Healing Power of Touch: Why Hugs Are More Than Just Comfort

From stress relief to stronger immunity, physical touch offers a host of benefits. Here’s why simple hugs can make a big difference in health!

Highlights:

Physical touch releases oxytocin, which promotes feelings of trust, empathy, and optimism
Touch increases dopamine and serotonin, reducing anxiety, stress, and enhancing mood
Physical contact can boost immune function and lower blood pressure, benefiting heart health

Have you ever wondered why it feels so lovely to hold hands, hug, or cuddle? Human contact has a number of benefits, including social bonding and immune system boosting. Let's look at why humans appreciate interpersonal interaction and how it contributes to a healthy lifestyle.

How Does the Brain Differentiates Between Self and Other's Touch?
Brain is capable of distinguishing between self-touch and touch by another person. This occurs due to the brain’s ability to reduce the sensory perception in the case of self-touch, compared to non-self touch.

‘Did You Know?
Studies show a 20-second hug can release enough oxytocin to help lower blood pressure, reduce stress, and even improve your immune system! #mentalhealth #wellness #medindia’

Why is Touch Important?

Body contact is an essential human need that provides emotional, mental, and bodily advantages. From the minute they are born, newborns must cling, suckle, and rest on their caregivers. This behavior strengthens the relationships that underpin our familial social structure and is an important survival skill.

Even as we mature, touch is an important part of our social and emotional development. Touch is needed by more than just humans. Primates frequently pick at one another's fur throughout the day. The gelada baboon spends approximately 17% of its awake hours grooming. One of the many reasons primates touch each other is to relieve tension in social situations.

Physical touch also promotes the release of the hormone oxytocin (). Oxytocin aids humans in developing emotional connections with one another and produces sensations that promote a sense of well-being and happiness. Even if we are not bonding with babies, adults can get the benefits of releasing oxytocin with friends, spouses, or even animals.

Touch Sensation and Brain Activity Studied Between Couples Using FMRI
Exchange of touch sensation between two persons can be studied by simultaneously measuring brain activity through fMRI using a single scanner. This is a powerful tool for studying real-time social interaction.

Top 3 Health Benefits of Touch

Why is the human touch so powerful? The benefits of physical touch, as well as the biological stimulation that it provides, extend beyond social connection and can have a favorable impact on your mental and physical health.

Here are several significant ways that hugs and hand holding might improve your happiness and longevity.

Encourage optimistic thinking and increase trust

Known as the "feel good" hormone, oxytocin promotes positive thinking and an optimistic attitude on life. During encounters, oxytocin promotes feelings of compassion. This can help people trust one another more in social circumstances.

Decrease social anxiety and tension

Physical touch raises levels of dopamine and serotonin, two neurotransmitters that assist in regulating mood and alleviate stress and anxiety. Dopamine is also known to govern your brain's pleasure center, which might help you feel less anxious.

One study on breast cancer patients discovered that massage therapy, which included stroking, stretching, and squeezing, calmed participants and boosted dopamine and serotonin levels ().

According to the study, "The immediate massage therapy effects included decreased anxiety, depressed mood, and anger." Massage has a long-term benefit of reducing depression and aggression while increasing urine dopamine, serotonin, NK cell count, and lymphocytes.

Boost the immune system and reduce blood pressure

Physical touch has been shown to boost the immune system and minimize disorders related to the heart and blood. One research of women discovered that receiving more hugs from their partners resulted in reduced heart rates and blood pressure ().

Brain Development in Newborns Improves With Gentle Touch
Gentle touch therapy during hospitalization of newborns especially among pre-term babies aid brain development in the future.

Ways to Increase Physical Touch

You don't have to get hugs and embraces only from your significant other. Hugs from family, friends, or pets can be gratifying and cause the production of oxytocin. It's also crucial to understand how much physical touch another person feels comfortable with.

Physical contact is an essential component of emotional, mental, and physical well-being. However, there are occasions when a hug is not enough. If you are battling with anxiety, sadness, or other mental health issues you must visit a trained healthcare professional.

References:

Self-soothing behaviors with particular reference to oxytocin release induced by non-noxious sensory stimulation - (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25628581/)
Breast cancer patients have improved immune and neuroendocrine functions following massage therapy - (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0022399903005002)
Nonverbal encouragement of participation in a course: the effect of touching - (http://www.communicationcache.com/uploads/1/0/8/8/10887248/effect_of_touch_on_encouragement_in_course_-_the_effect_of_touching_-_gueguen_2004.pdf)

Source-Medindia

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