Because Life Becomes What Life Does: #Coronavirus ~ Don’t #Touch!?

With the scare of the Coronavirus many people are rushing to buy and use surgical gloves to cover their hands in hopes of not contracting the virus. This made me wonder what would happen if we lost our sense of touch? What would happen if we avoided handshakes, friendly hugs and even brushing against someone in a social setting? Would we even go so far as to not touch our loved ones unless they were sterilized?

When we think of the five senses we most likely think first about sight and sound followed by scent, taste and finally touch. However, we can somewhat overcome losing our sense of smell, sight, taste and hearing, but if we lose our sense of touch we could not even sit up or walk. Somatonsensation, which is part of the sensory system, is also known as out tactile sense or our sense of touch. It allows us to feel texture, temperature, pressure, body position, movement, vibrations and pain which arise from the muscles, joints, skin and fascia.

The skins “sense of touch” is what gives our brains a wealth of information about the natural environment, including temperature, humidity, and air pressure. Most importantly, this sense of touch lets us feel physical pain–a necessity for avoiding injury, disease, and danger.

Physical touch is known to improve the function of your immune system, as well as reduce diseases such as those associated with the heart and blood. One study on women found that receiving more hugs from their partners led to lower heart rates and blood pressure.

Adults require human touch to thrive. It causes us to bond and alerts us to danger. A lack of physical affection or touch can actually kill babies. Babies who are not held or cuddled enough will literally stop growing and if the situation lasts long enough even if they receive proper nutrition will die.

When we touch our bodies produce a neurotransmitter called oxytocin, also known as the “cuddle hormone” or “love hormone” because it is released when people snuggle up or bond socially. It’s even being tested to combat anxiety. But new research shows that it can cause emotional pain when factors that prohibit its production, such as stress are happening around us. And wow is all the hoopla about the coronavirus stressful!

All this stress and hysteria over coronavirus is attacking the very foundation of our existence; our sense of touch. Now it’s not that we shouldn’t use some common sense and precautions, but stress is one of the leading factors for lowering the immune system and it is a strong immune system and not surgical gloves that we need to fight off any disease such as the coronavirus.

The only way to produce this important hormone (oxytocin) is through touch and bonding so if we remove our sense of touch we stop loving, caring and bonding. What would a world be like without touch? It protects us, guides us and allows us to bond; all essential to human existence.

So instead of hysteria use some common sense: wash your hands, avoid touching public surfaces such as those in public bathrooms, stay away from large crowds and don’t travel to virus infected areas. But keeping the immune system strong is the best line of defense. Eat a healthy diet which includes lots of fruits and vegetable. Your gut equates for 70% of your immune functioning. Keep your gut bacteria strong. Eat prebiotic the fertilizer that feeds your good bacteria. These foods include bananas, chocolate, oats, onions and garlic. Exercise; studies show that aerobic exercise increases oxytocin output as well as forces the bone marrow to produce white blood cells which are our army against diseases. Yoga with its twisting movements improves the immune system by twisting and moving the lymphatic system(responsible for moving the white blood cells throughout our body) and yoga reminds us to relax, de-stress and this allows the body to rebuild and rejuvenate.

So every day I do something aerobic and something yoga by teaching my Doctor Lynn’s Yoga Dance, I eat a healthy diet that includes the one or more of the above prebiotics, I take time to relax, I take a dose of my Doctor Lynn’s Pep Berry Immune Booster and I give my husband a big hug!

See previous blog on coronavirus for more on immune functioning and be sure and visit my webpage for more information on the importance of dance, yoga, diet, Nectars and hugging; because an ounce of prevention is worth more than a pound of cure!