8 Reasons Why You Need To Experience Physical Touch Every Day

Touch-one of the five senses without which we wouldn’t be able to perform normally.

When we touch other people, we feel connected with them and enjoy the feeling of closeness.

Touch is something which doesn’t only help us to physically sense things, but to connect with others and express our opinions and feelings as well.

The second thing may sound a little bit strange, right? Well, I’m guessing that there are many who haven’t thought of the idea that we use touch to communicate.

Yeah. We use it as a mean to communicate our emotions, ideas and sometimes even fears to another person nonverbally. For example, when your boyfriend/girlfriends touches you, it shows their affection and physical attraction to you. Then, when a little kid touches its mum, it’s a sign that the kid needs to know that it’s safe and to feel its mother’s warmth and closeness.

Touch can create and transmit different feelings. When a friend, a family member or your partner touches you, they show their affection and that they care about you and find you close. Similarly, if they touch you, when you’re sharing your problems, worries or sadness with them, the touch expresses their empathy, support, and encouragement.

It’s interesting that even the touch of a stranger won’t leave you indifferent. Imagine you’re walking on a street and someone touches you on the shoulder. How would this make you feel? You can feel afraid, confused or surprised, but nevertheless, you’ll feel something.

How important touch is can be seen in the fact that scientists have produced a haptic device which allows people at distance to feel another person’s touch. These devices transmit touch sensations from the sender, who wears such a device, to the skin of the receiver. Yet, I believe we can all agree that the real physical touch can’t be replaced with a virtual one.

The importance of the sense of touch is indisputable and people need to feel it on a daily basis.

You need to experience physical touch every day due to the following 8 reasons:

1. It has a comforting effect.

Who doesn’t want to be comforted when they’re going through a rough time? Yeah, that’s right. We all need it. When someone gives you a hug or just put their hand on yours, they want you to know you’re not alone. They want to show you that you can count on their help and support. Their hug is what makes you feel safe and protected and you know you won’t have to deal with your problems by yourself.

So, if you see someone who looks like they’re down in the dumps, hug them-trust me, it’ll do them good and they’ll appreciate it.

2. It connects you with other people.

Try to remember the last time you were together with your boyfriend/girlfriend. When they caressed your hand, face or hair and kissed you, didn’t this make you feel the strong connection between the two of you?

Touch helps you create closeness and bonds with other people. It makes others aware of your existence, feelings and warmth as well.

3. It is a fundamental need.

How can we live without touch? It was the first thing we felt when we were born. Babies need their mother’s touch to feel protected and secure and to develop properly.

Adults need it too. Anyone would feel empty and desolate without the touch of the close ones. When a person important to you touches or kisses you, you know you’re not alone. You feel their energy and support through their touch.

4. It helps you to communicate.

It’s not only words we can use so as to convey messages to others. Touch can do this too. When someone wants to share a joke, a lie, sexual innuendo or something that should be kept as a secret with you, they touch you so as to make you understand the real message behind these. It makes the communication easier and more interesting.

You can even sometimes find out the intentions of a person. For example, imagine you see someone you know and they refuse to shake hands with you, what would you think? You’ll certainly know that the person doesn’t really find you likable or maybe they see you as a threat to their success. For sure, you’ll take this as a sign of disrespect.

So, don’t forget that touch can reveal our emotions and mental state of mind as no words can.

5. It offers you feelings of intimacy.

Touch is what brings partners closer and makes their relationship deeper and alive. You use touch because it’s the best way you can express your emotions to your partner and words often can’t achieve that effect. When you feel your partner’s touch on your skin, you sense their heartbeats and the warmth of their skin. It’s definitely something worth living for.

6. It helps you send and receive positive energy.

Our bodies transmit energy. Have you ever felt that feeling when you shook hands with someone (they can even be someone you met for the first time), and you felt positive vibes?

Well, that’s why touch is so powerful. If you touch a person when you feel excited, happy or content, that person will immediately feel your positive energy. The same thing happens the other way round.

7. It enables you to get what you want.

I’m sure that many times, you felt that the person you were talking to looked like he wasn’t paying attention to your words. Well, touch is a very useful way in which you can attract someone’s attention. If you find yourself in a similar situation again, just touch them on their hand or shoulder and you’ll be amazed to see what effect this will have on them.

8. It has a healing effect.

Did you know that touch has a healing power?

It can help you recover from both bodily and mental traumatic experiences. Therapists have used touch with chiropractic and massage therapy and acupressure. In this way, touch relieves the pain and stress that a person is struggling with.

Even the touch from a person close to you can help you heal your emotional and bodily wounds. For example, when you’re going through a disease, breakup or you’ve lost someone close to you, a single touch from a person you love will soothe your pain.

Touch can heal parts of you that even the best doctors and contemporary medicine can’t.             

Image: Ma_Co2013