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. 2023 Jun;32(3):e13766.
doi: 10.1111/jsr.13766. Epub 2022 Nov 9.

Perspectives on interpersonal touch are related to subjective sleep quality

Anna Lena Dueren  1 , Natalie C Bowling  2 , Aikaterini Vafeiadou  1 , Juan J Madrid-Valero  3 , Claudia Hammond  4 , Alice M Gregory  1 , Michael J Banissy  5
Affiliations

Perspectives on interpersonal touch are related to subjective sleep quality

Anna Lena Dueren et al. J Sleep Res. 2023 Jun.

Abstract

Affective touch has been reported for its calming effects; however, it is less clear whether touch is associated with sleep. Here, the relationship between different touch variables and self-reported sleep indicators was investigated. Data were extracted from the Touch Test, a cross-sectional survey conducted in 2020. Data from a sample of 15,049 healthy adults from the UK (mean age = 56.13, SD = 13.8; 75.4% female) were analysed. Participants were asked to attribute positive, negative, or no effects on sleep to hugs, strokes, massages, intimate touch, and sleep onset with and without touch. The time since last intentional touch, touch amount satisfaction, and childhood bed routine with hugs and kisses were assessed. Sleep quality, duration, latency, wake after sleep onset and diurnal preference were measured. Data were analysed using chi-square tests and logistic regressions. Affective touch before sleep was perceived to have positive effects on sleep. Touch recency emerged as a significant predictor for some sleep variables, with a longer timespan since the last intentional touch relating to improved sleep quality, longer sleep duration, and shorter and fewer instances of waking up after sleep onset in some participants. Experiencing too much touch was related to lower sleep quality and higher instances of waking up after sleep onset. These findings highlight the importance of interpersonal touch for subjective sleep quality.

Keywords: c-tactile; co-sleep; ct-afferent; sleep; touch.

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Conflict of interest statement

AMG is an advisor for a project originally partially sponsored by Johnson's Baby. She has written two books (Nodding Off, Bloomsbury Sigma, 2018; The Sleepy Pebble, Flying Eye Books, 2019) and is working on a further project with Lawrence King Publishing. She is a regular contributor to BBC Focus magazine and has contributed to numerous other outlets (such as The Conversation and The Guardian). She has been interviewed by magazines and commercial websites. She has provided a paid talk for business and is occasionally sent trial products from commercial companies (e.g., blue light blocking glasses). She has received grant funding for her research from several bodies. CH give talks for commercial organisations, but not related to the topic of touch and sleep. She is the author of The Art of Rest, published by a commercial publisher. Over the past 3 years MJB has served as a paid consultant to EVE Sleep and provided talks for commercial organisations from a range of sectors. He has contributed to several media outlets worldwide, including work on The Touch Test (a science and broadcast collaboration with BBC Radio 4 funded via the Wellcome Collection). He has also received grant funding from several bodies.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Touch judgements in percent. Statistics for the chi‐square goodness‐of‐fit tests assessing distribution across judgements were all significant at p < 0.001 with test statistics as followed: stroke χ 2(2) = 5435.411; hug χ 2(2) = 5218.573; massage χ 2(2) = 1775.379; intimacy χ 2(2) = 1655.387; no touch at sleep onset χ 2(2) = 762.423; touch at sleep onset χ 2(2) = 955.628
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Plot of the interaction effect between touch recency (x‐axis) and the low, medium, and high values of avoidant attachment (16th, 50th, 84th percentiles, respectively) on WASO (y‐axis)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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