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Touch
Why we need a daily dose of touch: an investigation of the effects of touch on our physical and mental well-being. Although the therapeutic benefits of touch have become increasingly clear, American society, claims Tiffany Field, is dangerously touch-deprived. Many schools have "no touch" policies; the isolating effects of Internet-driven work and life can leave us hungry for tactile experience. In this book Field explains why we may need a daily dose of touch.
The first sensory input in life comes from the sense of touch while a baby is still in the womb, and touch continues to be the primary means of learning about the world throughout infancy and well into childhood. Touch is critical, too, for adults' physical and mental health. Field describes studies showing that touch therapy can benefit everyone, from premature infants to children with asthma to patients with conditions that range from cancer to eating disorders.
This second edition of Touch, revised and updated with the latest research, reports on new studies that show the role of touch in early development, in communication (including the reading of others' emotions), in personal relationships, and even in sports. It describes the physiological and biological effects of touch, including areas of the brain affected by touch, and the effects of massage therapy on prematurity, attentiveness, depression, pain, and immune functions. Touch has been shown to have positive effects on growth, brain waves, breathing, and heart rate, and to decrease stress and anxiety. As Field makes clear, we enforce our society's touch taboo at our peril.
The first sensory input in life comes from the sense of touch while a baby is still in the womb, and touch continues to be the primary means of learning about the world throughout infancy and well into childhood. Touch is critical, too, for adults' physical and mental health. Field describes studies showing that touch therapy can benefit everyone, from premature infants to children with asthma to patients with conditions that range from cancer to eating disorders.
This second edition of Touch, revised and updated with the latest research, reports on new studies that show the role of touch in early development, in communication (including the reading of others' emotions), in personal relationships, and even in sports. It describes the physiological and biological effects of touch, including areas of the brain affected by touch, and the effects of massage therapy on prematurity, attentiveness, depression, pain, and immune functions. Touch has been shown to have positive effects on growth, brain waves, breathing, and heart rate, and to decrease stress and anxiety. As Field makes clear, we enforce our society's touch taboo at our peril.
264 pages, Paperback
Published October 10, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
August 3, 2019
Tiffany Field shows us the importance of touch throughout our lives -- how it can affect physical and cognitive development in children, and how it can make or break our health. Must-read on a relatively taboo subject in American society.
February 5, 2021
Great book, the science behind the ancient art of the laying on of hands. Tiffany Field compiled research that shows how many ailments experienced in society today could be relieved through moderate pressure massage, by stimulating the right internal biochemistry to promote the happier hormones and immune system, whilst lessening stress and depression..
May 26, 2019
A phenomenal must-read book for everyone about the importance of touch!
April 7, 2017
Don't tickle people, give the a firm back rub. Our skin is our largest organ, but touch is still the least studied sensory system. The information about our social standing and the safety of our environment is largely calculated based on the amount of touch we get.
Convincing your mind, the it live in a society will the lowest existential threat in history, is hindered by the taboo on touch. Our immune system, hormones, and neuron transmitters are therefore out of sunk with reality. The desire to be touched tries to be fulfilled under other guises.
I'm quoting
Touch Therapies by Another Name
Many touch therapies go by another name. As Diane Ackerman notes in A Natural History of the Senses, “Touch is so powerful a healer that we go to professional touchers (doctors, hairdressers, masseuses, dance instructors, cosmeticians, barbers, gynecologists, chiropodists, tailors, back manipulators, prostitutes and manicurists) and frequent employers of touch—discotheques, shoeshine stands and mud baths.”19 It seems that as our culture places more restrictions on touch within human relationships, alternative forms of touch become more popular. It is as if we needed a minimum of touch for our emotional well-being and physical wellness, so we find acceptable ways, and sometimes functional ways (e.g., going to the hairdresser) of being touched.
Convincing your mind, the it live in a society will the lowest existential threat in history, is hindered by the taboo on touch. Our immune system, hormones, and neuron transmitters are therefore out of sunk with reality. The desire to be touched tries to be fulfilled under other guises.
I'm quoting
Touch Therapies by Another Name
Many touch therapies go by another name. As Diane Ackerman notes in A Natural History of the Senses, “Touch is so powerful a healer that we go to professional touchers (doctors, hairdressers, masseuses, dance instructors, cosmeticians, barbers, gynecologists, chiropodists, tailors, back manipulators, prostitutes and manicurists) and frequent employers of touch—discotheques, shoeshine stands and mud baths.”19 It seems that as our culture places more restrictions on touch within human relationships, alternative forms of touch become more popular. It is as if we needed a minimum of touch for our emotional well-being and physical wellness, so we find acceptable ways, and sometimes functional ways (e.g., going to the hairdresser) of being touched.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews