Why Are We Ticklish?

Hope (age 11) asked,

“Why are we ticklish?”

That’s a great question, Hope! In fact, scientists are still trying to figure out the answer.

Your skin is covered in nerve endings that send signals to your brain. When something touches you, the nerve endings send a message to your brain. Your brain processes the touch, deciding whether the touch feels good, hurtful, or ticklish.

You’ve probably noticed that you are more ticklish on certain parts of your body than on others. Most people are especially ticklish on the soles of their feet, stomach, and armpits.

Did you know that there are two kinds of tickles: knismesis (niz-MEE-sis) and gargalesis (gar-guh-LEE-sis)? Knismesis is when you feel a light sensation on your skin, like when a bug crawls across your skin, or someone tickles you with a feather. It’s an annoying sensation that you try to brush away. Gargalesis is a more aggressive tickle, like when someone purposely tickles you. This kind of tickle usually causes you to laugh and squirm.

Tickled Pink

Scientists have proposed some ideas for why we might be ticklish, but none have been proven. But we can know for sure that we are made in the image of God, and our bodies were designed by him—even those especially ticklish spots.

Do you have a question about God’s Word or his world that you want us to answer? Is there a topic you want to learn more about? Ask your parents to help you submit your question today. Watch for our answer here on the blog or in Kids Answers magazine. We’d love to hear from you!