OUR AMAZING SENSES
– By Jacklyn Fernandez
Touch
+ Did you know?
click for an interesting tidbit!
• Smaller fingers have a better sense of touch because they
have more sense receptors packed together in smaller area.
• Scratching has been said to be “contagious” because of our
disease-fighting instincts: If you see someone scratching,
your brain intuitively wonders if you’ve been exposed to
the same insect, bacteria, and so on.
• Just thinking about something being itchy can actually
make us feel itchy somewhere.
• “Fist-bumping” between athletes has been shown to directly
affect the outcome of a competition. In a UC Berkeley study
of NBA teams during the 2008–2009 season, researchers
saw that players and teams who engaged in celebratory
touches (fist bumps, high tens, etc.) after successful shots
early in the season performed noticeably better later in the
season.
• Physical interaction during an interview has been shown
to give the applicant a better chance of being hired.
• In one study, a job applicant provided their résumé attached
to a light clipboard, and another applicant on a heavy
clipboard. Subjects rated the heavy clipboard applicant as
being more ‘qualified’ – even though both résumés were
identical.
• Studies show that prolonged touch deprivation in infants
(for example, babies in understaffed orphanages or preemies
in incubator isolation) can result in stunted growth and poor
immune systems right away, plus significantly higher rates
of heart disease, obesity, and type 2 diabetes in adulthood.
• Dr. Linden (author of Touch: The Science of Hand, Heart
and Mind) has performed several studies which indicate that,
when a newborn is touched extensively (carried, caressed,
snuggled) they grow up with fewer health problems –
including stronger immune systems and less digestive issues.
10 Read + hear more: www.silvergoldmagazine.ca