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Effects of self-touch and social-touch on peripheral oxytocin concentrations: A study conducted during the COVID-19

Sabrina von Au¹, Nina Marsh², Vanessa Jeske²

¹Institute of Health Promotion and Clinical Movement Science; Neurology, Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychiatry; German Sport University Cologne, Cologne, Germany,.

Physiology & Behavior

|August 14, 2025

Abstract

Introduction:

Loneliness and its impact on health is one of the major challenges for individuals worldwide. Pleasant social-touch has been shown to promotes well-being, mediated among others by oxytocin release. However, social-touch is not always available. In contrast, self-touch is constantly available. Its effects on oxytocin have been hardly investigated. Thus, the aim of this study is to investigate the role of oxytocin in self-touch in order to gain a better understanding on how self-touch may serve as a substitute in the absence of pleasant social-touch.

Methods:

During the COVID-19 pandemic, saliva samples in a total of 30 healthy participants (mean age 26.2; 10 women in the follicular phase, 10 women in the luteal phase, 10 men) were collected to assess the peripheral oxytocin concentrations in two experimental conditions: (i) before and after self-touch, and (ii) before and after social-touch. In order to examine more natural and dynamic self- and social-touch as they occur in everyday life, different subtypes of touch (phasic, irregular, repetitive) were applied. The study examines factors previously reported to influence oxytocin release (gender, menstrual cycle, social-touch deprivation).

Results:

Both, self-touch and social-touch significantly led to increased oxytocin concentrations. In both experimental conditions female participants in the luteal phase showed higher oxytocin concentrations than those in the follicular phase.

Discussion:

Our findings demonstrate for the first time that a natural and dynamic self-touch intervention leads to elevated peripheral oxytocin concentrations. Therefore, these results suggest that self-touch may substitute pleasant social-touch, particularly in females during the luteal phase.

Keywords:

Endogenous oxytocin Loneliness Menstrual-cycle Nonverbal behavior Salivary oxytocin Self-soothing Touch deprivation

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