Clinical studies done over the years have found that a loving touch can lower our blood pressure, reduce anxiety and stress, and raise the levels of our good hormones. Matt Hertenstein is an experimental psychologist at DePauw University in Indiana. He studies how touching can affect a person’s physical and emotional health. Hertenstein has written many articles on the power of touch. He writes in a 2010 report that if a child does not have enough loving touches early in life, the brain does not grow to normal size. Also, the connections between neurons do not develop properly. In a recent interview with National Public Radio (NPR), Hertenstein said he found that loving touches can lower levels of cortisol sometimes called the “stress hormone” -- and raise levels of oxytocin -- sometimes called the “cuddle” or “bonding hormone.” Even simple hand-holding causes levels of the stress hormone cortisol to drop.