Politics
Tuesday January 31, 2006
Happy Marriage and Touch Reduces Fight-Or-Flight Stress Response
TODAY'S HEADLINES
E-MAIL
PRINT
NEW YORK, January 31, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The New York Times reports today on a study showing that a combination of physical touch and the deep emotional commitment between married couples greatly reduces the neurological signs of stress.
Scientists at the University of Wisconsin and the University of Virginia studied the effects of touch on 16 couples that rated “very happily married” on a questionnaire. The research showed that a touch of the hand from a husband had a significant soothing effect on his wife’s stress levels.
The woman’s normal neural reaction to anticipating threatening situation, in this case a low-level electric shock, leveled off when her husband held her hand. "The effect of this simple gesture of social support is that the brain and body don't have to work as hard, they're less stressed in response to a threat," said Dr. James A. Coan, a psychologist at the University of Virginia and the study's lead author.
The scientists believe that the normal fight-or-flight response to physical or emotional danger can be over reactive in the day to day situations most people face and a hug or other touch “is a very good thing, is deeply soothing,” said Dr. Coan. The Times says the study answers the longstanding question of why married couples tend to be healthier than singles.
The hand-holding effect was even more pronounced on “supercouples” those who enjoyed an extremely emotionally close relationship. The stress-reducing effect was present but less pronounced when the hand-holding is from a stranger the study found.
The study is set to appear in the journal Psychological Science this year.
Read New York Times coverage:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/31/health/psychology/31marr.html
Back to TopLatest Headlines
- "Manhattan Declaration" Embodies U.S. Christian Pushback against Abortion, Same-Sex "Marriage"
- Hoffman Loses Final Tally of NY-23 Race; Alleges ACORN Tampering and Fraud
- Abortion Activist Judge Hamilton Confirmed with Help of Ten Republican Senators
- CDC Reverses Gardasil Vaccine Requirement for Immigrants
- Germany Faces Economic Downturn with Plummeting Birth Rate and Aging Population
- CCHD in Archdiocese of Chicago Says it is Working to Fix Problems
- Rejection of Washington DC Marriage Referendum Challenged With Legal Suit
- Obama-Supporting Homosexual Activist to Out Sexually Involved Priests Unless they Support Gay 'Marriage
- Austrian Catholic Bishops Issue Bland Response to Govt's Homosexual Partnership Bill
- Interim Report on Catholic Sex-Abuse Says "Homosexual Identity" Not a Predictor of Sex Abuse
- Commentary on Nov 20 NewsBytes
- LSN NewsBytes - US Health Care Reform
- LSN NewsBytes - Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD)
- LSN NewsBytes - Life Issues, Religion, Swine Flu, US Politics, Sarah Palin, Miscellaneous
- LSN NewsBytes - Climate Change/Global Warming
- 59 Bishops Contributed Financially to Maine Bishop's Effort to Oppose Maine Same-Sex "Marriage" Law
- Pro-Abortion Lawmakers Shower Praise on Senate Bill's Phony Abortion Compromise
Most Read this Week
- Largest U.S. Homosexual Publisher Shuts Down, Closing Major Gay Newspapers
- EWTN's Arroyo Hosts Reform CCHD Reps Who Reveal Shocking Evidence Against USCCB Anti-Poverty Arm
- Italian Mayors Order Crufixes Put in Classrooms in Revolt against European Court Ruling
- Nat'l Organization for Marriage Responds to Miss California "Sex Tape" Scandal
- "Manhattan Declaration" Embodies U.S. Christian Pushback against Abortion, Same-Sex "Marriage"
- Obama Evades Questioning on Stupak Amendment in FOX Interview
- French Judge Finds Hospital Guilty of "Unreasonable Obstinacy" in Saving Newborn's Life
- EU Leaders to Choose President today in Secret "Soviet Style" Meetings
- Hoffman "Unconcedes" Battle for NY-23: Recount Provides Hope for "Miracle" Victory
- CCHD Responds to Reform Movement
MORE NEWS: 
LifeSiteNews.com Home Page Last 10 Days Archives Special Reports
Copyright © LifeSiteNews.com. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivatives License. You may republish this article or portions of it without request provided the content is not altered and it is clearly attributed to "LifeSiteNews.com". Any website publishing of complete or large portions of original LifeSiteNews articles MUST additionally include a live link to www.LifeSiteNews.com. The link is not required for excerpts. Republishing of articles on LifeSiteNews.com from other sources as noted is subject to the conditions of those sources.