The Power of Touch
Health Benefits of Touching Proven for Infants, the Elderly and Those in Between
Touch comes more naturally to some people than others. You can make a conscious effort to bring more touch into your daily life–and more happiness to yourself and those around you. Give your kids hugs when they leave for school in the morning and when they come home. Hold your partner’s hand when you take a walk, exchange back bubs and don’t forget good-night kisses. Schedule sessions with a professional massage therapist.
Scientists recognized the power of touch–and not jut touch therapies such as reflexology, but simple acts such as giving a back rub, holding hands, sharing a hug or putting your arm around someone. With research demonstrating the healing power of touch, more mommies are taking infant massage courses and more hospitals are incorporating massage programs into care protocols for cancer and cardiovascular patients.
In recent years some researchers have begun to focus on physical contact. Momentary touches, they say- whether an exuberant high five, a warm hand on the shoulder, or a touch to the arm. Students who receive a supportive touch on the back or arm from a teacher were nearly twice as likely to volunteer in class as those who did not. A massage from a loved one can not only ease pain but also soothe depression and strengthen a relationship.
If a high five can in fact enhance performance, on the field or in the office, that may be because it reduces stress. A warm touch seems to set off the release of oxytocin, a hormone that helps create a sensation of trust, and to reduce levels of the stress hormone cortisol.
Studies published from the Touch Research Institute, published in peer-reviewed journals, demonstrate that touch contributer to:
**Decreased pain. Children with mild to moderate juvenile rheumatoid arthritis who were given massages by their parents 15 minutes per day for one month experienced less anxiety and lower cortisol levels. Over a 30-day period, parents, kids and their physicians reported less pain overall in the children
**Enhanced immune function. In studies, women with breast cancer and HIV patients showed a measurable increase in natural killer cells–parts of a line of defense in the immune system against virus-infected cells and cancer cells–after massage. They also experienced less anxiety and depression.
**Less Labor Pain. Women in labor who received a back rub the first 15 minutes of every hour of labor reported less pain and made fewer request for pain medications. Their labor was also shorter, on average.
**Enhanced alertness and performance. Following massage, adults completed math problems in significantly less time and with fewer errors.
Little touches do mean so much. I have been massaging my daughter since she was a baby. She is 7 years old and I continue to massage her. I see first-hand how it relaxes her. I always hug her. I give her a high five after her soccer game or on the tennis court. Let’s all make an effort to reach out and touch.
