The Power of Touch

Human touch is one of the most ancient forms of healing. As more scientific evidence becomes available on the health benefits of massage, it confirms what we intuitively know

THINK BACK TO A TIME when you felt truly safe, secure, comforted and loved. Were you being held by a parent, embraced by a friend or walking hand in hand with a lover? It's entirely possible-because the sense of touch is so powerful. And it's only now that we're beginning to understand just how powerful it can be.

"It's really the last sense to be researched," says Tiffany Field, Ph.D., director of the
Touch Research Institute at the University of Miami School of Medicine. "With touch, it's
not obvious you're missing it as with other senses like sight or hearing. We refer to it as the ignored sense."

But Dr. Field and fellow researchers have done hundreds of studies on the power of touch in recent years, and found that it has benefits at every stage of life.

Emotional and Physical Benefits

"Touch is critical to growth and development," Dr. Field says. "We've found that preemies who are touched gain weight faster and leave the hospital sooner."

And it doesn't stop there. Field has found touch to positively affect almost every aspect of emotional and physical well-being studied, from depression, anxiety, ADHD and autism to lower back pain, migraines and immune system problems.

They've even done cross-cultural studies. "We studied children and adolescents in Paris and Miami and found that children in Paris, France, where they touch each other more and they are touched more by their parents, are less aggressive."

The team is now studying touch's effect on relationships, and Dr. Field says she thinks there will be a positive correlation there as well.

How It Works

Why is touch so powerful? In a word, science.

"When you stimulate the pressure receptors under the skin, the heart slows down, food in the gastrointestinal tract is absorbed into the body better, and serotonin is released into the bloodstream," Dr. Field explains. "When that happens, you decrease pain and heighten alertness."

Touch can even stimulate the body to better equip its natural killer cells to fight off bacterial infections and even more serious threats such as cancer.

The Preferred Method: Massage

Just as in the examples stated at the beginning of this article, touch from a variety of sources can be beneficial. But Dr. Field specifically recommends massage.

"Moderate pressure is the key," she says. "I recommend going to a licensed massage therapist as often as you can. It's more effective than, say, getting a back rub from a friend."

That said, be sure to get some form of touch every day. "We are a touch-deprived society," she says. "It's important to get a daily dose of touch." And don't forget to return the favor. Not only will the recipient of your touch benefit, but you will, too. "The massager benefits just as much as the massagee."

-By Shelley Flannery