A Touchy Subject: the power of physical connection

Touch may be our most important sense, the one we can’t live without, especially in our love relationships, according to new research. Welcomed touch communicates support and encourages cooperation, calms stress, and even improves immune response. It also helps us tune in to what creates the most physical pleasure for our romantic partners.

Touch encourages a spirit of trust and partnership.

NBA teams who touch the most win the most, according to a study by Michael Kraus and Dacher Keltner of the University of California, Berkeley. The contact could be as simple as a high-five, as aggressive as a chest bump. "Touch instills trust," Dacher Keltner told ABC News. "It contagiously spreads good will; it makes players play better on behalf of each other." What type of trust-building touch would you like to receive from your partner?

Touch promotes feelings of safety and reduces stress.

In a study by Jim Coan and Richard Davidson, participants anticipating a painful blast of white noise while lying alone in an fMRI brain scanner, showed increased brain activity in areas of the brain associated with threat and stress. But having their romantic partner stroke their arm while they waited eliminated this stress reaction completely. What kind of touch would be most soothing to you when you are under stress?  

Touch strengthens physical health.

In one study, participants were injected with a cold germ. Those who had the most hugs had a better immune response to the cold virus. In another at UC Berkley’s School of Public Health, getting eye contact and a pat on the back from a doctor may boost survival rates of patients with complex diseases. What kind of supportive touch might you want when you are sick?

Touch helps us share pleasure with our romantic partner.

Science has discovered that the hairs on our skin have special caress sensors. These nerve endings, which wrap around the base of hair follicles, are tuned precisely to the kinds of caresses we find most appealing. So, we not only can give and receive pleasure all over our bodies, we can also communicate with our partners about precisely the kind of touch – the pressure, the speed – that gives the most pleasure. What kind of sensual touch gives you the most pleasure? What would it be like to communicate this to your partner?

Touch is powerful, and promotes all kinds of positive benefits, especially in our close and intimate relationships. So, with consent, reach out to your partner with a hug, a kiss, a caress. It’s a simple way to build connection and increase emotional and physical wellbeing, for both you and your loved one!