Day 7 - “Bask in the Glow”  

Touch is our first language. We are wired to interpret the touch of our fellow humans. A 2009 study showed that we come equipped with the ability to send and receive emotional signals using only touch. Blindfolded participants from all over the world communicated anger, fear, disgust, love, gratitude, sympathy, happiness, and sadness with 78% accuracy.

Affectionate, appropriate touches can soothe mind and body--therefore, smiling, laughing, touching, and talking are the most therapeutic behaviors of all for communicating love and affection and for building bonds. Touch has also been shown to decrease blood pressure and to improve immune system response--in fact, it is even nicknamed “Vitamin T!”

Of course, touch is crucial in creating and strengthening romantic relationships. Additionally, conflicts are resolved more easily with increased amounts of hugging, cuddling/holding, and kissing on the lips.

Yet other studies show that Americans touch each other less than do people in nearly every other country. Italians touch each other an average of 120 times/hour, while Americans average only 2.8 times/hr. How does this compare to the frequency of touch between you and your partner?

Challenge:

Put 10 pennies in your pocket. When you are with your partner, seek opportunities to give positive, nurturing, or affectionate touch, (i.e. a pat on the back or backside, a hug, a brush of the hand, a caress of the cheek, a kiss, etc).Each time you do so, move a penny from one pocket to another. Try to have them all transferred within an hour. If you are already a touchy-feely person and this is too easy, ramp it up to 20, 30, or however many coins it takes to become a challenge. See if you can achieve the mastery of the Italians!

Go the Extra Mile:

Increase your “tactile conversation” by making it a point to reciprocate your lover’s touches. Using the penny accounting approach above, move a penny back to the other pocket each time you answer your partner’s caress with one of your own.

Journal Your Experience:

Record your mood prior to engaging in the challenge, and afterward. Was there any change? What factors contributed to it? How about your partner’s mood before and after the challenge?

Share Your Experience with me, by emailing Gina@MarriagesWorthMillions.com

Questions? I’m only an email away. Send your comments, queries, questions or quibbles to me at Gina@MarriagesWorthMillions.com.