Get your daily dose of TOUCH
The Importance of TOUCH
Are you getting your daily dose of touch? Yes, I said daily! Just like vitamins, water, sleep, you need touch. Dr. Tiffany Field at the Touch Research Institute at the University of Miami says touch is essential to our growth and well-being. She also cites that in every study they have conducted in relation to a variety of health issues or conditions, massage (educated, well-intentioned touch) has been helpful.
Something that has come to our awareness as we come out of Covid-19 isolation and begin to socialize once again, is how desperately touch-deprived we were, especially if you lived alone, and didn’t have a pod of friends or family you were in physical contact with. Pets certainly helped to ease the deprivation because petting your animals and cuddling with them has the same effects as hugging, holding and caressing humans. How much touch do you need? Studies of touch deprived babies in Romanian orphanages, showed that without touch, they exhibited all signs of malnourishment (even though they were getting the recommended daily dose of formula), and that when touch (massage and human interaction) was introduced it took as little as 5 min. 3x a day to reverse the signs of malnourishment. That’s 15 minutes of absolutely essential touch we all need to survive. To thrive, 15 min. 3x a day helps premature infants survive, gain more weight, and be released from the hospital 7-10 days sooner than infants that don’t receive massage.
Many psychologists recommend 8 hugs a day. Family therapist Virginia Satir once said, “We need four hugs a day for survival. We need 8 hugs a day for maintenance. We need 12 hugs a day for growth.” Hug your partner, hug your kids, hug your aging parents, hug your pets. We all need touch, and Hugs give us touch and so much more. Touch and Hugs communicate that you matter, that you’re important. Touch and Hugs relax our nervous system and reduce stress. Touch and Hugs stimulate our “feel good” hormones. Touch and Hugs boost our immune system. How long to hug someone? 20-30 seconds is recommended for full potency.
With touch our skin and the nerve receptors are being stimulated. If you live alone and don’t have the opportunity to get touch from others or are still practicing Covid-19 safety protocols of social distancing, you can provide your own self-touch. Yoga and exercise move the skin and stimulate those receptors. Practice some daily yoga and exercise. Give yourself a hug, wrap your arms around yourself, hold tight for 20 seconds, perhaps even imagine or recall a hug you received from someone else, then release the hold and massage down your arms to your hands. Give yourself a massage, with daily Ayurvedic Abianga warm (sesame or coconut) oil massage. See my YouTube video for instructions.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAp1AodJ3Hc&t=11s
Give yourself some spa treatments at home, like daily dry brushing or a salt or sugar scrub in the shower.
Of course, getting a professional massage is one of the most effective ways to receive your needed dose of touch. And, since you need it daily, the more often you can receive a one hour or ninety-minute massage the better. What about a daily massage? Bob Hope received daily massage for many years, especially when traveling on the road doing USO shows. He lived to 100 years old and was still playing golf nearly until the end of his life. While in massage school, students often receive daily massage and it offers numerous health benefits as they learn to connect to their bodymind, increase kinesthetic awareness, and experience the benefits of the service they are learning to offer others. I have a personal wellness goal to practice daily yoga and to receive daily massages for health, vitality and longevity. I love the variety of different kinds and modalities available, so my dream is to set up a routine of sampling these on a regular rotating basis for example: if it’s Tuesday, Thai massage, and Wednesday, Swedish; Thursday, Tui Na, Friday, Hot Stone, Saturday, Craniosacral, Sunday, Deep Tissue, etc. Regularity is the key with movement, touch and massage. Your BodyMind will come to expect it and depend on it. Just like regular exercise, receiving regular touch has cumulative long-lasting benefits.
