Holding hands. Tousling hair. Hugging.

What may seem like insignificant gestures of fondness and affection can play a major role in determining the health and longevity of your relationship.

Touch is one of the most important ways to nurture a relationship as an intrinsic part of the human bonding experience. Without regular touch and affection, human beings can fall victim to loneliness, tension, anxiety, and even illnesses.

Alternatively, touching your partner regularly has a variety of powerful benefits, including:

Developing intimacy. In the initial stages of a relationship, humans use touch to express interest and get to know one another, often experimenting to see how much of their touch will be welcomed and returned. As couples grow increasingly comfortable and develop intimacy between each other, they begin to touch each other more.

Keeping intimacy alive. For more established partners, continued touch can strengthen the relationship bond by promoting trust and mutual feelings of pleasure.

Improving communication. Oftentimes, touch can be more effective at communicating emotions than words alone. A kiss can sometimes say a lot when you cannot find the right words, and a hug can often express love, appreciation, and reassurance more clearly and succinctly than speech.

Providing comfort. When you or your partner are sad, upset, frustrated, or stressed, touch can be wonderfully comforting and therapeutic. Gestures such as hugs and hand squeezes trigger receptors in the body to ease stress and enhance relaxation.

How to Increase Touch in Your Relationship

Want to harness the power of touch to boost intimacy, improve communication, and promote trust? Happily, there are many simple ways you can increase touch in your relationship.

• Make it a habit to share a 20-second kiss and full-body hug every time you meet and part with your partner
• Try holding each other in bed while lying still
• When your partner is stressed, treat him or her to a foot rub or neck massage
• When you are walking or sitting near your partner, hold each other’s hands

For more advice on increasing touch and boosting intimacy in your relationship or marriage, consider talking to a Delaware relationship therapist. Your therapist can provide you with valuable techniques for incorporating touch into your daily lives, as well as teaching you other tools for enhancing intimacy and relationship satisfaction.