We bond through physical touch. Skin is the largest organ in your body and sends good and bad touch sensations to your brain. When you engage in pleasant touch, like a hug, your brain releases a hormone called oxytocin. This makes you feel good and firms up emotional and social bonds while lowering anxiety and fear.
Touch starvation refers to a sense of longing for physical contact. Humans are social creatures, and touch plays an important role in development and communication. For some people, the deprivation of human touch may result in negative mental health effects.
Touch starvation occurs when you go without skin-to-skin contact for long periods. Over time, it can impact your mental health and well-being. Being touch starved — aka touch deprived or skin hungry — can happen when you have had little to no touch from other living things. As humans, we're wired to crave touch.
How many hugs do we need? 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.” While that may sound like a lot of hugs, it seems that many hugs are better than not enough.
If you do, know that it is entirely natural. In fact, humans are wired to have a need for physical contact. Being touch starved is also known as touch deprivation or skin hunger and it is more common than you think; to experience little to no touch from other living things.
“When we hug someone, that physical contact releases a hormone in the body called oxytocin,” she told the ABC. “Oxytocin makes us feel warm and nice. It makes us feel relaxed, feel positive. So psychologically we feel like we can trust a person, we feel warm towards a person and we can feel that love effect.
Key points. 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.
The need for affection solidifies our desire to know we are compatible with another human being, even if the relationship is on the friendship or familial level. It creates a sense of harmony in a relationship, especially when it is an intimate one, according to about.com.
Cuddling releases oxytocin and promotes positive emotions. It's no surprise that affectionate touch behaviors release oxytocin, fondly known as the “cuddle hormone.” Oxytocin is a natural love hormone that helps us feel closer to our partners.
Hugs release oxytocin
Oxytocin is often called the “love hormone,” and it's released when we cuddle or bond. It's the reason why being hugged feels so good. So when you're feeling down, give someone a squeeze and feel your mood lift.
What is haphephobia? Haphephobia (haf-uh-FOE-bee-uh) is an intense, overwhelming fear of being touched. Many people don't like being touched by strangers. But haphephobia is significant distress over being touched by anyone, even family or friends.
Being around the one you love and getting to kiss or cuddle them releases oxytocin. Oxytocin, which has been called the "love hormone," is the thing that makes you feel all lovely inside about your partner and can make you want to invade their personal space even more.
There's a physiological reason physical touch is so enjoyable: That skin-to-skin contact triggers the release of certain hormones associated with pleasure and bonding, explains licensed marriage and family therapist Kiaundra Jackson, LMFT, of KW Couples Therapy.
When people hug for 20 seconds or more, the feel-good hormone oxytocin is released which creates a stronger bond and connection between the huggers. Oxytocin has been shown to boost the immune system and reduce stress.
Hugging for at least 10 seconds at a time releases oxytocin, a hormone which helps your body fight infections, boost your immune system and eases depression. Until recently, oxytocin was thought to only be a hormone released during childbirth and through breast feeding.
Hugging increases serotonin, a neurotransmitter known as the "feel good" hormone that is produced and spread by neurons in the brain. Serotonin helps us feel happy, calm, and confident. When serotonin flows freely, we feel good about ourselves — and the opposite is true when this hormone is absent.
You may desire love so much because it can be considered a human need. If you don't receive enough love and affection in your life, it might make you feel abandoned, lonely, emotionally wounded, and empty.
Never be embarrassed for craving physical intimacy.
It is absolutely normal to want it but this is where you need to place your bets smartly. Don't put yourself in situations you would rather avoid and no hearts will be broken, including your own.
Shake their hand warmly for a few seconds before letting go. If it's a casual situation, try going in for a high five, or a fist bump, instead of clasping the other person's hand. Cutting the hugger off before they reach you is an effective, last-minute solution for avoiding an upcoming hug.
Remember touch is essential and there is no substitution for a great big hug! As author and family therapist Virginia Satir once said, “We need four hugs a day for survival. We need eight hugs a day for maintenance. We need 12 hugs a day for growth”.