7 surprising benefits of touching others

Touching others has become increasingly difficult. It seems like we live in a contactphobic society.. We interact more and more through devices and screens and less through real, physical contact, face to face, skin to skin.

It is not only a shame that this happens, but it also opens up important questions about mental health and social relationships. It has long been known that touching others and being touched is essential. So it is like that, that the European Institute of Perinatal Mental Health talks about babies who die from lack of physical contact.

Dr. David J. Linden, author of Touch: The Science of Hand, Heart, and Mind (Touch: the science of the hand, heart and mind) notes that Touch is also essential for the development of intelligence and cognitive abilities. There are several powerful reasons to touch others and allow them to touch us. These are seven of them.

1. Touching others facilitates communication

We communicate with others through different channels and languages. However, one of the means that has the most impact on communication is precisely touch. Through this, up to 78% more efficiency is achieved in the transmission of emotions, according to a study by psychologist Matther Hertenstein.

It is important to note that by touching others we not only reinforce the messages we want to communicate, but we also manage to express with greater precision and intensity what we feel. A hug has much more impact than a “you are counting on me”.

2. It has effects on physical and mental health

The skin has multiple receptors that connect directly to the brain. Science has proven that when you receive a caress friendly, the brain reduces the production of cortisol, the stress hormone. In turn, this strengthens the immune system.

It has also been possible to establish that massages are a more effective means of reducing migraine in women than analgesics. Apparently, tactile signals reach the brain before pain signals.

3. Improves relationships between people

Touching others is a means to achieving a more genuine connection with others. People They tend to perceive as more honest and affable those who gently touch them on the forearm.. They are also more willing to cooperate with them.

Likewise, touching others is a sign of self-confidence and power.. Others tend to consider those who have constant physical contact with them as superior. That superiority, however, is experienced as close and trustworthy.

4. Increases the ability to seduce

An important part of attraction comes from skin-to-skin contact. Such contact causes the barriers between two people to begin to dissolve and a certain complicity is established between them while trust increases.

Affectionate and soft caresses make people sensitive to each other. This leads them to be more receptive and, therefore, facilitates seduction.. Research found that contact between people who could potentially be a couple increases heart rate and awakens desire.

5. Boost performance

In the United States, a study was carried out on the influence of touch on performance. They selected a group of volunteers and subdivided it. One of the subgroups received two massages a week, while the other lacked this stimulus.

After a month they were given a mathematical test and all those who had received the massage obtained a better score. Likewise, it was found that sports teams were more successful if their members hugged or high-fived each other when they obtained a partial victory.

6. Strengthens sentimental ties

Physical touch is also closely related to the production of oxytocin in the brain. This substance increases the feeling of well-being and happiness. That is why in human relationships, and particularly in couples, touch plays an important role in feeling good with the other.

One of the signs that a couple is happy precisely has to do with the amount of physical contact they maintain. Caresses and physical pampering help feed love as the bond gains greater and greater intensity and depth.

7. Increase persuasiveness

To check that touching others increases the ability to persuasion, you can do a small experiment. Ask someone to lend you a pencil without making physical contact with them. Then, do the same, but lightly touch his upper arm. Repeat several times and draw conclusions.

It has been discovered that touching others is a way to exert greater influence on them. This translates into a greater capacity for persuasion. Again this is related to the openness brought about by physical contact.

As you see, touching others and allowing them to touch you has great benefits. Maybe it’s time to stop using so many devices to interact with people. and recover that secret and deep value that exists in touch.

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