We’ve all been there. We take a nice, long bath and we feel like we can go on for eternity, and then we go on to turn on the tap for more warm water and realise our hands look like we’re 70 years old. It’s all wrinkled. You curse yourself, get up and leave. Next time you do this, though, you will thank science instead because wrinkling in water is one of the most genius things our body does.
So, how does this happen? When fingers or toes are submerged in water for about five minutes, blood vessels beneath the skin constrict due to signals from the autonomic nervous system, which controls involuntary bodily functions. This causes the upper layers of the skin to shrink and pull inward, creating the characteristic wrinkled pattern. Interestingly, this response only occurs in hairless skin—primarily on fingers and toes. Here’s a fun fact along the way. A fancy term for hairless skin is called glabrous skin. So, why does it take the time and effort to make our skin look ugly?
A key study published in Biology Letters (2013) tested whether wrinkled fingers provide an advantage in wet environments. Participants were asked to pick up wet and dry objects with both normal and water-wrinkled fingers. The results showed that wrinkled fingers significantly improved the ability to grip wet objects, while having no effect on dry ones. This supports the idea that the adaptation evolved to help early humans gather food or navigate slippery surfaces more effectively.
Basically, your body protects you from harming yourself in water by adding grip to those areas which are used primarily for movement and basic tasks. Interesting, right?
RELATED POSTS
View all
