The Power of Human Touch

Have you considered how much you impact your clients? I bet it's more than you know. In our industry as wellness or beauty professionals, we touch people for a living. It is just part of our job. At times we can take it for granted how much human touch effects people. Our clients may not necessarily come just to have human touch but still will experience the benefits.

I am going to list off some things that human touch can benefit:

Inspire positive thinking

Expand trust

Reduce social anxiety and stress

Boost immune system

Lowers blood pressure

Lowers cortisol levels

Calms our nervous system

Slows down our heartbeat

Triggers the release of oxytocin

 “To touch can be to give life.” Michelangelo

While a lot of these benefits can come from hugging we don’t have to hug our clients. There are many studies showing skin to skin contact does the trick. The amazing thing is while you are providing this for your clients, you are also receiving some of these benefits.

Here are a few interesting statistics from Nivea.ca,

Nine out of ten people around the world feel that human touch is key to leading a happy, fulfilled life. 

This unity is reflected on other measures of touch, as well: 87 percent agree that human touch is an essential part of communities, and that a lack of human touch can make you feel isolated and lonely, even if you are surrounded by people; 85 percent agree that touch is what makes us human; and 81 percent believe that a lack of human touch can make us feel more easily stressed. 

When asked specifically about the type and frequency of touch they experienced, 64 percent of respondents indicated that touch is not a daily occurrence in their lives, and another 72 percent expressed a wish for more hugs. 

72 percent of respondents overall indicated a wish for more hugs.

89 percent think that a lack of human touch can make you feel lonely, even if you have many contacts on social networks.

If you are wondering where Nivea’s research came from- The NIVEA research was conducted by Mindline, an independent research institute, as an online survey with 11,198 people in the following 11 countries (approximately 1,000 respondents per country): Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, South Africa, Thailand, the UK, and the US. Survey respondents were between 16–69 years of age and were a representative sample based on gender, age, region, and occupational status. The study was conducted between October 2018 and March 2019. Focus group discussions in 11 countries, conducted by Happy Thinking People, an independent research institute, preceded the quantitative research.

If you aren’t a hugger or your clients aren’t that is ok and it is not required. A forced hug isn’t necessary or keeping healthy boundaries. Hopefully this information can just show you how you simply touching a client can be so impactful in so many ways.