The Importance of Touch

‘You can see without being seen, hear without being heard,
Taste without being tasted and smell without being smelled…
But you cannot touch without being touched

Clyde Ford

‘You can see without being seen, hear without being heard,
Taste without being tasted and smell without being smelled…
But you cannot touch without being touched

Humans love to be touched. It’s an undeniable fact and it doesn’t matter if it’s a hug or massage, touch is one of the most important things you can give to your body and psyche.
Skin on skin contact can be a potent way to support your health, lowering blood pressure and heart rate, boosting immune systems and providing pain relief. As we all know, it also helps us feel less stressed and anxious.
From a very early age, babies crave being held and touched. Studies have shown that without skin on skin contact as a baby, our immune systems can suffer. Babies who haven’t experienced enough touch and general affection often can be susceptible to illnesses.
It’s a sad fact of life that many adults can go many days without direct skin on skin contact – even if we’re in a relationship, we can sometimes be too busy or working odd hours and neglect this basic need. Touch is something we often forget about and nowadays people are even more careful and resistant to show emotions through it.
We are living in large cities, trying to do more we often forget to stop and think about what really do we need ? Is it more money, more work, more friends on Facebook, more new smart devices or perhaps it is the connection which we could get through touch. Because of a lack of this prime need, we compensate with other things, which are not really important and actually won’t make us happy.
It is vitally important to get our fix of touch. Anyone who has regular massages can tell you that if you’re feeling stressed and anxious, a massage will calm you. Sometimes it’s all you need, and the relaxation effect is a physical reaction to the contact you get from your massage therapist.
Being massaged makes your muscles unclench, reduces blood pressure and cortisol levels (the stress hormone). When you are relaxed, your body has the breathing space to recharge your batteries so that you’ll feel infinitely better afterwards.
Research backs this up; the immune function of healthy adults who got either a 45-minute Swedish massage or 45 minutes of lighter touch were measured and the group who enjoyed a massage were found to have significantly higher numbers of white blood cells – including the cells which help the body fight viruses.
So can a massage stop you catching a cold? Scientists have stopped short of saying so but it does appear that regular skin to skin contact through massage can play a part in keeping your immune system healthy and fighting off bugs.
A massage helps you feel good, improves your mental and physical wellbeing and boosts your immune system and its fun. What’s not to like ?

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