For people from different nations who perhaps didn’t like each other or weren’t familiar with one another, the handshake became a symbol of respect, Field explains. The origins of this type of physical contact can be traced all the way back to primitive times when people were more worried that someone might pull a weapon on them, she adds. There’s a well-documented phenomenon where “if you’re shaking hands or holding hands with someone, you’re less likely to aggress against them,” says Field. It can also, surprisingly, solve world peace (er, sort of). “It has a lot of reasons, objectives, and origins.” Holding hands can be romantic, but it can also be protective, comforting, or respectful, says Field. “There’s an increase in serotonin, which is the antidepressant and anti-pain neurotransmitter.” Is hand-holding always romantic? This leads to an increase in vagal activity, which relates to a decrease in heart rate, blood pressure, and the stress hormone cortisol, per Field. “When you stimulate pressure receptors, like in the hands, you’re relaxing the nervous system,” explains Field. But this benefit is also connected to the physical act of pressing palms, she adds. You already know that hand-holding releases oxytocin-a major psychological benefit-and that “feel good” hormone also alleviates stress, Field says. (Especially if your love language is physical touch!) Ultimately, holding hands is just another way to create a feeling of safety and strengthen your most intimate relationships. “You feel closer to someone when you’re having physical contact with them,” Field adds. For romantic couples, however, holding hands is mostly about companionship and increasing physical intimacy, she says. For parents and children, hand-holding provides a level of “comfort, attachment and oftentimes security and safety,” Field explains. Humans hold hands for a variety of reasons, says Tiffany Field, PhD, the director of the Touch Research Institute at the University of Miami’s Miller School of Medicine. might be holding hands-and what each style means for your relationship. And while hand holding is, in general, a special type of nonverbal communication that sends a message to not just each other, but also people on the outside of your relationship, that you’re really into your connection, each specific type of hand grasp says something different about your bond.Ĭurious what that might be? Ahead, body language experts explain the eight different ways you and your S.O. Whether you’re a veteran hand holder or a relative newbie, you might not realize that there are so many ways-the experts noted at least eight-to get the finger-locked feels. “It invokes a positive feeling about one another, so you both feel sexy and wanted. After all, “we only hold hands with people we have a certain level of comfort with or attraction to,” explains Coleman. If you’re not in the hand-holding habit, consider doing it more often, as a surefire way to boost intimacy. As with kissing and hugging, “research shows that touch, like holding hands, releases oxytocin, a neurotransmitter that gives you that feel-good buzz,” she says. And the benefits are scientifically proven, too. “It feels good to hold hands with someone we know because it’s all about wanting to be close to them,” says Toni Coleman, LCSW, a psychotherapist and relationship coach based in Virginia. While this form of PDA is, to be fair, more PG than R-rated (no one’s ever going to yell at you to get a room), hand-holding is still an intimate act. Interlacing fingers with your partner while walking down the street may seem like NBD, but there’s way more to holding hands than you might think.
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