The Vital Importance of Human Touch

Human touch is a primal need that is often overlooked in our busy modern society. During the pandemic, in particular, many people felt isolated and lacked crucial connections with others and human touch, which plays an essential role in our physical and emotional well-being. As LMT Mikki Williams at Rassel-Daigneault Holistic Health Center said, “human touch is often overlooked in our society. It’s seen as something unimportant.”

The Power of Comforting Contact

From soothing a child’s scraped knee to comforting those battling chronic pain and illness, the human instinct to use touch for healing spans all demographics.

How Infants and Children Can Benefit

Touch is especially crucial for the healthy development of infants and children. Studies have found that skin-to-skin contact between mothers and newborns helps regulate the baby’s heartbeat, temperature, and breathing.

Unfortunately, as Mikki noted, “In many of our country’s foster care systems, children are being given their physical needs without any human touch or emotional connection to a caregiver. And that quickly impacts the cortisol levels and drastically impacts their blood pressure.”

What One Study Found

According to Mikki, a study was done in Romania with orphans that compared children who were touched and received human contact from caregivers to children who were touch-deprived. The study found that children who were with caregivers and received touch had improved temperature, heart rate, and breathing patterns and spent less time crying compared to the children who were touch-deprived. This study helped demonstrate the importance of human touch for development and emotional well-being.

Touch Deprivation in Adults

Adults also suffer when deprived of a caring human touch. Mikki shared the story of a client, a recent widow, who began crying during her massage. The woman said it was the first time someone had touched her in over a year. After getting regular massages, “she became her true self again, a different person from just being touched.”

The Healing Power of Massage

Massage therapy provides a safe, healthy way for touch-deprived individuals to experience the healing power of touch. As Mikki observed:

“I get to see how much their confidence and their calmness increases with massage therapy… if you can’t get consent from other people, one of the best ways to get therapeutic calming human touch is through massage therapy. Or if that’s not your thing, you can get your hair done or get a pedicure.”