05/31/2025
Most of us are familiar with the experience of “skin hunger,” whether we were even aware it had a name. It's a deep longing and aching desire for physical contact with another person. Touch is considered the first sense we acquire and our skin is our largest sensory organ.
The almost universal desire to wrap tiny babies in embraces is an example of how we all long to be close to one another. Hugs lessen skin hunger, increasing the production of oxytocin in humans; a hormone that has been found to positively influence our bonding and nurturing behaviours while lessening fatigue, increasing dispositional gratitude, and steadying physical functioning.
The inherited interplay between skin-on-skin touch and the psyche was published in a study investigating affectionate behaviour. The research, published in Communication Monographs by University of Arizona professor Kory Floyd, found in particular that genetics play a strong role in women's skin hunger, but not at all for men.
Findings show that for women, affection is driven 45% by hereditary factors and 55% from their environment, such as personal experience and the media. However, men seem to rely solely on their environment — a surprising finding.
Professor Floyd, who studies how affection impacts stress and physiological functioning, says that the impetus of the study was recognising that some people are more affectionate than others. He wondered what accounts for that variation, and whether any part of that variation was genetic. His team used twin relationships as the basis for their study, which asked people to measure their personal levels of affectionate needs and behaviours. Because the 464 pairs of participating twins were raised in the same household, researchers can count on their environment having been the same, thus revealing their genetic differences.
Identical twin pairs of women were found to score more similarly compared to fraternal twin women. This indicates that their shared DNA was a contributing factor in how they express affection. The researchers could not conclude the reason why men do not show the same variability between genetics and environment as women.
Floyd writes, “When we measure people’s tendency to be affectionate and to receive affection from other people, almost without exception we find that women score higher than men. The trait of being affectionate may be more adaptive for women in an evolutionary sense. There is some speculation that affectionate behaviour is more health supportive for women than it is for men, and that it helps women to manage the effects of stress more than it does for men. That may be partly why women are more likely than men to inherit the tendency to behave that way rather than that tendency simply being a product of their environment.”
So whether it's in your DNA or your day-to-day, don’t underestimate the power of a hug. Because sometimes, the best thing you can be is a little more touchable.
✨ To read more about how physical play leads to brain development in your child, check out our blog here: https://neuro.now/lived_experience/physical-play-brain-development/
References:
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03637751.2020.1760327?fbclid=IwY2xjawG5ktBleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHa8heXlLuYesQqgPlNp4sKw5L5sN02HBkX9YlPFLviOtEsVOxtjjfa02qA_aem_Pqefsij6hqh4AY4n8dncFA
https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2013-05104-001?fbclid=IwY2xjawG5kwBleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHR7yrp_ZgC9-8a-phRgTeY5XzhLyCEMFk7bm1zNZOZQc_g3hhYaiKDUPdA_aem_WHvMqhara357W6CSOpK49w
https://cyticlinics.com/understanding-the-mental-health-implications-of-craving-physical-touch/ #:~:text=The%20mental%20health%20implications%20of%20craving%20physical%20touch%20extend%20far,increased%20anxiety%20and%20sleep%20disturbances.
