The Power of Touch

The power of touch should not be underestimated. You have heard the saying “actions speak louder than words”. In action we can communicate at lightening speed compared with speaking or reading. Now apply this to the concept of touch, signals are sent to the brain and its almost instantaneous.

So let’s touch on anatomy a little, your skin is the body’s largest sensory organ, where you can experience pressure, vibration, pain, temperature, textures and physical pleasure. Our sensors adapt quickly and we can forget that we are being touched. The subconscious mind also plays a large part as well, just think about it, we can put clothes on and then in the briefest of moments feel them touch our skin, then we “forget” and move on.

The simple act of touch can invoke so many different emotions, even negative ones, being pressed, squeezed, poked etc and in turn you can feel anger, fear, disgust but also sympathy, emotions of gratitude and love to name a few.

Our physical body responds to touch too, such as our blood pressure, nerves and heart rate changes, like a hug from a loved one can reduce stress on our minds and bodies almost immediately.

A mother nurturing her baby can be enough to relax the baby. They feel comforted, relaxed and trusting through the power of touch. The baby cuddling a blanket and feeling the softness and temperature of the materials. All basic human instincts and responses to touch.

Let’s hope this lockdown will finish soon and life can get back to what we are all used to, the basic human need of touch is what we need now more than ever for our mental health and physical wellbeing.