7 Valuable Benefits of Touch
Touch is a physical expression of love, happiness and compassion. If you love in this way you will fill others all the while filling yourself.
BY SHERRIE CAMPBELL, PH.D.

iStockPhoto The power of touch can be an enormous bonding tool... be sure to touch your spouse. “ If you are snuggled today you will have a better tomorrow. The amazing benefits of touch are not confined to the moment.”

Touch has been shown to have long-lasting health benefits which are good for the brain and bonding. In fact, a study was done long ago that proved that if we are not touched as infants we can fail to survive. Touch is such an important part of every relationship we are in, whether it is that of a partner, a parent, a friend or a co-worker. Touch is an essential part of communication and connection.

Here are 7 amazing benefits to being a snuggle bug:

1. Affection calms and soothes. Touch immediately calms and soothes someone no matter their mood. Touch is grounding and brings us into the now. It does this because physical affection releases feel good hormones and puts us on an oxytocin high while decreasing cortisol. Oxytocin has been shown to reduce pain as well as settle our nerves. When we are in this state we can purely feel the emotion of love.

2. Snuggly couples have more longevity. Couples who are very touchy prove to have better sex lives. When we are affectionate we are in the constant action of feeling love internally and physically. Men have a primal need for sex in order to inspire them to give women they need emotionally, and women need to be stimulated emotionally to give sexually; so all the touching and cuddling in between creates a longer and stable sexual and emotional bond.

3. Touch is mutually beneficial. Snuggling and touching is as beneficial to the giver as it is to the receiver. All the changes in the hormones produced by touch bond us together in the same emotional and physical state, which gives us a shared experience of connection and compassion.

4. Touch increases trust. When we are touching someone we are showing our vulnerability. This vulnerability, soothed and reinforced by touch, increases our ability to trust someone more deeply. This creates deeper emotional bonds and connections in our relationships. Our children especially need our touch so they can develop the neuropathways for bonding and connection.

5. People who are touchy are seen as more confident. When someone is touchy and warm they are seen and experienced as more confident and grounded. This makes us feel safe and eager to connect with them because we like the way they make us feel.

6. Touchy people are happier in their relationships. People who are in love and also affectionate have less complaints about things lacking in their relationship. Because they are consistently bonding in this way, they feel a permanence and stability in their connection that stands the test of time—this is also shown in children, plants and animals. The more anything that has life is touched the more positive and happy these relationships and people will be.

7. Touch predicts better mood in the future. If you are snuggled today you will have a better tomorrow. The amazing benefits of touch are not confined to the moment. Touchiness impacts mood for days after. Even the memory of being snuggled can increase mood. Snuggle your kids and your other loved ones as much as possible and help them to have snuggle-energy to last a lifetime.

Touch is the easiest and most direct way to express our love. For those who do not like or engage in physical affection, they tend to have depression, weight problems and a difficult time connecting. Touch is simply an expression of love, and love is the fuel we need to make our lives work. If you feel low on fuel make sure you get some snuggle time.

Dr. Sherrie Campbell is an author and a licensed psychologist with more than 19 years of clinical training and experience. She provides practical tools to help people overcome obstacles to self-love and truly achieve an empowered life. She is a featured regularly on national online media and has a successful practice in Southern California. Receive free insights from Sherrie through her Facebook community. For more information visit www.sherriecampbellphd.com.

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