The Power of Touch

Oxytocin, the “love hormone,” has been increased by massage therapy. A potential mechanism is stimulation of pressure receptors under the skin that calms the nervous system, including reducing the stress hormone cortisol and, in turn, increasing oxytocin. The massage-oxytocin link illustrates the health benefits of direct, active bodily contact. Oxytocin release by massage may be finely tuned to real social stimulation of the skin. In a 2019 study by Li and colleagues on the relationship between massage therapy and oxytocin, 40 adult males were given 10-minute massages either by hand or machine and blood samples were assayed for oxytocin. Oxytocin levels increased after both hand and machine massage, but more significantly after the massages by hand. The adaptive value of touch shaped pressure-sensitive mechanisms in the skin and nervous system and the way they function from early in life, imbuing real-time body contact through massage with its healing power.