A loving and caring touch shows not just how important this person is to you, but also undeniably comforts you during hard times, sickness, or if you’re in pain. It turns out that there is an explanation for this. A recent study has the answer to why human touch can be so powerful and help like medicine.
We at Bright Side also got curious and decided to understand how it works.
© The Dressmaker / Universal Pictures
As incredible as it sounds, having a romantic partner hold your hand holding when you are in pain causes you to start suffering less and feel less discomfort. This can be called “love medicine,” and it can cure and heal. But let’s find out how it works and explain the mechanism of this easy remedy since scientists haven’t just claimed this as fact, but have actually explained the way it works.
© The Girl and Death / Algemene Vereniging Radio Omroep
All we need is love and sincere human touch. Goldstein, a psychologist that was studying the power of human touch, discovered that there was a new side of love and decided to do an experiment with his wife during the birth of his daughter. Later, more than 20 couples were tested in a lab over the course of one year.
It turns out that just being close to each other, even without touch, caused brain wave synchronicity that increased the most when couples held hands while the laboring woman was in pain. Electroencephalography helped to actually measure this brainwave activity.
© Friends / Warner Brothers Television
Interestingly, they discovered one more important thing: “It appears that pain totally interrupts this interpersonal synchronization between couples and touch brings it back.”
So let’s not be afraid to touch our partner gently when he or she is in any pain. Your healing touch can ease suffering and will even prevent any disease from breaking the synchronization and connection between the 2 of you.
© Me Before You / New Line Cinema
You can try it right now if you’re in any pain. Just take the hand of your partner and hold it for a while. Maybe you notice that your heart rate and breathing are synchronizing. You might not feel it, but it happens! And it’s not just your heart rate and breath, but your brainwave patterns also sync up.
You can even double the effect by feeling more empathy for your sick partner. Comforting them with feelings help them to attain the best results. The more you are synchronized, the more this works.
Have you ever noticed that resisting pain becomes easier when a person who you love touches you? Leave your comment below and share your experience and opinion.