This is how touch can benefit your physical and mental health

A widespread analysis of touch intervention studies found touch benefits health no matter a person's age or its type, but there are some differences.

There's nothing quite like a hug from someone you love at the end of a long day, a massage to end a stressful week or — for those who don't necessarily consider physical touch at the top of their love language list — lounging underneath a weighted blanket to wind down the evening.

No matter which way you relax, the core of these situations is how the sensation of touch affects you, and although studies in the past have often focused on specific scenarios or turned out contradictory, new analysis of that research shows it doesn't matter who or what is facilitating the consensual feeling or why; to put it simply, touch can help. 

Researchers from the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience and the University Hospital Essen shared the basic conclusion in the journal Nature Human Behavior Monday after conducting a large-scale review and analysis of hundreds of touch intervention studies. 

Overall, they found touch can benefit human physical and mental health no matter one's age or current state of wellness, though some specifications can provide higher benefits than others.

For example, the research states touch intervention is best suited for adults to reduce pain, depression and anxiety and to regulate levels of cortisol, which is the stress hormone. For newborns, touch — which is their first developed sense — is highly beneficial in increasing weight gain, the study shows.