Tickling yourself is next to impossible, because the cerebellum (the back of the brain) governs your movements and predicts when you are going to try to tickle yourself. However, you can try a light tickle instead of an intense one.
Steps
Step 1. Tickle the palate with your tongue
Gently rotate the tongue in a circular direction on the palate, to create a tickling sensation. No one knows why this method works, because the areas of the brain that perceive sensations are less active while we are tickled.
Step 2. Use a feather or a light object
You need an object that you can gently wipe over a tickle-sensitive area of the body, such as the sole of the foot or the neck. You won't feel an intense sensation like when someone else is tickling you, because you can't fool your brain!
- A light touch stimulates the somatosensory cortex, responsible for the analysis of touch, and the cingulate frontal cortex, which processes positive sensations. These two areas, together, control tickling, but only when the touch is very light. As many know, too much tickling can also hurt!
- You can also try running a bristle brush under the sole of your foot.
- You can try building a tickle tool by gluing long feathers onto a stick. You can then use this tool to tickle yourself!
- If you put too much pressure, it doesn't work. Make sure you use the item gently.
Step 3. Move your fingers in a circular motion across the skin
It doesn't always work, but many people feel a slight tickle when they brush the skin with their fingers and move them in circles.
The best places are: the inside of the elbow, the neck and the back of the knee
Method 1 of 1: Avoiding the Most Common Misconceptions
Step 1. Don't tickle yourself by putting something in your ear
Not only is it a bad idea to insert objects into your ears, but you can also damage your eardrums, and by the way it doesn't work. The ear is no more sensitive to tickling than other parts of the body.
Step 2. Don't tickle yourself by pretending the hand isn't yours
Scientists did experiments where they tried to fool people's brains into believing that the plastic hand on the table was his. Even with this trick, people weren't able to tickle themselves.
However, schizophrenic people often manage to tickle themselves, perhaps because their brains have difficulty predicting the sensory consequences of movement
Step 3. Don't rub your nails on your hips
It doesn't work because once again the brain senses the movement of your fingers and knows that they are trying to tickle.
It doesn't work because it's not the feeling itself that matters - it's the brain that already knows what's about to happen. Tickling happens by surprise and we can't suddenly surprise our own brains
Advice
- Often you don't feel tickled if you use a part of your body (like your fingers) to do so: it's always better to use another object to tickle yourself
- Try wearing very thin fabrics on your skin and try to tickle yourself. Sometimes it works!
- The tickle will be more intense if you use a light object, such as a feather.
Warnings
- Be careful with pointed or sharp objects.
- If these methods don't work, remember that it's very, very difficult to fool or surprise your brain (which is what tickles it).
