Touch can improve well-being and reduce pain – study

Touch can make you feel better

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Physical touch can improve well-being and help reduce levels of depression and anxiety.

This conclusion was reached by a team of scientists from Germany and the Netherlands during the study, published in the journal Nature Human Behaviour, writes The New York Times.

Scientists analyzed data from 137 multi-year studies on touching, caressing, hugging, etc. The studies were designed to track the reactions of people who were physically touched in some way during an experiment – ​​or touched an object such as a fuzzy soft toy – with the same people who were not.

For example, one study found that daily 20-minute massages for 6 weeks reduced aggression and blood levels of a stress marker in elderly people with dementia.

The positive effects were especially noticeable in premature babies when they had skin-to-skin contact. This was stated by Frederic Michon, a researcher at the Netherlands Institute of Neurology and one of the authors of the study.

Scientists also discovered interesting patterns. For example, for sick elderly people, touch was more important than for healthy people. At the same time, it did not matter to them who touched them – a familiar person or a medical worker.

“Another very intriguing finding that needs further study is that newborns benefit more from the touch of their parents than from the touch of a stranger.”– said researcher from the University of Helsinki in Finland Wille Harjunen.

Scientists suggest that babies “appreciate” their parents’ touch more because of their smell or the way they hold them.

The researchers also found gender differences in the need for touch. Women need them more and more often.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, people were isolated, which scientists believe may have contributed to the development of depression and anxiety in lonely individuals.

Some studies have shown that touching the head has a more beneficial effect than touching the body. Scientists suggest that this may be due to more nerve endings on the face and scalp.

An interesting observation was that residents of South America were more pleasant to touch than residents of the northern regions of the USA or Europe. Dr. Michon believes that culture can play a role. But currently there are not enough studies in this direction to draw such conclusions.

The researchers also noted that the types of touch considered in these studies were positive experiences that the volunteers agreed with.

“If someone does not experience touch as pleasant, it is more likely to cause them stress” said Dr. Michon.