The Science of Touch: Boosting Pleasure with Oxytocin

Video: https://www.tiktok.com/@distilledscience/video/7496295219390860586

Transcript

Why does this gentle stroking feel so good? Feel so good. While this just feels meh. There's fascinating neuroscience behind it, and a way to use it to make this feel even better. This is what the science, tingles and touch. You have tons of nerves in your skin, but let's talk about some VIPs, what scientists call CT fibers. But you can think of them as your tingle nerves. pokes. They only respond to slow light stroking. Between one in ten centimeters per second. Exactly the speed of comforting touch. We think that they evolved to boost bonding and trust. Now, both tingly touch and things like massage boost production of oxytocin. Often called the love hormone, but really it's more of a bonding hormone. But here's where it gets wild. To isolate the effect, scientists gave people oxytocin either in a pill form or nasal spray. It made people rate that tingle touch as feeling more pleasurable. But the feeling from a massage barely changed. Oxytocin specifically boosts pleasure from that light bonding touch. And it gets even more wholesome. In another study where they gave them oxytocin, they told people that they'd be getting stroked by either a stranger or their romantic partner who they were deeply in love with. The results? That delightful pleasure boost only came when they thought they were being stroked by their own partner. Your brain literally dials up the pleasure for someone that you love. So how do you use this sweet science to seriously upgrade connection? And maybe more. Try the oxytocin ramp. Step one. Start with hugs, cuddling, and maybe a gentle massage. You're naturally building up those oxytocin levels with your partner. Like preheating an oven for maximum deliciousness, and it's a feedback loop. Step two, the magic touch. As you both start feeling more relaxed and connected, shift towards that slow, low, light, tingle nerve stroking. Thanks to the oxytocin that you've built up, that touch will feel more intensely pleasurable and bonding. And speaking of feeling good, oxytocin has also been linked to more pleasurable big-Os. If you want more on that science, let me know. And tag your partner who you want to try that oxytocin ramp with.

Additional notes

⁉️POLL: Which do you prefer to receive, 1 minute of chills or a 1 minute massage? And does it matter if it’s a partner, friend, or stranger? Note: in both of these studies they also measured brain activity in pleasure centers and found results in line with the subjective reports 📚Studies: doi: 10.7554/eLife.85847. doi: 10.1038/npp.2014.78 ##science##psychology##relationships

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