As a masseur and a touchy person, it is sometimes challenging to communicate with words the multiple benefits of massage (and movement). I can see and feel the benefits in myself and my clients. Then it comes handy to have those colleagues around, or their work, who have taken the step and written out some research findings. Here you can find a study that analysed a variety of sources on touch-based interventions (this is a fancy term for something like massage or manual therapy!), conducted by Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience.
One of the findings of the analysis was that the frequency of consensual human touch is more significant than the duration of touch, particularly for mental well-being. Non-humane touch by something like a robot or a weighted blanket also brought some benefits but the important component for mental well-being comes with another human. Maybe this can also be visited from the opposite side; what kind of an impact does the lack of frequent, consensual touch have? If you are in a similar lucky position as I am of receiving hugs and intimacy regularly, what would it feel like if that was missing from you? This, inevitably, brings me back to the recent years when we were globally told to deprive of touch and social interaction… and the figures of mental health issues are not really going down…
This analysis also highlights some aspects that are yet to be researched further. More research is needed on touch and neurodivergence, and the difference between touching a pet and a person. Perhaps every pet-owner can affirm that there are many benefits for having and petting a pet, but it is also interesting to have this researched more from the perspective of touch.
Now I would encourage you to give a hug to someone close to you, whether a human or not, as soon as possible, and/or book your next appointment! 😉