Human Touch

The science of human touch is still in its early stages. Not long ago, care of babies and the elderly did not permit touch. Today we know: new-borns who experienced extensive skin-to skin contact will be less easily frustrated and better at comforting themselves when they are one year old. Until old age, bodily contact remains essential for health and wellbeing. Humans are creatures of contact, and caress is no luxury, but a means for survival. People who are touched live longer and recover more easily from illness. Lack of touch can make people ill. Böhme elucidates what happens in our body and our head when we are touched, examines the trend of the cuddle party and investigates possibilities for touch in long distance relationships.