Is it a vagus-nerve thing?
In: Biology
Being touched can cause a releases of hormones that make you feel good and can cause a calming effect. Things like Oxytocin, dopamine and endorphins will flood the brain when you’re being massaged and scratched. Stress hormones like Cortisol and adrenaline will be reduced.
Because you’re an animal, and a mammal specifically and all mammals like being patted and groomed much like our primate relatives and also members of the canine and feline orders. Birds also like being stroked too.
The instinct to groom dies hard. We’re programmed to enjoy grooming, which anciently would have kept our fur clean and strengthened social bonds. Nowadays we don’t have fur to clean, but the social bonding remains quite effective.
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