Many people feel that it feels good with physical touch of some kind, a pat on the arm, massage or a hug. Now researchers have gone through the research available in the field – over 200 studies – and find that physical touch has a number of benefits. Touch reduces pain, lowers stress levels and is linked to increased weight gain in newborns. The researchers also looked at what happened if the physical touch came from a robot, or from the pressure of blankets and found that it has the same beneficial effect. However, we seem to feel better mentally if we are touched by another human being. However, it does not matter if it is something we feel that touches us. Care workers, a partner or a close friend had the same effect. The exception was for newborn babies, where health benefits were greater when they were touched by their parents than by others. Physical touch reduces the brain’s production of the hormone cortisol, which among other things regulates stress. In the study, the strongest effect was seen for anxiety, feelings of depression, fatigue and pain. The best effect on adults was touch such as head massage, according to the study. The study, which is a so-called meta-analysis, is published in the journal Nature human behaviour.
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