a dream.