Holding the hand of a loved one really does ease the pain
Holding hands with a partner can help to reduce physical pain, a study has shown.
Dr Pavel Goldstein, a postdoctoral researcher in the Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Lab at the University of Colorado Boulder in Colorado, US, undertook the research after witnessing the birth of his daughter four years ago.
He said: “My wife was in pain, and all I could think was, ‘What can I do to help her?’ I reached for her hand and it seemed to help. I wanted to test it in the lab: Can one really decrease pain with touch, and if so, how?”
His team, which examined 22 couples in tests mimicking a delivery-room scenario, found that when an empathetic partner holds the hand of a woman in pain, their heart and respiratory rates sync and her pain dissipates. Dr Goldstein said: “The more empathetic the partner, the stronger the analgesic effect and the higher the synchronisation when they are touching.”