Explore the role of touch in Your life!

 

Let us ask You one simple, but important question: When did you last touch someone?

The social affective touch is the emotionally driven and intentional physical contact between us. Affective touch is essential for the healthy development of infants right through to the emotional regulation of adult. It is a basic human need - but in the today's society  it remains unrecognised much too often, while the virtual comunication is becoming more and more important. The outbreak of the COVID-19 global pandemic and the necessary preventive measures have pushed this situation even further, almost bringing the perception of social touch to the point of demonization.

The HandsOn self-help app, developed by an international team of neuroscience and technology experts, invites you to learn more about Your relationship with touch, to explore its importance to you, its influence on Your well-being and its role in the development of Your social contacts - and, of course, to have lots of fun on the way!

Our team has something important to tell You

In a world seemingly without touch, the Virtual Touch Toolkit and HandsOn App offers the user a chance to take control; to think about what touch means to them and to harness the power of touch to soothe and de-stress.

- Prof. Dr. Merle Fairhurst, Institute of Psychology, Universität der Bundeswehr München
For the first time in human evolution, a recently characterised ‘affective touch’ system that evolved to provide the psychological benefits associated with close physical contact has all but been switched off. The negative impact on our mental wellbeing is becoming more and more evident. The HandsOn App and its integrated Virtual Touch Toolkit has been designed to target the specific affective touch responsive nerves in the skin that regulate mood and stress.

- Prof. Dr. Francis McGlone, School of Natural Sciences and Psychology, Liverpool John Moores University
Learning and practising social affective touch is an important tool for nurturing mental health, especially during this period of increased self-isolation and social distancing. The "Virtual Touch Toolkit" has the power to teach us how to give our body the love and comfort it deserves, and help look after our mental wellbeing.

- Dr. Domna Banakou, EVENT Lab, University of Barcelona
For people who often feel lonely, periods of social isolation are even more stressful. Social touch deprivation could lead to depression and other negative psychological effects. It's amazing how the features of the Hands-On app and the Virtual Touch toolkit utilize the sensation of touch towards resetting the mood when feeling blue. This result is achieved thanks to smartphone technology and specialized exercises that promote the rediscovery of our somatosensory system through an interactive interface, adaptive to the user's mood.

- Dr. Despina Michael-Grigoriou, GET Lab - Cyprus University of Technology