Effects of Rub and Touch on Emotions and Respiration in Humans

Touch therapy is important in many clinical settings to reduce patient stress and anxiety. However, few studies have examined the effects of touch therapies, particularly those that use specific techniques to ease psychological and physiological distress, on the emotional state of patients. Respiratory rate is correlated with emotional changes. Thus, the aim of the present study was to elucidate the effects of touching and rubbing methods on various respiratory parameters as indices of the emotional state in 11 normal, healthy subjects. Subjects were divided into high and low anxiety groups based on their State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) score before the experiment. After the application of specific touching and rubbing stimuli, the subjects were asked to evaluate their comfort level on a visual analog scale. The respiratory rate in subjects with high anxiety increased significantly more during rubbing than touching; in contrast, the respiratory rate in subjects with low anxiety did not differ between the two methods. As a whole, the data suggest that touch rather than rub therapy may be more suitable for subjects with high anxiety, and that the therapeutic technique to be used should be chosen with care for subjects with high anxiety.