The Power of Touch

Michelangelo said, “To touch can be to give life”.

“A babies first language is touch.

Skin to skin time during the first hour of birth regulates a baby’s heart rate, temperature, breathing, and they cry less. Infant massage improves sleep patterns, digestion and elimination, reduces fussiness, and improves neurological function.” Stanford School of Medicine

I have read about orphanages in the late 1920’s that had almost a 100% mortality rate for children under the age of two. Those that did survive had been taken out of the facility for periods of time with relatives or foster parents. Hopeless cases of ailing children were often given to an older nurse, who gave them much needed touch and attention that in the end saved their lives.

“Studies show that adults experience physiological effects of touch, that include the immune system being strengthened, the heart rate and blood pressure are lowered, circulation increases, and pain, stress and anxiety are reduced.” Green Child Magazine

Sounds to me like a cure all for much of what ails us. What do you think?

Specific examples of touch come to mind starting with the breast feeding of babies, and special memories of bedtimes filled with hugs, cuddles, and prayers with our little ones. Then I thought of my friend Kris who visits nursing homes, giving ladies a caring touch as she and her friends paint nails and give hand massages.

I remembered my past experiences in church offering prayers for healing with the laying on of hands or passing the Peace during services.

Noam Shpancer in Psychology Today writes “Touch is important for adult communication and well-being. Touch deprivation has been linked to negative mental health, including negative body image in females, greater violence and aggression in adolescents, increased anxiety and overall lower quality of life.”

Studies of sports teams have even shown that frequent touch results in greater levels of trust and cooperation among players.

Embracing, hugging or kissing are also ways we communicate affection, passion and intimacy in romantic relationships.

An article in Greater Good Magazine on The Science of Touch asks, “Do we take touch for granted? Touch is our primary language of compassion and is linked to feelings of reward and compassion. It soothes.”

In her article Humans: Wired for Touch in Psychology Today, Mylea Charvat, Ph.D. states, “Loneliness stems from a lack of both physical and social interaction that can lead to cognitive decline, depression and sleep issues.”

As we walk this earth with family, friends, and strangers, I pray the Holy Spirit will reveal to us those who long for a simple human touch, a hug, a kind word, or even a prayer.

May we recognize and show compassion for the child in our class who is insecure and scared, the senior citizen living alone, a widow struggling with grief, the teen who is bullied, a single mom needing encouragement, or the dad exhausted from working two jobs to provide for his family.

From birth to death, we need to experience touch in our lives each and every day. Read that again…each and every day!

That occasional pat on the back, hand holding, hug or smooch contributes in a positive way to both our physical and mental health. We are doing something that is beneficial to both the giver and the receiver. Let’s not take touch for granted. Do we need more touch than what we are receiving? Have we said so? Do we greet family and friends with a hug or handshake?

Our stressful chaotic world is full of people who are in need of physical touch. Like all of us, they need to know they are loved and cared for every day.

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.  Colossians 3:12

The power of touch is life giving and full of compassion.