Reflection No. 5: What Purpose Does Pleasant Touch Play?

One purpose that “pleasant touch” may serve in humans and animals is developing a sense of trust as it pertains to our survival needs. For example, I have a Boston Terrier and she tends to stay very close to my wife and I when we take her with us to see family members on trips because she is not sure how others, especially little kids who might be a little rough touching her, will be when physically interacting with her. She stays close to us because she knows we will gently care for her based on how we touch her. I think the same can be said for most people when they were little.

When I was a child, the person I felt the most comfortable having touch me was my mother because she was very nurturing, and I knew my overall daily living needs would be met. For example, I remember liking it when she combed my hair when she helped me get ready for school. In fact, it feels great when the hair stylist gives me a haircut, too, and that helps build trust with them. Otherwise, I would not want them to cut my hair. Because there are C-tactile afferent nerve fibers, a type of C-fiber commonly associated with generating the response signals that create a pleasurable sensation, wrapped around the roots of our hair fibers, the preceding examples may explain why when hair is touched in people in a certain way that it can sometimes generate a pleasurable sensation. Yet, I think this also explains how “pleasant touch” has evolved.

Going to the hair stylist or having my wife stroke my hair and massage my head feels great and is a fantastic way for men and women to deal with stress. Even my wife loves it when I stroke her hair. “Pleasant touch” seems to be a necessary de-stressor in an age where we still have more responsibilities and stress to deal with despite the proliferation of technological devices designed to lessen the daily load life throws at us.