Touch is perhaps the most underrated of all the five senses. There are approximately 5 million touch receptors in your skin, about 3,000 in each fingertip. Even the most basic of touches lowers your blood pressure and heart rate, while also calming your nervous system and triggering the release of happy hormones like endorphins and oxytocin. Endorphins are the body’s natural painkillers that relieve both physical and mental pain, making you a lot happier. Oxytocin is the hormone associated with fuzzy feelings like love, trust and bonding, so you definitely want a lot more of that!
Now that you know what you've been ignoring, here are 20 facts about the power of touch.
1. Hugging someone or holding their hand can completely undo the effects of stress.
A study found that hugging someone for 20 seconds and holding their hand for 10 minutes can undo the effects of stress, and correct your heart rate and blood pressure. This is because oxytocin counters the effects of cortisol, which is the stress hormone.
2. Women who are hugged more often are physically healthier than those who aren't.
A study found that women who are hugged often by their partners have lower blood pressure and heart rate than those who aren’t. They also have higher levels of the hormone oxytocin.
3. A touch on the arm can improve a guy’s chances with a woman.
Studies show that a gentle brush of a woman’s arm can increase a man’s chances with her considerably. Furthermore, two-thirds of women are more likely to agree to dance with a man if he touches her arm a few seconds before asking her to dance.
4. The more you hug children, the more it helps them grow.
“We need four hugs a day for survival, eight hugs a day for maintenance and twelve hugs a day for growth”, says Virginia Satir, a family therapist. Basically, the more you hug your kids, the healthier and happier they will be. Research shows that all the little hugs and touches that your parents gave you when you were a kid are all embedded in your nervous system and imprinted into you at a cellular level. These touches build love and self esteem, making you who you are today.
5. Children who are deprived of affectionate touches and pats tend to be violent as adults.
Affectionate touches are so important that the lack of them can seriously hamper a child’s growth and development. Research shows that children who are deprived of these touches are much more likely to be violent and aggressive when they grow up. Another study found that children in orphanages who were deprived of touch did not grow as tall or as healthy as other children.
6. A simple touch in the right places could help people quit smoking!
A study found that self-touch curbs anxiety and cravings, and can help people who want to quit smoking. The study found that rubbing your hands together or stroking your ear lobe can help you beat the urge to smoke.
7. A pat on the back helps athletes perform better.
A study found that NBA athletes who would pat each other on the back performed much better than those who did not interact physically at all. Whether you’re on the field or in the office, try to make it a point to shake hands with your teammates, bump fists with them, squeeze their hands, and pat their backs.
8. Premature babies who are loved and touched gain weight faster.
A review found that 15 minutes of touch therapy, conducted 3 times a day, for 5 to 10 days, caused premature babies to gain weight 47 percent faster.
9. A massage can make you smarter and more relaxed.
A study found that people performed a lot better if they were given a massage before they did a complicated math problem than when they attempted a problem without a massage. They were also a lot less stressed out after the massage, but that’s not surprising!
10. Hug a hurt children to make them feel better.
When you bump into something, the first thing you do is rub it to make it feel better, right? When your child gets hurt, give them a big, long hug. It will trigger a flood of endorphins, oxytocin and serotonin. The endorphin rush will make the pain better, and the oxytocin and serotonin will make them happier.
11. Showing your dog some love improves your immunity.
It also eases your mental and physical pain. Petting any dog is good for you, but the benefits increase if you know the dog and love him or her. And, your dog loves it too, so it’s a win-win!
12. Cuddling with your partner can make you happier.
A study carried out across 5 countries found that men between the ages of 40 and 70 felt that cuddling with their partners regularly was more important to them than sex. The more they hugged and kissed their partners, the happier they were.
13. The more you hug the better your immunity.
When you hug someone tightly, there is a gentle pressure on both your sternums, which activates the solar plexus chakra. This stimulates the thymus gland, causing it to produce more white blood cells, which are the building blocks of immunity.
14. A pat from the teacher makes students perform better.
Platonic touches increase learning, since studies show that students are more likely to speak up in class if their teacher has patted them in a friendly way.
15. You can actually improve the condition of an Alzheimer’s patient with a touch.
Research shows that touching patients with Alzheimer’s disease can help them relax, make them less depressed and help them connect with others.
16. Massages can relieve prenatal depression in men and women.
Massage therapy can help women cope with the discomfort of pregnancy, and can alleviate prenatal depression in both the parents-to-be.
17. There are more than 100 different types of touch therapies for different health problems.
Massage is an important part of Ayurveda, while acupuncture is an important part of traditional Chinese medicine. Today, there are a number of different touch therapies, including physical therapy, chiropractology and several more.
18. Hugs can soothe aches and pains.
Hugging relaxes your muscles and relieves tension. It also relieves pain by triggering the release of endorphins and improving the circulation of blood to your soft tissues.
19. Touching can even benefit the economy, since it increases trust.
Touching promotes trust and generosity, and a study found that in a competitive game, lightly patting someone on the back before they played made them more likely to cooperate and share with others.
20. Even animals benefit from touching.
Non-human primates spend 10 to 20 percent of their waking hours grooming each other, despite the fact that they are clean after just 1 percent. Another study found that baby rats who are licked and groomed a lot by their mothers have much better immunity and are much more resilient to stress.
