{"id":358663,"date":"2010-02-24T08:29:22","date_gmt":"2010-02-24T13:29:22","guid":{"rendered":"tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e54fc8012e883301310f33f44c970c"},"modified":"2010-02-24T08:32:03","modified_gmt":"2010-02-24T13:32:03","slug":"the-research-behind-the-benefits-of-a-little-touch-high-fives-a-pat-on-the-back-a-touch-of-the-arm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/358663","title":{"rendered":"The Research Behind the Benefits of a Little Touch – High-Fives, a Pat on the Back, a Touch of the Arm"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Patontheback\"<\/img><\/a> <\/p>\n

“Researchers have begun to focus on a different, often more subtle kind of wordless communication: Physical contact.\u00a0 Momentary touches, they say–whether an exuberant high five, a warm hand on the shoulder, or a creepy touch to the arm–can communicate an even wider range of emotion than gestures or expressions, and sometimes do so more quickly and accurately than words.”<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

“It is the first languag<\/strong>e we learn, our richest means of emotional expression throughout life.”<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

–Mind: Evidence That Little Touches Do Mean So Much<\/a>, by Benedict Carey, New York Times<\/strong>, February 23, 2010-<\/p>\n

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If you are receiving this via email, click here <\/a>to go to the web version of this post to get all the links.<\/p>\n

A few weeks ago one of the research psychologists where I work told me that everyone in her department is convinced about the power of massage.\u00a0 And not for relieving muscle aches.\u00a0 She said massage produces so many positive hormones–like oxytocin–and lowers negative ones–like cortisol, that she considers it preventive medicine, not a luxury.\u00a0 <\/p>\n

She has a monthly standing appointment for herself–having seen the tremendous benefits of massage on patients with chronic pain and heart failure.<\/p>\n

I’ve been sharing her story with all my friends–and after reading Benedict Carey’s story on the benefits of touch<\/a> in yesterday’s New York Times<\/strong>–I’m sharing both, with you.\u00a0 Read Carey’s short piece, and I guarantee you won’t think about a hand on the shoulder in the same way ever again.<\/p>\n

The Research on Touch<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n