Two friends in Leeds sit apart at a safe distance.

1.5 meter distance at Dutch supermarkets.

PHYSICAL RELATIONS:

"The sort of more intimate touching - arm round the shoulder, a pat on the arm and these kind of things reserved for closer friendships and family members - are really important," he says. They make us feel happier, satisfied and trusting of others.

Touch is our first sense to develop in the womb, and research has shown physical contact with others can reduce the effect of stress. Prof Dunbar says the reason humans need physical contact is because of our evolutionary background as primates.

"All primates are intensely social and most probably the most intensely social of all the animals on the planet," he says. "They build these kind of relationships and friendships with each other through social touch in the form of social grooming - which they do by leafing through the fur. And we still do that."

While most of our fur has gone, humans do the same movements on exactly the same neurons when they stroke, cuddle or pat each other, he says. This triggers endorphins, the feel-good chemicals that act in the brain to dull pain.

Meet up with friends while keeping 1.5 meter distance.

Coronavirus: Why going without physical touch is so hard

The most important snippets from this article:

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-52279411

Why Physical Touch Matters for Your Well-Being

The most important snippets from this article:

"From the time we are in the womb through our elderly years, touch plays a primary role in our development and physical and mental well-being. New studies on touch continue to show the importance of physical contact in early development, communication, personal relationships, and fighting disease."

"“I think certainly kids today are much more touch-deprived than they were before smartphones."

"What happens is you’re stimulating pressure receptors, and vagal activity increases. Vagus is one of the 12 cranial nerves, and it has a lot of branches all over the body from the gastrointestinal system and the heart to our vocal chords and so forth. We have measured vagal activity and that increases, and with that, you get a decrease in cortisol, the stress hormone. There’s an increase in serotonin, which is the body’s natural antidepressant and anti-pain chemical. You get a decrease in Substance P, that senses pain."

Being touch starved — also known as skin hunger or touch deprivation — occurs when a person experiences little to no touch from other living things.

Touch Starvation

"Skin-to-skin contact is vital for not only mental and emotional health, but physical health, too. When you feel snowed under or pressured, the body releases the stress hormone cortisol. One of the biggest things touch can do is reduce such stress, allowing the immune system to work the way it should."

"In early life, touch is thought to be crucial for building healthy relationships by stimulating pathways for oxytocin, the natural antidepressant serotonin, and the pleasure chemical dopamine. Plus, it tackles loneliness. Even gentle touch from a stranger has been shown to reduce feelings of social exclusion."

"Skin hunger is not unique to this prolonged period of isolation. In previous years, experts have voiced their concern about a particular development in Western societies, where hugs and strokes are being increasingly edged out of our lives - a so-called ‘crisis of touch’ (that seems to impact men in particular). "

Dutch documentary about Touch Starvation (Huidhonger in Dutch)

Being held and cuddled as a baby is essential for our development. Children who don’t experience this kind of intimacy, for example because they grow up in orphanages or in abusive families, are likely to have disturbed development and attachment problems. Research by Tiffany Field of the Touch Research Institute (Miami, USA) shows that children whose parents showed little physical affection grew up to be more verbally aggressive adolescents than peers who were touched more lovingly in their youth. In later life, the absence of touch gives higher stress levels and an increased risk of developing depression and other mental illnesses. Various scientific studies have also shown that the brain releases oxytocin through loving touches such as cuddling. This so-called 'love hormone' is a powerful substance. It makes you more resistant to stress. This applies not only to a lover's touch, but also to an arm around your shoulder or hug from your best friend."

TOUCH AND OXYTOCIN

"Previous research into touch deprivation and social isolation shows that a lack of touch and social contact makes you especially vulnerable"

https://www.healthline.com/health/touch-starved#takeaway

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-52279411