Social distancing is stopping people from hugging, leading to skin hunger. Is this hunger affecting our mental health? 

Emma was singing to herself while making breakfast. After her breakfast, she started cleaning her desk, then turned to the mirror. Her eyes met with the girl’s eyes standing in front of her, and before she knew anything, her nose turned red, tears started rolling down her cheeks. She looked in her eyes again, trying to cheer up, but it was of no use. 

Emma is studying in the UK and has rarely been with people since March 2020, when the first lockdown was announced. She lives alone in student accommodation, away from her parents. Like many people, it was a tough time for her. 

Emma said, “I don’t even understand why I am getting emotional over small things lately. I try to stay positive, but sometimes I couldn’t stop overthinking, and I end up pushing myself in a bad mood.”

She is not the only one who is feeling miserable; many people who are living alone are feeling depressed. People who couldn’t travel back home because of travel restrictions are struggling with their mental stability. 

The thing people are experiencing isn’t psychological, but it has neurobiological reasons behind it. Francis McGlone, a professor of neuroscience at Liverpool John Moores University, said, “one of the benefits of Covid-19 lockdown is it has made people aware for the first time in their life that something is missing in their lives. They don’t know what it is… it is that necessity to have physical contact.” 

Another day Emma was talking to her friend over a phone call, and she said, “I think I have forgotten how it feels to hug someone. I want someone to hold me in their arms.” At that moment, she realised she was craving for a ‘human touch.’ 

Francis said that this craving is known as ‘affection deprivation’ in scientific terms or what people call ‘skin hunger.’ affectionate touch is essential for good mental health. There are two forms of touch; fast and slow touch. Slow touch is the one that conveys emotional experiences to the brain, which takes a few seconds to reach. The slow touch is what people are missing these days. 

According to his research, across the lifespan, physical contact mediated by just a gentle stroke or cuddle provides several physiological benefits. Francis has studied the nerve fibers called C-tactile afferents, which are located at our back and shoulders. These nerve fibers are responsible for sending the message of social touch into a complex reward system to our brain. 

A touch, hug, or a pat on the shoulder does have not only psychological effects but also show physiological benefits. It helps to lower cholesterol, release oxytocin(the love hormone), reduce the heart rate. It increases serotonin, indulges opioid levels, which are mood regulators, which helps us feel good. “If you don’t get a touch, you don’t get that stimulus, and your mood is compromised,” Francis said.

According to the reports, in the late 1990s in Romania, people found thousands of babies in orphanages, none of whom were physically cared for, and had severe behavior problems. One thing that they lacked was affiliated touch. Infants who are neglected through touch do not develop normally. “Physical touch is providing an absolute critical role in a way the brain develops,” Francis said. The children from Romania had comparatively smaller brains than the other children of the same age because of the lack of human contact. “It is like air and food. These are basic homeostatic needs,” he said. 

Even though lockdown has shown harmful effects on our mental health, according to Francis, humans are adaptable, and it is the question of resilience. Even when it is impossible to meet other people to hug, you can practice a few things to improve the situation. Francis said that you could rub the upper arms and shoulders to replicate the effects, which will reduce the level of cortisol, the hormone responsible for stress. 

“Once the lockdown is over, the first thing I am going to do is hug someone for 5 minutes straight. I am done with those virtual meetups through zoom, WhatsApp video calls, and just hearing people’s voices. I want another human’s touch or, better, a hug from my dog,” said Emma.