Touch
We are rather reluctant to touch, but when touched, you can feel an emotion run through you. If a girl walks by and runs her fingers across your back, a massive sensation occurs. However, if I run my hand across my back, almost no emotion occurs. Running your own hand across your back creates almost no sensation whilst a girl running her hand creates a swirl of emotions that may remain in your memory for a long time. The magnitude of the emotional cocktail depends on who ran their hand across your back. This suggests that the brain creates the emotion in response to the perceive level of interest in the toucher. This may come from our reptile past. A touching encounter for a reptile could indicate that his reason for living was about to spring into action. The emotion is not created by the magnitude of the rub, but by the perceived influence of the touch. If the reptile is ‘about to get lucky’, the touch is very exciting. If the touch is a tree or branch, the touch creates no emotion. If a touch is likely to lead to a romantic relationship, the touch is highly exciting. If the touch of similar magnitude occurs when an old lady is rushing to the bus, there is very little excitement generated by the touch.
Yet again, it is the reptile brain that is creating the signals corresponding to what it believes is useful for your survival — mating. We must remember that in the animal kingdom, the only task of males is to chase females. They have no other purpose in life.
Touch tends to signal connection between people. It creates affectionate feelings and trust. Newborns require a mother’s touch to thrive.
Some comment on touch in reptile mating.
- The direct touch is used by lizards to create a close bond.
Some comments on touch in humans:
- The need for human touch is one of our most basic, primal needs. [*]
- Touch deprivation is correlated with negative health outcomes such as anxiety, depression, and immune system disorders. [*]
- Ways to address touch deprivation include massage therapy, pets, and weighted blankets. [*]
- Much has been written in the media about the limits that social distancing has placed on single people’s sexual activity. … What’s largely been missed is a … more fundamental need: the need for human touch. [*]
- The research demonstrating the need for human touch is vast. From a developmental standpoint, infants cannot survive without human touch. Skin-to-skin contact in the first hour after birth has been shown to help regulate newborns’ temperature, heart rate, and breathing, and decreases crying [*]. Touch also increases mothers’ relaxation hormones and aids in the release of oxytocin. A now-famous study examined the sensory deprivation of children in understaffed orphanages in Romania [*]. The touch-deprived children, the authors found, had strikingly lower cortisol and growth development levels for their age group. [*]
Harry Harlow was trained as a psychologist. In 1930, he was employed at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He conducted some monkey experiments which demonstrated the need for touch. For his experiments, Harry Harlow (1958) separated infant rhesus monkeys from their mothers. Harry Harlow created surrogate mothers for these baby monkeys. One mother would be made from metal with metal nipples that supplied milk. Another cuddly mother was made from wool. Harlow found the surrogates satisfied different needs of the rhesus infants. The wire surrogate satisfied the infants’ need for food. However, when Harry made a loud noise to frighten the infants, they ran to the fluffy surrogate for comfort.
Harry Harlow found that the monkeys spent far more time next snuggled against the cloth ‘mother’ than they spent with the wire “mother” even though the metal ‘mother’ was the only one with food. Food may be necessary for survival, but touch is what sustains us.
In subsequent experiments, Harry Harlow showed that the fluffy surrogate mother acted as a secure base from which rhesus infants could explore their unfamiliar environment. The infants would explore the environment and return to the surrogate for comfort if startled. However, when the infants were placed in the new environment without a surrogate, they would not explore but rather lie on the floor, paralyzed, rocking back and forth, sucking their thumbs.
Later in his career, Harry Harlow carried out another controversial study, He cultivated young monkeys in isolation chambers for up to twenty-four months. The infant monkeys emerged from isolation deeply disturbed.
Since Harry’s experiments, we now know that poor health outcomes result from touch deprivation. It has been found that touch calms our nervous center and slows down our heartbeat. Human touch also lowers blood pressure as well as cortisol, the stress hormone. Touch also triggers the release of oxytocin, a hormone that promotes emotional bonding to others.
‘Attachment Theory’ suggests that an infant is born with the need to have contact with their primary caregiver in the first few months of their life [Colman, 2001]. When the need for touch is achieved, the infant develops a secure attachment style. If the need is not met, the infant may develop an attachment disorder.
In the current era, his experiments would be considered unethical.
Yesterday, in Odesa, I gave free hugs separately, to three girls. I could tell from their look that they were grateful for the lingering support. Their parting smile contained warmth.
Touch and the Immune System
Our immune response also appears to be influenced by touch. Humans who are deprived of touch are more likely to suffer from immune system diseases. It is ironic that during a pandemic when our immune systems are being stressed, we are being deprived of human touch that is essential to its function.
In simple terms: Physical touch is a fundamental human need. It is essential for emotional, mental, and physical health. It helps bonding, reduces stress, and boosts our immune function. Touch regulates cortisol, increases oxytocin, and is critical for early development. Touch is needed for long-term well-being. Lack of touch can lead to anxiety and depression.