The Human Touch: 4 Reasons Why It’s Important

We all have experienced the way our fears and pain crumble with a simple touch from our loved one. A touch or a hug is sometimes all one needs to feel encouraged and happy, yet this simple gesture is often ignored and even sparsely used. “No other form of communication is as universally understood as touch. The compassionate touch of a hand or a reassuring hug can take away our fears, soothe our anxieties, and fill the emptiness of being lonely.” This quote by Randi G. Fine beautifully sums up the need for ‘human touch’ in our lives.

When we talk about human touch here, it has nothing to do with a touch that carries a ‘sexual’ connotation. The touch that we are referring to is purely chaste or platonic. A platonic touch is the best means to building broken bridges, creating new friendships, clearing misconceptions, and filling those gaps in a relationship where words would fail. Read on to know more about how a human touch has the immense potential to heal!

1. It Can Improve Overall Well-Being

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Haven’t we all experienced the sheer miracle of a hug? After a tiring day at school, rushing to your mommy for a hug is a feeling hard to forget. A hug works wonders both on the exterior as well as the interior part of our being. It has the potential to lower the blood pressure and heart rate (1). The magic of a hug is not transient, it is there to stay!

Science too backs this theory and it has been discovered that a comforting embrace can boost the immune system, bring one’s stress levels down as well soothe anxiety (2). Receiving a comforting hug from a beloved person can make you feel supported, comforted, and cheerful even in the most trying of times. So, if your loved one is feeling low, you surely know what therapy shall work!

2. It Is Crucial For Building Great Teams

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A pat on the back from your boss or peer for a good job is so uplifting, isn’t it? That reassuring handshake from your co-worker on your first day at the job can be so calming. Since we spend such a great part of our lives at work, it is very important for us to keep a healthy relationship with our colleagues. A positive atmosphere at work can only strengthen a team. It helps to improve the collective work efficiency, flow of ideas, and team spirit. So, the next time you see a colleague doing a great job, you surely know what to do!

3. It Can Create A Sense Of Security & Trust

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If a touch could make a machine come alive (read: touchscreen phones, computers, etc.) imagine the potential it has when given to humans! Mother’s touch is a known healer and it gives a child the security, comfort, courage, and confidence that it needs.

Often a simple handshake with a person tells us volumes about that person. Dr Tiffany Field, a leading researcher in the field of touch, stated that the significance of human touch begins from the moment we are born.

Additionally, in a 2010 study, scientists decided to test the power of human touch by studying volunteers through an MRI brain scanner. A blast of white noise was observed in the brain of those participants whose partners or loved ones weren’t touching them. On the other hand, the brains of the participants who were stroked or touched by their loved ones had no such response. The study concluded that touch had switched off a portion of the brain that would respond to stress (3).

4. It Calms A Person & Makes Them Less Violent

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It is a well-known fact that a child who gets ample attention in the form of a patient ear, gentle hug, and time from his parents is very likely to be calmer and less violent in comparison to children who are ignored. Children are particularly sensitive to emotions and often associate touch with affection. In fact, the children who receive such parenting usually grow up to be helpful, caring, and balanced adults. Thus, if you wish to have a violence-free society, you need to sow the seeds of happiness and positivity in your child first.

You would have known by now that a simple touch has more power than we realize. It can heal a broken soul and instil courage in a discouraged heart. A touch can make someone trust you and feel secure in your company – both of which happen to be the most precious gifts to give another human being.

A touch also has the potential to make a child grow up into a respectful, confident, secure, and happy adult. If we all raise such wonderful children, wouldn’t that make the world a better place to live in? Michel Angelo once said, “To touch can be to give life.” Truer words have yet to be spoken, we say!

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