It comes as no surprise that here at GLS we are big advocates for the importance of touch in our lives. Numerous scientific studies confirm how important it is and how nowadays, during the Covid pandemic we are not getting enough, and how that impacts us negatively. These are the focus points of this very interesting documentary we came across on Arte.tv and would like to share with you today.

(subtitles available in: German, English, Italian, Spanish, French)

Here are a few key takeaways from the documentary:

– Touch is our first way of communicating, of knowing we are not alone and belong in a community. It goes deeper at expressing love and empathy than words or facial expressions.

– An experiment from the Haptik Lab in Leipzig shows what happens during and after a massage session: brain waves slow down and we enter a state of relaxation similar to that of deep sleep; hormones and neurotransmitters are released, heart rate slows down, muscles relax, breathing becomes calmer.

– A special type of nerve fibre has been discovered, whose only task is to respond to gentle touch. These nerves stimulate areas of the brain that process positive feelings, consideration of others and self-perception. This is essentially why we find massage so pleasurable!

– Two special kinds of hormones released though touch are endorphins and oxytocin. Endorphins are also known as the „happy hormone“ and oxytocin has a calming effect, promotes growth and stimulates the immune system. Couples with higher level of oxytocin are shown to live longer, have higher pain tolerance, be less stressed, have lower blood pressure and have higher capacity for learning.

– Data from insurance companies since the beginning of the pandemic show an increase in sick notes due to mental illnesses such as depression, anxiety and addictions. The increase in addictions in particular could be interpreted as an unconscious way to deal with a lack of touch and social interactions.

– It is also proven that a lack of touch has the same negative health consequences as nicotine or alcohol addiction. Researchers also think that we need touch on a regular basis, and the less you get touched the less you enjoy being touched, thus seeking touch less and less; making it harder to restore these signals and sensations.

– But it’s never too late: like every other sense, our sense of touch also decreases with age, but at the same time the pleasure we get from it actually increases as we get older!

If you want to reap the benefits of touch in your life, and spread them to the ones you love, you might be interested in joining one of our next workshops: we have an exciting 4 module massage practitioner training that will give you all the knowledge you need to be the best masseur in town; joining only for the first module is also possible.

Or, if you want to go for a full immersion join us for our summer events in August: Summer Evolution and Summer Eros; two separate events for a total of 10 intense days full of bodies to touch and be touched by, among other delights.

Feel free to reach out via email at info@gaylovespirit.org for any questions.