Swindon's a touchy-feely town (From Swindon Advertiser)

Swindon's a touchy-feely town

7:20pm Thursday 2nd September 2010 in

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A STUDY has shown that people are getting a lot more hands-on.

Renowned body language psychologist Geoff Beattie, carried out a study which shows that people in Swindon need to touch each other once a minute, with 56 per cent saying they feel deprived and neglected when ‘touch starved’ for longer than a day.

Although 88 per cent of the UK admit that touch is crucial for mental and emotional well-being, only 44 per cent of people in Swindon will openly admit to being a ‘touchy-feely’ person.

People are now a lot more liberal than they were in the ‘swinging sixties’, when the original study was taken, as it showed that there was no physical contact between people but now people are having hands-on contact 44 times an hour.

Professor Beattie said: “This new study proves that today’s generation is a more touching nation.

“There has been a massive change, it may have been called the swinging sixties but this proves it wasn’t very liberal.

“The power of touch brings huge emotional and psychological benefits and can release ‘feel good’ hormones.

“If you are touched by someone – even a stranger – it makes you more receptive towards them. Being unable to touch others can lead to people feeling anxious and even depressed. Touching in public is much more socially accepted now especially in young people.”

According to the study the most ‘in-touch’ people are those in their late 30s and early 40s, with Wales is home to the most ‘touching’ people and despite their friendly and open persona, Geordies are the nation’s least ‘touchy-feely’ people.

The study also shows that romantically involved couples can’t keep their hands off each other touching on average 132 times per hour, where as businessmen only touch each other 4.8 times per hour.

Professor Beattie’s study, The Power of Touch, analysed how people touch by hand in work, family and social situations compared to over 40 years ago.

The study was commissioned by www.myhandeczema.co.uk.