The Best Gift for Your Kids is Free
Have you ever thought about what a loving touch does for your child? Or your spouse? Or a close friend?By contrast, have you ever considered the effect that the absence of regular touch can have on one's emotions? Did you know that touch, and the social contact with a loved one which accompanies it, are an important part of every person's physical and emotional health?
Consider this:
- Gentle touch has been shown to facilitate physical and psychological functioning, particularly in terms of reducing stress, relieving pain, increasing the ability to cope, and general health ratings.
- Skin-to-skin contact between mother and infant has been shown to benefit the baby's physical development and contributes to a positive attachment relationship between the two. The practice of placing a diaper-clad infant skin-to-skin on the mother is so beneficial that it is now an intervention strategy for premature babies in neonatal intensive care units worldwide.
- A group of Korean infants under the care of an orphanage were provided with an extra 15 minutes of stimulation twice a day, 5 days a week, for 4 weeks. The additional stimulation consisted of auditory (female voice), tactile (massage), and visual (eye-to-eye contact). Compared to the infants who only received regular care, the stimulated orphans gained significantly more weight and had larger increases in body length and head circumference after the 4 week intervention period, as well as at 6 months of age. In addition, the stimulated infants had fewer illnesses and clinic visits.
- Participants in a study examining the effectiveness of therapeutic touch as a treatment for managing pain due to fibromyalgia experienced a significant decrease in pain and reported a significant improvement in quality of life.
- The majority of nursing home residents suffering from dementia like Alzheimer's disease develop behavioural symptoms of dementia, such as restlessness, searching and wandering, tapping and banging, pacing and walking, and vocalization. Current treatment involves drugs, but a recent study showed that intervention consisting of therapeutic touch significantly reduces these behavioural symptoms. Impressive is that the therapeutic touch employed in the study was only provided twice per day, for three days. Each therapeutic intervention lasted only 5-7 minutes.
Cleary, the importance of touch cannot be underestimated. Applying this knowledge in your closest relationships can make all the difference with your health. So we offer this strong suggestion to all of our Members and Friends who are reading this Bulletin.
Stop reading as soon as you've seen these next five steps.
- Go find a handy loved one.
- Give them a hug, whether they want it or not (actually, they will).
- If they ask you why, tell them you don't need a reason.
- Walk away, and notice the warm feeling in the room that's there now just because of what you did.
- Realize that several hundred (or perhaps even thousands) of other people in our Group are doing the same thing you just did, and at the same time.
- Consider the impact all of you just had on families all around the world.
- You may now resume your previous activity.
Can you honestly think of anything more important to do over the next 60 seconds?
Best wishes from your volunteer friends at
